I Want to Be a Billionaire: How Do Extrinsic and Intrinsic Values Influence Youngsters’ Well-Being?

• Author: Bert Schreurs,Anja Van Den Broeck,Maarten Vansteenkiste,Karin Proost,Arne Vanderstukken
• Date: 01 March 2019
• Published date: 01 March 2019
• DOI: 10.1177/0002716219831658
• Subject Matter: What are the Effects of Attitudes Toward Work?

831658ANN
THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYI WANT TO BE A BILLIONAIRE
research-article2019
Values guide our attitudes and behavior, but to what
extent and how do individual values determine our
overall well-being? Self-determination theory holds
that particular types of values (i.e., intrinsic or extrinsic)
matter most, but the person-environment fit perspec-
tive argues that any values can be beneficial as long as
they align with values prevalent in one’s environment.
the evidentiary support for these competing claims is
inconclusive. We use the World Value Survey to see
I Want to Be a how these perspectives do in predicting life satisfac-
tion, happiness, and health in youngsters aged 18 to 30
Billionaire:
around the world. Our results generally confirm
hypotheses derived from self-determination theory,
showing that the type of values held by youngsters and
How Do
the type of values prevailing in their environments
account for significant variation in young peoples’ life
Extrinsic and satisfaction, happiness, and health. the pattern of evi-
dence suggests that youngsters benefit from attaching
greater importance to intrinsic values related to affilia-
Intrinsic Values tion and community contribution rather than to extrin-
sic values that relate to financial success and
Influence
accumulation of power.
Youngsters’
Keywords: values; materialism; person-environment
fit; self-determination theory; well-being;
health; World Value Survey
Well-Being?
People may hold a myriad of different values
in various domains of life such as work,
schooling, or sports. While some attach high
importance to material wealth, other people
By
attach more importance to building good
ANjA VAN DEN BrOEck,

relationships and making a contribution to
BErt ScHrEurS,

society. the types of values people pursue
kArIN PrOOSt,
matter: values direct our thoughts, determine
ArNE VANDErStukkEN,
and
Anja Van den Broeck is an associate professor of work
MAArtEN VANStEENkIStE and organizational studies in the Faculty of Economics
and Business at KU Leuven. She specializes in work
and motivation psychology. Her research goal is to
examine how, and under which circumstances, indi-
viduals may thrive at work. She focuses on job design;
well-being, including burnout and work engagement;
and motivation in terms of needs, values, and qualita-
tively different types of motivation.
correspondence: Anja.vandenbroeck@kuleuven.be
DOI: 10.1177/0002716219831658
204
ANNALS, AAPSS, 682, March 2019

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I WANt tO BE A BILLIONAIrE
205
our actions, and thus guide us through our lives (Schwartz 1992). to date, how-
ever, there is inconclusive evidence about what kinds of values matter most to
individuals’ long-term well-being.
two contrasting views have emerged in the scientific literature. On one hand,
self-determination theory (SDt; kasser and ryan 1993; Deci and ryan 2000)
maintains that particular types of values (i.e., intrinsic or extrinsic) matter when
predicting variations in individuals’ well-being. On the other hand, the person-
environment fit perspective (kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, and johnson 2005;
kristof 1996) argues that any type of values can yield potential benefits to well-
being, depending on whether one’s personal values are aligned with the values
stressed in one’s environment. Although both views have empirical support (see
Dittmar et al. 2014; kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, and johnson 2005, among oth-
ers) and some studies have even begun addressing these contradicting perspec-
tives (e.g., Sagiv and Schwartz 2000; Vansteenkiste et al. 2008), no conclusive
answers have been given about whether the type or the fit of values matters most.
this study adds to this literature by testing the validity of both perspectives in
a large sample of youngsters (aged 18 to 30 years) across the globe (i.e., the World
Value Survey [WVS]; Inglehart et al. 2014). SDt or person-environment fit the-
ory makes general assumptions, regardless of people’s age. However, understand-
ing how values relate to youngsters’ well-being is particularly important because
experimentation and forming of values is an integral aspect of youngsters’ identity
formation (Erikson 1968), and their well-being is increasingly at risk due to grow-
ing poverty, increased migration, and technological evolutions worldwide (see call
et al. [2002] for a review among adolescents). Additionally, environments become
increasingly materialistic (Edmunds and turner 2005), as do the youngsters, aged
17 to 18 years, living in those environments (twenge and kasser 2013). the
Bert Schreurs is an associate professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Solvay Business
School, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. His research focuses on work stress and motivation,
proactive work behaviors, and HRM/careers. He currently serves as an associate editor of
career Development International and is the immediate past division chair of the Academy of
Management Careers Division.
Karin Proost is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Economics and Business at KU Leuven
and in the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the Open University of the
Netherlands. Her research focuses on work stress and anxiety and on person-organization fit
in the work context as well as the selection and recruitment context.
Arne Vanderstukken is a senior researcher at the HIVA Research Institute for Work and
Society. His main interests lie in HRM, work psychology, and cognitive psychology. He focuses
on how people think about their goals at work and how they get a sense of the possibilities in
their (future) work context to pursue those goals.
Maarten Vansteenkiste is a full professor in the Department of Developmental, Personality and
Social Psychology at Ghent University. Through his research, he aims to expand self-
determination theory, a broad theory on human motivation. He specifically links the theory
with other well-established motivation theories and studies individuals’ motivational dynamics
and their supportive and thwarting conditions in a variety of life domains, including education,
parenting, work, and sports and exercise.

