Can Goal Conflict be Beneficial to Well-Being? The Chain Mediating Role of Meaning Seeking and Meaning Experience

Sun Wujun; Jiang Yuan; Fang Ping

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20230615

PDF(639 KB)

Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2023, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (6) : 1391-1398. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20230615

Social，Personality & Organizational Psychology

Can Goal Conflict be Beneficial to Well-Being? The Chain Mediating Role of Meaning Seeking and Meaning Experience

Sun Wujun^1,3, Jiang Yuan², Fang Ping³

Author information +

History +

Abstract

Multi-goal pursuit and goal conflict are common phenomena in individual development. Although theoretical studies have shown that goal conflict has a negative effect on well-being, empirical studies have not provided consistent evidence. These contradictory findings may be due to the different nature of the impact path between goal conflict and well-being, making the relationship between the two presents different results in different contexts or conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to further explore the mechanism of the effect of goal conflict on well-being and analyze under what conditions and in what ways goal conflict has positive or negative affects well-being, in order to improve the understanding of the relationship between the two.

Meaning in life is an individual's perception of himself or herself and the nature of his or her existence and what he or she thinks is more important, including two dimensions of meaning experience and meaning seeking. When an individual has two or more conflicting goals at the same time, the current system of meaning is challenged and threatened, and the experience of meaning is reduced or lost. According to the view of eudaimonia, meaning experience is an important prerequisite for well-being and individuals achieve happiness by engaging in activities that realize their potential and bring meaning to life. Therefore, we believe that goal conflict negatively predicts well-being through meaning experience.

According to the perspective of the Meaning-making Model, goal conflict, as a kind of pressure event, is an important motivation to drive individuals to seek meaning, which can improve the level of individuals'meaning seeking. The meaning therapy theory also suggests that meaning seeking helps to stimulate one's internal strength, which is an important prerequisite for happiness and health. So we speculate that goal conflict positively predicts well-being through meaning seeking. Furthermore, meaning seeking is an important way of reconstructing meaning and helping individuals regain meaningful experiences, may promote well-being by increasing the experience of meaning. Therefore, we speculate that goal conflict can also positively predict well-being through the chain mediation of meaning seeking and meaning experience.

Based on these considerations, in order to explore the influence and mechanisms of goal conflict on well-being, the Conflicting Goals Scale, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were used to investigate 627 college students. The results found that: (1)The direct effect of goal conflict on well-being was not significant, but there were two mediating paths of different nature. (2) Meaning seeking and meaning experience as a chain mediating path positively predicted well-being. (3) The path mediated by meaning experience negatively predicted well-being. Whether goal conflict has a positive impact on well-being is related to whether it triggers a meaning-seeking process and whether it results in a positive outcome that enhances the level of meaning experience. This study provides an explanation for the current contradictory results of the relation between goal conflict and well-being and suggests conditions under which goal conflict positively affects well-being.

Key words

goal conflict / well-being / meaning seeking / meaning experience / chain mediating role

Cite this article

EndNote

Ris (Procite)

Bibtex

Download Citations

Sun Wujun, Jiang Yuan, Fang Ping. Can Goal Conflict be Beneficial to Well-Being? The Chain Mediating Role of Meaning Seeking and Meaning Experience[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2023, 46(6): 1391-1398 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20230615

