Are the main effects of the will to exist, live, survive and fight on optimizing executive function due to its optimizing self-motivation? A longitudinal study

Abstract

The study aims to identify the mechanisms underlying the findings that will to exist, live, survive and fight (WTELS-F) optimizes executive functions. Defining executive functions (EF) as having cold (working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility) and hot (e.g., motivation) components, we hypothesized that WTELS-F affects executive functions positively via two pathways. The first pathway is through the hot executive function (motivation), and the second is via survival or existential processing. In a longitudinal study of 228 adult participants two times with ten weeks in between, we used measures for WTELS-F, working memory, inhibition, shift/cognitive flexibility, and self-motivation. We tested the structural validity of the four factors’ executive function by exploratory factor analysis in time 1 data and confirmatory factor analysis in time 2 data. We conducted structural equation modeling WTELS-F change as a latent variable predicted by the change in its three components between times 1 and 2., affecting changes in self-motivation (the hot EF), and changes in the latent variable of cold EF as predicted by changes in working memory, inhibition, and shift. Results indicated that the model of EF fit the data well without modification. WTELS-F significantly affected self-motivation (the hot EF) and the cold EF longitudinally. It had further mediated effects on cold EF via its impact on self-motivation. The results provided evidence for the two pathways hypothesis of the effects of WTELS-F on EF. The conceptual and clinical implications of these findings were discussed. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10339-023-01128-2.

The “Will to Exist, Live and Survive/Fight” (WTELS-F) Scale Initial Short Version: Cross-Cultural Validation of Its Reliability, Structural, Predictive and Incremental Validity

“…While the construct of WTELS-F includes three parameters (will to exist, will to live, and will survive and fight), factor analysis may not find these three dimensions in this short six-item measure. The three factors with second-order unitary factors were found in a relatively longer measure (21 items) for the construct (Kira et al, in press;Kira & Shuwiekh, 2023). This is the first study that introduced and explored this master motive coping concept's critical relevance and importance to the study of PTG, mental health, emotion regulation, and self-concept cross-culturally.…”