Goals, Congruence, and Positive Well-Being: New Empirical Support for Humanistic Theories

Although some have suggested that humanistic theories and quantitative methodologies are inherently contradictory, this article will try to demonstrate that they can be quite complementary. To this end, the authors will review their own findings with regard to the nature of “positive motivation,” research that has been based in humanistic theoretical ideas but that also has employed state-of-the-art quantitative methodologies, longitudinal designs, and causal modeling techniques. First, the article discusses numerous studies that have shown that striving for authentic, self-concordant reasons yields greater goal attainment and enhanced well-being. Second, the article reviews evidence that well-being and relationship quality are also better when people orient toward intrinsic values such as intimacy, community, and growth, rather than extrinsic values such as status, money, and image. The authors conclude that the positive psychology movement offers important new opportunities to bridge the gap between humanistic and more mainstream psychologies, to the potential enrichment of both fields.