On the Psychology of Passion: in Search of What Makes People’S Lives Most Worth Living

Canadian Psychology Copyright 2008 by the Canadian Psychological Association 2008, Vol. 49, No. 1, 1–13 0708-5591/08/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0708-5591.49.1.1 Presidential Address – 2007 – Allocution pre´sidentielle – 2007 On the Psychology of Passion: In Search of What Makes People’s Lives Most Worth Living ROBERT J. VALLERAND ted people toward the cause of Canadian psychology. On numer- Laboratoire de Recherche sur le ous occasions, I have seen CPA board members serving on a Comportement Social, Universite´du variety of committees and for long hours. In light of such impor- Que´bec a` Montreál tant involvement in an activity like Canadian psychology, one is left wondering about the psychological factors that enable people to display such a high level of commitment and to remain dedi- Abstract cated and passionate for a specific activity or cause for years, and sometimes a lifetime. We propose that the concept of passion The purpose of the present paper is to present a new conceptualisation on passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) represents such a psychological factor. for activities, the Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., Furthermore, as we will see, the type of passion one has for the 2003) and an overview of related research. Passion is defined as a activity may have different consequences on cognition, affect, strong inclination toward an activity that people like, find impor- behaviour, relationships, and even performance. tant, and in which they invest time and energy. This model further posits the existence of two types of passion each associated with On the Psychology of Passion different outcomes and experiences. Harmonious passion originates from an autonomous internalisation of the activity in identity and A Dualistic Model of Passion leads people to choose to engage in the activity that they love. It is expected to mainly lead to more adaptive outcomes. Conversely, When we started our initial research in the late 1990s, very little obsessive passion originates from a controlled internalisation in existed on passion from a psychological standpoint. While passion identity and leads people to experience an uncontrollable urge to had generated a lot of attention from philosophers (see Rony, engage in the activity. It is hypothesised to predict less adaptive 1990, for a review), it received little empirical attention in psy- outcomes. Results of several studies conducted with a variety of chology. In fact, until recently, the only empirical work in psy- participants, activities, and outcomes provide support for the model. chology had focused on romantic passion (Hatfield & Walster, The development of passion was also addressed. These studies 1986). No research had been conducted on passion for an activity. clearly support the significant role of passion in people’s lives. Vallerand and his colleagues (Vallerand et al., 2003; Vallerand & Houlfort, 2003; Vallerand & Miquelon, 2007) have recently de- veloped a model of passion that addresses this issue. In line with Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, One of the high points of my year as President of the Canadian 2000), we propose that people engage in various activities through- Psychological Association (CPA) has been the opportunity to out life in the hope of satisfying the basic psychological needs of interact with a great group of fun, competent, and highly commit- autonomy (a desire to feel a sense of personal initiative), competence (a desire to interact effectively with the environment), and relatedness (a desire to feel connected to significant others). While This article is based on the author’s Presidential Address given at the we don’t have much choice over engaging or not in some activities 68th Canadian Psychological Association Annual Convention, in Ottawa, such as school and work (we all have to study and work at some Ontario, June 8, 2007. point in life), we do over other activities that we engage in I thank the numerous colleagues and students who have been involved especially during leisure time (e.g., sports, chess, music etc.). in the present research program on passion at one point or another. Without Eventually, after a period of trial and error, most people will their collaboration, such research could not have taken place. eventually start to show preference for some activities, especially This research program was supported by grants from the Fonds Que´be´- those that are enjoyable and allow the satisfaction of the needs for cois pour la Recherche sur la Socie´te´ et la Culture (FQRSC) and the Social competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Of these activities, a Sciences Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Rob- limited few will be perceived as particularly enjoyable and impor- ert J. Vallerand, Laboratoire de Recherche sur le Comportement Social, tant, and to have some resonance with how we see ourselves. De´partement de Psychologie, Universite´ du Que´bec a` Montreál, P.O. These activities become passionate activities. In line with the Box. 8888, Station “Ctr-ville,” Montreál, (Que´bec), Canada, H3C 3P8. above, Vallerand et al. (2003) define passion as a strong inclina- E-mail: [email protected] tion toward a self-defining activity that one likes (or even loves), 1 2 VALLERAND finds important, and in which one invests time and energy. These say no to his friends and the jam session, he still may end up activities come to be so self-defining that they represent central suffering because he may have difficulties concentrating on his features of one’s identity. For instance, those who have a passion talk preparation because of ruminations about the lost opportunity for playing basketball, playing the guitar, or writing poetry do not to play music. merely engage in these activities. They are “basketball players,” Conversely, harmonious passion results from an autonomous “guitar players,” and “poets.” This will be the case to the extent internalisation of the activity into the person’s identity. An auton- that the activity is interesting and highly valued by the person omous internalisation occurs when individuals have freely ac- (Aron, Aron, & Smolan, 1992; Csikszentmihalyi et al., 1993). cepted the activity as important for them without any contingen- Past research has shown that values and regulations concerning cies attached to it. This type of internalisation emanates from the noninteresting activities can be internalised in either a controlled intrinsic and integrative tendencies of the self (Deci & Ryan, 2000; or an autonomous fashion (see Deci et al., 1994; Sheldon, 2002; Ryan & Deci, 2003) and produces a motivational force to engage Vallerand, Fortier, & Guay, 1997). Similarly, it is posited that in the activity willingly and engenders a sense of volition and activities that people like will also be internalised in the person’s personal endorsement about pursuing the activity. When harmo- identity to the extent that these are highly valued and meaningful nious passion is at play, individuals do not experience an uncon- for the person. Furthermore, it is proposed that there are two types trollable urge to engage in the passionate activity, but rather freely of passion, obsessive and harmonious, that can be distinguished in choose to do so. With this type of passion, the activity occupies a terms of how the passionate activity has been internalised into significant, but not overpowering, space in the person’s identity one’s identity. Obsessive passion, results from a controlled inter- and is in harmony with other aspects of the person’s life. In other nalisation of the activity into one’s identity. Such an internalisation words, with harmonious passion the authentic integrating self process leads not only the activity representation to be part of the (Deci & Ryan, 2000) is at play allowing the person to fully partake person’s identity, but also to values and regulations associated with in the passionate activity with an openness that is conducive to the activity, to be at best partially internalised in the self, and at positive experiences (Hodgins & Knee, 2002). Consequently, with worse to be internalised in the person’s identity but completely harmonious passion people should be able to fully focus on the outside the integrating self (Deci & Ryan, 2000). A controlled task at hand and experience positive outcomes both during task internalisation originates from intra and/or interpersonal pressure engagement (e.g., positive affect, concentration, flow etc.) and typically because certain contingencies are attached to the activity after task engagement (general positive affect, satisfaction etc.). such as feelings of social acceptance or self-esteem (e.g., Crocker Thus, there should be little or no conflict between the person’s & Park, 2004), or because the sense of excitement derived from passionate activity and his or her other life activities. Furthermore, activity engagement is uncontrollable. People with an obsessive when prevented from engaging in their passionate activity, people passion can thus find themselves in the position of experiencing an with a harmonious passion should be able to adapt well to the uncontrollable urge to partake in the activity they view as impor- situation and focus their attention and energy on other tasks that tant and enjoyable. They cannot help but to engage in the passion- need to be done. Finally, with harmonious passion, the person is in ate activity. The passion must run its course as it controls the

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