Beyond hedonism: life satisfaction requires autonomy independent of affect

Abstract

Hedonic and eudaemonic theories offer distinct frameworks for understanding wellbeing. A different research question, central to subjective wellbeing research, is how people evaluate their own lives. As such, it is unclear how much individuals consider hedonic and eudaemonic aspects in evaluations of their lives. This study examined how these components independently and jointly predict Life Satisfaction. Life Satisfaction was regressed on measures of positive and negative affect, as well as fulfillment of Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness needs. Confirmatory Factor Analysis in two general population samples was also used to control for measurement error. Of the Self-Determination Theory needs, only Autonomy uniquely predicted Life Satisfaction in addition to Positive Affect and Negative Affect. Competence and Relatedness were only predictive of Life Satisfaction in so far as they overlapped with hedonic factors. These findings suggest that individuals are not merely hedonists and additionally rely on Autonomy in their life-evaluations.