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tHE ANNALS OF tHE AMErIcAN AcADEMY
present research provides insights into whether we should be worried about the
latter trends. Based on SDt, it can be assumed that youngsters’ well-being may be
increasingly at risk, which would warrant actions renewing the focus on intrinsic
values. Based on the fit perspective, in contrast, the evolution toward more mate-
rialistic values may optimize the fit with the social environment, thereby safe-
guarding youngsters’ well-being.
Values and Well-Being from the Perspective
of Self-Determination theory
SDt is a broad theory on human motivation, well-being, and integrity and the
factors promoting or derailing individuals’ optimal functioning (Deci and ryan
2000; ryan and Deci 2017). One key factor of SDt concerns the type of values
people hold in terms of intrinsic or extrinsic values (kasser 2016; kasser and
ryan 1993). Intrinsic values are closely aligned with people’s growth-oriented
nature and include the pursuit of self-development, affiliation, and community
contribution. Youngsters who find it important to extend their skills, to build
strong bonds with peers, and to take up responsibility by contributing to the com-
munity act on values that are predominantly intrinsic. Extrinsic values, in con-
trast, include striving for financial success, status, and power. Youngsters who
dream of earning a lot of money and who want to obtain social status or gain
power and prestige in social networks have extrinsic values. these type of values
are said to emerge especially when individuals’ growth gets actively blocked or
undermined; they (extrinsic values) emerge when people feel the need to com-
pensate for negative experiences (Deci and ryan 2000).
Whether youngsters have intrinsic or extrinsic values thus matters for their
well-being. While some studies have examined the impact of intrinsic and extrin-
sic values separately, others have examined the effect of the pursuit of extrinsic
relative to intrinsic values. Meta-analytic evidence shows that people having
extrinsic rather than intrinsic values suffer from poor psychological and physical
health (Dittmar et al. 2014): they are less satisfied with their life, experience less
positive and more negative emotions, and have a negative self-image. they also
report more symptoms of anxiety and depression, have more somatic complaints
(e.g., headaches), and engage more in risk behaviors (e.g., compulsive shopping,
smoking, and alcohol misuse). this pattern of findings has emerged in diverse
countries and cultures across the globe (chen et al. 2015; unanue et al. 2017)
and among both adults and youngsters. For example, a study by tang, Wang, and
Zhang (2017) showed that valuing extrinsic values caused chinese youngsters,
aged 17 to 23 years, to become less satisfied with their lives and more depressed
over the course of one and a half years.
Not only can individuals differ in the type of values they hold, environments
may also stress or promote intrinsic and extrinsic values to different degrees
(Vansteenkiste, Lens, and Deci 2006). Such environmental intrinsic and extrinsic
values may yield parallel effects on people’s well-being as those being observed

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for personal...