On passion and moral behavior in achievement settings: The mediating role of pride

The Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) distinguishes two types of passion: harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP) that predict adaptive and less adaptive outcomes, respectively. In the present research, we were interested in understanding the role of passion in the adoption of moral behavior in achievement settings. It was predicted that the two facets of pride (authentic and hubristic; Tracy & Robins, 2007) would mediate the passion-moral behavior relationship. Specifically, because people who are passionate about a given activity are highly involved in it, it was postulated that they should typically do well and thus experience high levels of pride when engaged in the activity. However, it was also hypothesized that while both types of passion should be conducive to authentic pride, only OP should lead to hubristic pride. Finally, in line with past research on pride (Carver, Sinclair, & Johnson, 2010; Tracy et al., 2009), only hubristic pride was expected to negatively predict moral behavior, while authentic pride was expected to positively predict moral behavior. Results of two studies conducted with paintball players (N=163, Study 1) and athletes (N=296, Study 2) supported the proposed model. Future research directions are discussed in light of the Dualistic Model of Passion

The pivotal role of effort beliefs in mediating implicit theories of intelligence and achievement goals & academic motivations

Empirical studies into meaning systems surrounding implicit theories of intelligence typically entail two stringent assumptions: that different implicit theories and different effort beliefs represent opposite poles on a single scale, and that implicit theories directly impact the constructs as achievement goals and academic motivations. Through an empirical study based on a large sample of university students, we aim to demonstrate that relaxing these stringent assumptions, and thereby using the meaning system framework to its full potential, will provide strong benefits: effort beliefs are crucial mediators of relationships between implicit theories and achievement goals and academic motivations, and the different poles of implicit theories and effort beliefs do expose different relationships with goal setting behaviour and academic motivations. A structural equation model, cross-validated by demonstrating gender-invariance of path coefficients, demonstrates that incremental and entity theory views have less predictive power than positive and negative effort beliefs in explaining achievement goals and motivations

Do parents’ collectivistic tendency and attitudes toward filial piety facilitate autonomous motivation among young Chinese adolescents?

The present study investigates the association of Chinese parents' collectivistic tendency, attitudes towards filial piety (i.e., children respecting and caring for parents (RCP) and children protecting and upholding honor for parents (PUHP)), parenting behaviors (i.e., autonomy granting (AG) and psychological control (PC)) with young adolescents' autonomous motivation. Participants were 321 Chinese parents and their eighth-grade children who independently completed a set of surveys. Results showed that parents' collectivistic tendency indirectly and positively contributes to children's autonomous motivation through the mediation of AG and PC, respectively. Parents' attitude toward RCP has an indirect and positive contribution to children's autonomy motivation through the mediation of AG while parents' attitude toward PUHP shows an indirect and negative contribution to children's autonomous motivation through the mediation of PC. The findings suggest that different cultural emphases in collectivist-based societies play different roles in adolescents' autonomy development. The implications of the findings are discussed. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

The psychology of passion: A meta-analytical review of a decade of research on intrapersonal outcomes

It is just over a decade since Vallerand et al. (J Personal Soc Psychol 85:756–767, 2003) introduced the dualistic model of passion. In this study, we conduct a meta-analytical review of relationships between Vallerand et al’s two passions (viz. harmonious and obsessive), and intrapersonal outcomes, and test the moderating role of age, gender, domain, and culture. A systematic literature search yielded 94 studies, within which 27 criterion variables were reported. These criterion variables derived from four research areas within the intrapersonal sphere: (a) well-/ill-being, (b) motivation factors, (c) cognitive outcomes and, (d) behaviour and performance. From these areas we retrieved 1308 independent effect sizes and analysed them using random-effects models. Results showed harmonious passion positively corresponded with positive intrapersonal outcomes (e.g., positive affect, flow, performance). Obsessive passion, conversely, showed positive associations with positive and negative

Working passionately does not always pay off : the negative moderating role of passion on the relationship between deliberate practice and venture performance

Deliberate practice, an iterative process that leads to expertise, is found to be positively associated with superior performance in domains such as sports, education, and entrepreneurship. At the same time, deliberate practice is also seen as being less than enjoyable and difficult to pursue consistently. As such, passion is considered to be a vital motivator of engagement in and maintenance of deliberate practice. Despite the evident importance of passion, the relationship between passion and deliberate practice in entrepreneurship has not been subject to sufficient empirical evaluation. Therefore, in this study, we consider the way in which passion moderates the relationship between deliberate practice and venture performance. We hypothesize that deliberate practice is positively related to venture performance and that passion positively moderates this relationship. We find support for our first hypothesis, in line with previous studies. However, contrary to our second hypothesis, we find that entrepreneurial passion negatively moderates the deliberate practice-venture performance relationship. In response to this finding, we provide possible explanations as to why this negative moderation effect was observed by drawing on Kolb’s experiential learning cycle

Self-determined motivation profiles among undergraduate students: A robust test of profile similarity as a function of gender and age

This study examines profiles of undergraduate students defined based on their types of behavioral regulation, as proposed by self-determination theory, as well as the similarity of these academic motivation profiles as a function of gender and age. This research also documents the implications of these profiles for students’ vitality and investigates the role of maternal and paternal involvement, autonomy support, and warmth in predicting profile membership. A total of 1072 undergraduate students participated in this study (Mage = 22.7 years; 58.4% female). To test for profile similarity, participants were divided into three age categories. Latent profile analyses revealed five distinct motivation profiles: Knowledge-Oriented, Controlled, Multifaceted, Unmotivated, and Hedonist profiles. These profiles, as well as their associations with the covariates, were similar across gender and age groups. Students’ level of vitality varied across profiles and was higher in the Hedonist and Knowledge-Oriented profiles, whereas both parents’ warmth predicted membership in profiles characterized by high levels of intrinsic motivation

The number of autonomy-supportive relationships : Are more relationships better for motivation, perceived competence, and achievement?

Does the perception of many close relationships as autonomy-supportive make students more motivated and competent? The goal of this study was to use latent class analysis (LCA) to compare the educational correlates of having one vs. several autonomy-supportive relationships. Participants were 1406 high school students (47% boys, 52% girls). LCA revealed three groups: Group 1 (17%) included students who perceived low autonomy support by their mother, father, and teacher; Group 2 (7%) included students who perceived low autonomy support by their father, but moderate autonomy support by their mother and teacher; and Group 3 (76%) included students who perceived all sources as moderately autonomy-supportive. Results of multiple comparisons suggest that more is not necessarily better: Students in Group 2, who perceived low autonomy support by fathers, reported equivalent autonomous (intrinsic and identified) and controlled (external and introjected) regulations and perceived competence to those of students in Group 3, who perceived all sources as moderately autonomy-supportive. One difference was that Group 3 showed better academic achievement than Group 2. Results are discussed in light of research on close relationships and self-determination theory (SDT)