Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Aspirational Culture in the Balance

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Wellbeing and Aspirational Culture

  • 369 Accesses

Abstract

Moore aims in this chapter to come to an overall assessment of the extent to which aspirational cultures can support wellbeing. He considers a number of possible ways in which such cultures might seem to support wellbeing including support for goal-oriented behaviour, needs for autonomy and competence, the experience of engagement in activities, and the expression of the ‘true’ and authentic self. Moore discusses research that suggests aspirational cultures might encourage these behaviours but concludes that, in each case, aspirational culture has the overall effect of undermining or minimising these characteristics of wellbeing.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid modernity. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, Z. (2007). Liquid times: Living in an age of uncertainty. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F. (1984). Choking under pressure: Self-consciousness and paradoxical effects of incentives on skillful performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 610–620.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyraz, G., & Kuhl, M. L. (2015). Self-focused attention, authenticity, and well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 87, 70–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brickman, P., & Campbell, D. T. (1971). Hedonic relativism and planning the good society. In M. H. Appley (Ed.), Adaptation-level theory: A symposium (pp. 287–302). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brickman, P., Coates, D., & Janoff-Bulman, R. (1978). Lottey winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 917–927.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(4), 822–848. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, W. K., & Sedikides, C. (1998). Self-threat magnifies the self-serving bias: A meta-analytic integration. Review of General Psychology, 3, 23–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chater, N. (2018). The mind is flat: The illusion of mental depth and the improvised mind . London, UK: Allen Lane.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York: Harper Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M., & LeFevre, J. (1989). Optimal experience in work and leisure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(5), 815–822.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curran, T., & Hill, A. P. (2017). Perfectionism is increasing over time: A meta-analysis of birth cohort differences from 1989 to 2016. Psychological Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalziel, P., Saunders, C., & Saunders, J. (2018). Wellbeing economics: The capabilities approach to prosperity. Wellbeing in politics and policy (1st ed., pp. XVII, 196). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danziger, K. (1997). The historical formation of selves. In R. D. Ashmore & L. Jussim (Eds.), Self and identity: Fundamental issues (pp. 137–159). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawkins, R. (1976). The selfish gene. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior [Review]. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1104_01.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Fujita, F. (1995). Resources, personal strivings, and subjective well-being: A nomothetic and idiographic approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 926–935.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Horwitz, J., & Emmons, R. A. (1985). Happiness of the very wealthy. Social Indicators Research, 16, 263–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dufner, M., Gebauer, J. E., Sedikides, C., & Denissen, J. J. A. (2018). Self-enhancement and psychological adjustment: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868318756467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eckersley, R. (2004). Separate selves, tribal ties, and other stories: Making sense of different accounts of youth. Family Matters, 68(Winter), 36–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emmons, R. A. (1986a). Personal strivings: An approach to personality and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1058–1068.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emmons, R. A. (1986b). Personal strivings: Toward a theory of personality and subjective well-being (motives, goals, affect). Urbana and Champaign: University of Illinois.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gan, M., Heller, D., & Chen, S. (2018). The power in being yourself: Feeling authentic enhances the sense of power. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(10), 1460–1472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gowdy, J., & Krall, L. (2016). The economic origins of ultrasociality. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 39, E92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X1500059X.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harré, R. (1998). The singular self: An introduction to the psychology of personhood. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harré, R. (2016). Hybrid psychology as a human science. Theory and Psychology, 26(5), 632–646.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haybron, D. M. (2008). The pursuit of unhappiness: The elusive psychology of well-being. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang, J. Y., & Bargh, J. A. (2014). The selfish goal: Autonomously operating motivational structures as the proximate cause of human judgment and behavior. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 37, 121–175. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X13000290.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kasser, T. (2002). The high price of materialism. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1993). A dark side of the American Dream: Correlates of financial success as a central life aspiration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2), 410–422.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1996). Further examining the American Dream: Differential correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 280–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, L. A. (2008). Interventions for enhancing subjective well-being: Can we make people happier, and should we? In M. Eid & R. J. Larsen (Eds.), The science of subjective well-being (pp. 431–448). New York: The Guildford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamblin, M., Murawski, C., Whittle, S., & Fornito, A. (2017). Social connectedness, mental health and the adolescent brain. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Review, 80, 57–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E., Arsenault, L., Belsky, D., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J., Harrington, H., et al. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(7), 2693–2698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nix, G. A., Ryan, R. M., Manly, J. B., & Deci, E. L. (1999). Revitalization through self-regulation: The effects of autonomous and controlled motivation on happiness and vitality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35, 266–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oishi, S. (2010). The psychology of residential mobility: Implications for the self, social relationships, and well-being. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(1), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691609356781.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rojek, C. (2005). Leisure theory: Principles and practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rojek, C. (2010). Leisure and emotional intelligence. World Leisure Journal, 52(4), 240–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., & Frederick, C. (1997). On energy, personality, and health: Subjective vitality as a dynamic reflection of well-being. Journal of Personality, 65(3), 529–565.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomaes, S., Sedikides, C., van den Bos, N., Hutteman, R., & Reijntjes, A. (2017). Happy to be “me?” authenticity, psychological need satisfaction, and subjective well-being in adolescence. Child Development, 88(4), 1045–1056. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12867.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Twenge, J. M., Zhang, L., & Im, C. (2004). It’s beyond my control: A cross-temporal meta-analysis of increasing externality in Locus of Control, 1960–2002. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8(3), 308–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environment, Society and Design, Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand

    Kevin Moore

Authors
  1. Kevin Moore
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kevin Moore .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Moore, K. (2019). Aspirational Culture in the Balance. In: Wellbeing and Aspirational Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15643-5_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation