How passionate individuals regulate their activity with other life domains: A goal‐systemic perspective

Abstract

Objective: People that pursue a passionate activity obsessively (vs. harmoniously) tend to neglect (vs. integrate) other important life domains, yet research has been silent on the psychological mechanism explaining these differences in self-regulation.The purpose of this research was to address this gap by testing the role of alternative goal suppression. Method: Four studies tested whether harmonious passion is characterized by the pursuit of multifinality, the preference for means that gratify multiple goals simultaneously, whereas obsessive passion is characterized by the pursuit of counterfinality, the preference for means that serves a focal goal to the detriment of other pursuits.Underlying this relationship is the tendency to suppress goals conflicting with one's passion. Results: Study 1 found cross-sectional support for these hypotheses. Study 2 replicated Study 1 and extended it by demonstrating that the relationship between obsessive passion and counterfinal means is mediated by alternative goal suppression.Study 3 replicated these findings using an experimental manipulation of passion.Study 4 found similar results by experimentally manipulating alternative goal suppression, the mediator, to demonstrate its causal influence on means evaluation. Conclusions: Collectively, the present results demonstrate that passion plays a significant role in the type of means-ends relations preferred for goal pursuits.

Passion and moral disengagement: Different pathways to political activism

“…In line with this theoretical proposition, we posit that passion for a cause (St‐Louis, Carbonneau, & Vallerand, ) plays a vital role in shaping different pathways to political activism. Building on prior research linking obsessive (but not harmonious) passion with alternative goal suppression (Bélanger, Lafrenière, Vallerand, & Kruglanski, ; Bélanger, Schumpe, & Nisa, ), we propose that motivational imbalance is a feature of obsessive passion (OP) that makes individuals prone to violent activism, whereas motivational balance is a feature of harmonious passion (HP) that is conducive to peaceful activism. Because OP is unconstrained by alternative considerations, we propose that the relationship between OP and violent political activism is mediated by moral disengagement―the deactivation of moral self‐regulatory processes, allowing unethical behaviors to be carried out without self‐recrimination (Bandura, ).…”

“…Bélanger et al (, ) have also described evidence supporting the notion that activities pursued obsessively tend to suppress other goals that vie for consideration—a phenomenon also referred to as goal shielding (Shah, Friedman, & Kruglanski, ). Goal shielding is an automatic self‐regulatory strategy that helps manage conflicting goals and prevents diversion of attentional resources from the focal goal.…”

“…As a result, the activity becomes difficult to regulate and integrate with other life domains, and ultimately produces conflict and tension (Séguin‐Lévesque, Laliberté, Pelletier, Blanchard, & Vallerand, ). Activities pursued obsessively produce a state of motivational imbalance―they dominate over alternative goals by inhibiting them and monopolizing attentional resources (Bélanger et al, , ).…”

“…In contrast, OP is negatively related to these features (Vallerand, ; Wang, Khoo, Liu, & Divaharan, ). Although OP and HP are relatively stable over time, experimental findings suggest that OP and HP is a mindset that can be situationally and temporarily induced by asking participants to think of a time when their passionate activity was in conflict (as opposed to well‐integrated) with other life domains (see Bélanger et al, ; Bélanger et al, ).…”

Lay Theories of Obsessive Passion and Performance: It All Depends on the Bottom Line

“…The rigid persistence and alternative-goal shielding associated with obsessive passion (Bélanger et al, 2013;Bélanger et al, 2019;Vallerand, 2015) should foster the belief that such an obsessive passion is ideal for achieving success in workplaces that are characterized by a BLM.…”