Unknown

Dataset Information

0

The Complexities of "Minding the Gap": Perceived Discrepancies Between Values and Behavior Affect Well-Being.


ABSTRACT: Research on self-determination theory and clinical models such as acceptance and commitment therapy has shown that behaving in line with our values is a key to maintaining healthy well-being. Combining work on values and experimental studies on moral hypocrisy and well-being, we experimentally tested how behaving incongruently with values affects well-being. We hypothesized that discrepancies between how one thinks one should have behaved and how one reported one did behave would be more detrimental to well-being when the behaviors were value-expressive and motivationally coherent compared to a control condition; greater perceived gaps between how participants feel they should have acted and how they report they did act would be associated with more negative well-being outcomes; the relationship between value manipulation and well-being would be mediated by perceived behavioral gap; and that personal values would interact with value manipulation to produce differential effects on well-being. One-hundred and fifty-eight first-year psychology students participated in an experiment designed to highlight discrepancies between how participants have behaved in accordance with a certain value and how they think they should have behaved, before reporting their well-being. As hypothesized, greater discrepancies between reported past behavior and how participants thought they should have behaved was associated with negative affect and decreased reports of positive well-being. We found no evidence for differential effects of manipulated value-expressive behaviors on well-being, or for our hypothesis that personal values and manipulated value-expressive behaviors interact. Nevertheless, value content mattered in terms of inducing perceived behavioral gaps. Our study suggests that perceived discrepancies between any value and reported past behavior can have a negative impact on some aspects of well-being. We discuss how the application of our methodology can be used in further studies to disentangle the value-behavior nexus.

SUBMITTER: Chrystal M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6465641 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

altmetric image

Publications

The Complexities of "Minding the Gap": Perceived Discrepancies Between Values and Behavior Affect Well-Being.

Chrystal Megan M   Karl Johannes A JA   Fischer Ronald R  

Frontiers in psychology 20190409


Research on self-determination theory and clinical models such as acceptance and commitment therapy has shown that behaving in line with our values is a key to maintaining healthy well-being. Combining work on values and experimental studies on moral hypocrisy and well-being, we experimentally tested how behaving incongruently with values affects well-being. We hypothesized that discrepancies between how one thinks one should have behaved and how one reported one did behave would be more detrime  ...[more]

Similar Datasets

| S-EPMC8259292 | biostudies-literature
2015-03-28 | GSE45329 | GEO
| S-EPMC7396939 | biostudies-literature
2015-03-28 | E-GEOD-45329 | biostudies-arrayexpress
| S-EPMC4552874 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC7554046 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC7272494 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC4414736 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC7578124 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC4624695 | biostudies-literature