References

[1] 陈文锋, 张建新. (2004). 积极/消极情感量表中文版的结构和效度. 中国心理卫生杂志, 18(11), 763-765, 759.
[2] 靳宇倡, 何明成, 李俊一. (2016). 生命意义与主观幸福感的关系: 基于中国样本的元分析. 心理科学进展, 24(12), 1854-1863.
[3] 李占宏, 赵梦娇, 刘慧瀛, 刘亚楠, 彭凯平. (2018). 生命意义寻求的原因: 成长抑或危机. 心理科学进展, 26(12), 2192-2203.
[4] 刘蕾, 孙五俊, 姜媛, 方平. (2019). 幸福感测量指标体系的评价与展望. 中国特殊教育, 2, 66-73.
[5] 倪旭东, 唐文佳. (2018). 生命意义的缺失与追寻. 心理学探新, 38(6), 497-503.
[6] 王枫, 钱艳, 叶剑辉. (2018). 医学生生命意义感、生活目的与主观幸福感的关系. 中国健康心理学杂志, 26(8), 1253-1257.
[7] 王孟成, 戴晓阳. (2008). 中文人生意义问卷(C-MLQ)在大学生中的适用性. 中国临床心理学杂志, 16(5), 459-461.
[8] 温忠麟, 叶宝娟. (2014). 中介效应分析: 方法和模型发展. 心理科学进展, 22(5), 731-745.
[9] 叶为锋, 卢家楣, 刘啸莳, 吴燕霞. (2019). 大学生目标内容与主观幸福感的关系: 一个有调节的中介模型. 心理科学, 42(2), 379-386.
[10] 张荣伟, 李丹. (2018). 如何过上有意义的生活?——基于生命意义理论模型的整合. 心理科学进展, 26(4), 744-760.
[11] 郑雪, 严标贵, 邱林. (2004). 幸福心理学. 暨南大学出版社..
[12] Baumeister R. F.(1991). Meanings of life. Guilford Press..
[13] Baumeister R. F., Vohs K. D., Aaker J. L., & Garbinsky E. N. (2013). Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8(6), 505-516.
[14] Bernecker, K., & Becker, D. (2021). Beyond self-control: Mechanisms of hedonic goal pursuit and its relevance for well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(4), 627-642.
[15] Berrios R., Totterdell P., & Kellett S. (2015). Investigating goal conflict as a source of mixed emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 29(4), 755-763.
[16] Berrios R., Totterdell P., & Kellett S. (2018). When feeling mixed can be meaningful: The relation between mixed emotions and eudaimonic well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 19(3), 841-861.
[17] Bodner E., Bergman Y. S., & Cohen-Fridel S. (2014). Do attachment styles affect the presence and search for meaning in life? Journal of Happiness Studies, 15(5), 1041-1059.
[18] Boudreaux, M. J., & Ozer, D. J. (2013). Goal conflict, goal striving, and psychological well-being. Motivation and Emotion, 37(3), 433-443.
[19] Bradburn N. M.(1969). The structure of psychological well-being. Aldine Press..
[20] Corr, P. J., & Krupić, D. (2017). Motivating personality: Approach, avoidance, and their conflict. Advances in Motivation Science, 4, 39-90.
[21] Covington, M. V. (2000). Goal theory, motivation, and school achievement: An integrative review. Annual Review of Psychology, 51(1), 171-200.
[22] Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macro-theory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 49(3), 182-185.
[23] DeYoung, C. G. (2015). Cybernetic big five theory. Journal of Research in Personality, 56, 33-58.
[24] Diener E., Emmons R. A., Larsen R. J., & Griffin S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71-75.
[25] Frankl V. E.(1963). Man’s search for meaning. Washington Square Press..
[26] Freund, A. M., & Hennecke, M. (2015). On means and ends: The role of goal focus in successful goal pursuit. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(2), 149-153.
[27] George, L. S., & Park, C. L. (2016). Meaning in life as comprehension, purpose, and mattering: Toward integration and new research questions. Review of General Psychology, 20(3), 205-220.
[28] Gray J. S., Ozer D. J., & Rosenthal R. (2017). Goal conflict and psychological well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Personality, 66, 27-37.
[29] Ho M. Y., Cheung F. M., & Cheung S. F. (2010). The role of meaning in life and optimism in promoting well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 48(5), 658-663.
[30] Hooker S. A., Masters K. S., & Park C. L. (2018). A meaningful life is a healthy life: A conceptual model linking meaning and meaning salience to health. Review of General Psychology, 22(1), 11-24.
[31] Hull, C. L. (1938). The goal-gradient hypothesis applied to some “field-force” problems in the behavior of young children. Psychological Review, 45(4), 271-299.
[32] Kelly R. E., Mansell W., & Wood A. M. (2011). Goal conflict and ambivalence interact to predict depression. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(4), 531-534.
[33] Kelly R. E., Mansell W., & Wood A. M. (2015). Goal conflict and well-being: A review and hierarchical model of goal conflict, ambivalence, self-discrepancy and self-concordance. Personality and Individual Differences, 85, 212-229.
[34] Maslow, A. H. (1943). Conflict, frustration, and the theory of threat. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 38(1), 81-86.
[35] Park, C. L. (2010). Making sense of the meaning literature: An integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin, 136(2), 257-301.
[36] Park, J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2017). Meaning in life and adjustment to daily stressors. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(4), 333-341.
[37] Peterson C., Park N., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Orientations to happiness and life satisfaction: The full life versus the empty life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 6(1), 25-41.
[38] Podsakoff P. M., MacKenzie S. B., Lee J. Y., & Podsakoff N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879-903.
[39] Proulx, T., & Inzlicht, M. (2012). The five "A" s of meaning maintenance: Finding meaning in the theories of sense-making. Psychological Inquiry, 23(4), 317-335.
[40] Romero E., Villar P., Luengo M. Á., & Gómez-Fraguela J. A. (2009). Traits, personal strivings and well-being. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(4), 535-546.
[41] Schnell, T., & Becker, P. (2006). Personality and meaning in life. Personality and individual Differences, 41(1), 117-129.
[42] Segerstrom S. C., Jones A. C., Scott A. B., & Crofford L. J. (2016). Daily goals and psychological well-being in midlife and older women: Physical pain interacts with goal conflict. Research in Human Development, 13(4), 328-341.
[43] Sheldon K. M., Jose P. E., Kashdan T. B., & Jarden A. (2015). Personality, effective goal-striving, and enhanced well-being: Comparing 10 candidate personality strengths. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41(4), 575-585.
[44] Steger, M. F. (2013). Wrestling with our better selves: The search for meaning in life. In K. D. Markman, T. Proulx, & M. J. Lindberg (Eds.), The psychology of meaning (pp. 215-233). American Psychological Association.
[45] Steger M. F., Frazier P., Oishi S., & Kaler M. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80-93.
[46] Steger M. F., Kawabata Y., Shimai S., & Otake K. (2008). The meaningful life in Japan and the United States: Levels and correlates of meaning in life. Journal of Research in Personality, 42(3), 660-678.
[47] Steger M. F., Oishi S., & Kashdan T. B. (2009). Meaning in life across the life span: Levels and correlates of meaning in life from emerging adulthood to older adulthood. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(1), 43-52.
[48] Unsworth K., Yeo G., & Beck J. (2014). Multiple goals: A review and derivation of general principles. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(8), 1064-1078.