Who’s the Happiest and Why? The role of passion and self-regulation in psychological well-being

The present research sought to test the overarching hypothesis that the happiest people, that is, people with the highest level of psychological well-being, are those (1) who experience the highest levels of passion (and especially harmonious passion) in several enjoyable everyday life activities, and (2) who display higher levels of autonomous regulation for less enjoyable activities such as chores and duties. Results of two studies (Study 1, N = 260; Study 2, N = 392) provided support for this hypothesis. Furthermore, results from three additional studies (Study 3, N = 251; Study 4, N = 526; Study 5, N = 255) showed that positive affect represents the key mediating processes between harmonious passion and autonomous regulation on the one hand and psychological well-being on the other. Conversely, negative affect mediated the negative relationship between obsessive passion and controlled regulation and well-being. Finally, Studies 4 and 5 also showed that the autonomous global orientation (Guay et al., 2003) is a major determinant of harmonious passion and autonomous regulation for engaging in chores and duties, whereas the controlled global orientation serves as a determinant of obsessive passion and controlled regulation. This research represents a significant advancement in integrating the perspectives of passion, self-regulation, and affect, contributing to our understanding of how individuals’ engagement in life activities influences their psychological well-being.