Unpacking grit: Motivational correlates of perseverance and passion for long-term goals

Abstract

In two cross-sectional studies, we explored the motivational orientations correlates of the character strength of grit and its two component facets: perseverance of effort and consistency of interests over time. Specifically, we examined how individual differences in grit are explained by distinct approaches to pursuing happiness in life: pleasure in immediately hedonically positive activities, meaning in activities that serve a higher, altruistic purpose, and engagement in attention-absorbing activities. In both samples, grit demonstrated medium-sized associations with an orientation toward engagement, small-to-medium associations with an orientation toward meaning, and small-to-medium (inverse) associations with an orientation toward pleasure. These motivational orientations differentially related to the two facets of grit: pursuing engagement was more strongly associated with perseverance of effort, whereas pursuing pleasure was more strongly (inversely) associated with consistency of interests over time. Collectively, findings suggest that individual differences in grit may derive in part from differences in what makes people happy.

The Relationship Between Orientations to Happiness and Job Satisfaction One Year Later in a Representative Sample of Employees in Switzerland

“…Also, since job satisfaction seems to be strongly predicted by how interesting (positively) and how exhausting (negatively) the job is (Sousa-Poza and Sousa-Poza 2000), flow experiences can contribute to job satisfaction by providing energy and making jobs more interesting. Moreover, engagement seems to be associated with perseverance (e.g., Von Culin et al 2014), and perseverance leads to professional success (Duckworth et al 2007), which is related to job satisfaction (Judge et al 2001). However, on the contrary, it could also be the case that job satisfaction makes individuals endorse an orientation to a life of engagement.…”

Development of an observation instrument to measure flourishing learning environments

“…More theoretical, conceptual, and empirical work is also needed on how flourishing theory improves the quality of education for all students. It may be important, for example, to examine how the concept of flourishing learning environments relates to the emergent research on (a) academic optimism [35], (b) resilience [25,41], (c) grit and perseverance ( [6]: [34]) and (d) other socio-emotional outcomes [7].…”

Personality and Family Context in Explaining Grit of Taiwanese High School Students

“…Grit has been found to be a critical psychological feature and shown to be predictive not only of academic-related performance such as GPA, graduation rate, and retention, but also of non-academic outcomes such as well-being and life satisfaction (Duckworth et al 2007;Eskreis-Winkler et al 2014;Von Culin, Tsukayama, and Duckworth 2014). Interest theory and motivational theory are of relevance for understanding the development of Grit characteristics.…”