Romanian and American life aspirations in relation to psychological well-being

Researchers have concluded that individuals who perceive extrinsically rela ted goals as relatively more important than intrinsically related aspiratio ns show lower levels of psychological well-being (e.g., Kasser & Ryan, 1993 ). We found only partial support for the intrinsic goals hypothesis: In thi s cross-cultural study, Romanians and Americans both showed positive correl ations with psychological well-being when community feeling (intrinsic) was considered central to their lives. However, when financial success (extrin sic) was held to be the most central aspiration, only the American sample s howed a negative relationship with psychological well-being. Further analys es revealed the meaning of financial success for both cultures: For America ns, financial success was related to "power" and "security" whereas the sam e construct more closely related to "self-direction" for the Romanian sampl e.