Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x5gtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-05T14:00:26.664Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Self-Determination and Personal Identity in University Students: The Mediating Role of Future Orientation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2018

Mingming Zhou  and
Chester Chun Seng Kam
Mingming Zhou*
Affiliation:
University of Macau (China).
Chester Chun Seng Kam
Affiliation:
University of Macau (China).
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mingming Zhou. University of Macau. Faculty of Education. Taipa, Macau, China. E-mail: zhmingming@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this study, we sought to extend the research on self-determination, future orientation, and personal identity construction by integrating the theories on self-determination and future orientation to provide a conceptual framework for understanding the relations between personal identity and the following individual characteristics: Hope, optimism, awareness of self, and perceived choice. 191 university students in China responded surveys in hardcopies on an individual basis. Our SEM results revealed that proximal future orientation influenced the mechanisms through which distal psychological traits affected identity construction. Specifically, hope mediated the effects of self-awareness on the participants’ personal identity ratings (b = .45, p < .05). Although optimism was related to both awareness of self and perceived choice, it was not significantly related to personal identity. This study suggested an extended framework through which we could understand how the interaction between future orientation and self-determination can predict personal identity. The findings have significant implications for interventions in educational settings.

Keywords

future orientationhopeoptimismpersonal identityself-determination
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 21 , 2018 , E14
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

How to cite this article:

Zhou, M., & Kam, C. C. S. (2018). Self-determination and personal identity in university students: The mediating role of future orientation. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 21. e14. Doi:10.1017/sjp.2018.17

References

Alarcon, G. M., Bowling, N. A., & Khazon, S. (2013). Great expectations: A meta-analytic examination of optimism and hope. Personality and Individual Differences, 54, 821–827. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.12.004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnau, R. C., Rosen, D. H., Finch, J. F., Rhudy, J. L., & Fortunato, V. J. (2007). Longitudinal effects of hope on depression and anxiety: A latent variable analysis. Journal of Personality, 75, 43–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2006.00432.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beauchamp, C., & Thomas, L. (2009). Understanding teacher identity: An overview of issues in the literature and implications for teacher education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 39, 175–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640902902252CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2004). Fostering healthy self-regulation from within and without: A self-determination theory perspective. In Linley, P. A. & Joseph, S. (Eds.), Positive psychology in practice (pp.105–124). Toronto, Canada: John Wiley & Sons.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryant, F. B., & Cvengros, J. A. (2004). Distinguishing hope and optimism: Two sides of a coin, or two separate coins? Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 273–302. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.23.2.273.31018CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernabe, M., Lisbona, A., Palací, F. J., & Martín-Aragon, M. (2014). Social identity, passion and well-being in university students, the mediating effect of passion. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 17, E81. https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2014.85CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carstensen, L. L. (2006). The influence of a sense of time on human development. Science, 312, 1913–1915. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1127488CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (2014). Dispositional optimism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 18, 293–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2014.02.003CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Segerstrom, S. C. (2010). Optimism. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 879–889. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.01.006CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deci, E. L. (1975). Intrinsic motivation. New York, NY: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diemer, M. A., & Blustein, D. L. (2007). Vocational hope and vocational identity: Urban adolescents’ career development. Journal of Career Assessment, 15(1), 98–118. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072706294528CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eccles, J. S. (2012). Supporting America’s children and adolescents. Macalester International, 29, 1–23.Google Scholar
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York, NY: Norton.Google Scholar
Faircloth, B. S. (2012). “Wearing a mask” vs. connecting identity with learning. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 37(3), 186–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2011.12.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flum, H., & Kaplan, A. (2006). Exploratory orientation as an educational goal. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 99–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gee, J. P. (2000). Identity as an analytic lens for research in education. Review of Research in Education, 25, 99–125. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X025001099Google Scholar
Griffin, L. K., Adams, N., & Little, T. D. (2017). Self-determination theory, identity development, and adolescence. In Wehmeyer, M., Shogren, K., Little, T., & Lopez, S. (Eds.), Development of self-determination through the life-course (pp. 189–196). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, S. R., & McEwen, M. K. (2000). A conceptual model of multiple dimensions of identity. Journal of College Student Development, 41(4), 405–414.Google Scholar
Kaplan, A., & Flum, H. (2009). Motivation and identity: The relations of action and development in educational contexts—An introduction to the special issue. Educational Psychologist, 44(2), 73–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520902832418CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kotzé, M., & Niemann, R. (2013). Psychological resources as predictors of academic performance of first-year students in higher education. Acta Académica, 45, 85–121.Google Scholar
La Guardia, J. G. (2009). Developing who I am: A self-determination theory approach to the establishment of healthy identities. Educational Psychologist, 44, 90–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520902832350CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lai, J. C. L., Cheung, H., Lee, W. M., & Yu, H. (1998). The utility of the revised Life Orientation Test to measure optimism among Hong Kong Chinese. International Journal of Psychology, 33, 45–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/002075998400600CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, W. O., & Ho, C. H. (2008). Citizenship education in China: Changing concepts, approaches and policies in the changing political, economic and social context. In Arthur, J., Davies, I. and , C. (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of education for citizenship and democracy (pp. 139–157). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luyckx, K., Klimstra, T. A., Duriez, B., van Petegem, S., Beyers, W., Teppers, E., & Goossens, L. (2013). Personal identity processes and self-esteem: Temporal sequences in high school and college students. Journal of Research in Personality, 47, 159–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2012.10.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luyckx, K., Vansteenkiste, M., Goossens, L., & Duriez, B. (2009). Basic need satisfaction and identity formation: Bridging self-determination theory and process-oriented identity research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56, 276–288. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015349CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marcia, J. E. (1980). Identity in adolescence. In Adelson, J. (Ed.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp.159–187). New York, NY: Wiley.Google Scholar
Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954–969. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.41.9.954CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mcllroy, D., Poole, K., Ursavas, Ö. F., & Moriarty, A. (2015). Distal and proximal associates of academic performance at secondary level: A mediation model of personality and self-efficacy. Learning and Individual Differences, 38, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2015.01.004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merrill, K. C., Braskamp, D. C., & Braskamp, L. A. (2012). Assessing individuals’ global perspective. Journal of College Student Development, 53(2), 356–360. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2012.0034CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moe, J. L., Dupuy, P. J., & Laux, J. M. (2008). The relationship between LGBQ identity development and hope, optimism, and life engagement. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 2, 199–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538600802120101CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morales-Vives, F., Camps, E., Lorenzo-Seva, U., & Vigil-Colet, A. (2014). The role of psychological maturity in direct and indirect aggressiveness in Spanish adolescents. Spanish Journal of Psychology, 17, E16. https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2014.18CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nario-Redmond, M. R., Biernat, M., Eidelman, S., & Palenske, D. J. (2004). The social and personal identities scale: A measure of the differential importance ascribed to social and personal self-categorizations. Self and Identity, 3, 143–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/13576500342000103CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newman, K. S. (1999). Working poor: Low-wage employment in the lives of Harlem youth. In Graber, J. A., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Petersen, A. C. (Eds.), Transitions through adolescence: Interpersonal domains and context (pp. 323–344). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Nurmi, J. E. (1994). The development of future-orientation in a life-span context. In Zaleski, Z. (Ed.), Psychology of future orientation (pp. 63–74). Lublin, Poland: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL.Google Scholar
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Pulkkinen, L., & Ronka, A. (1994). Personal control over development, identity formation, and future orientation as components of life orientation: A developmental approach. Developmental Psychology, 30, 260–271. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.30.2.260CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rappaport, H., Enrich, K., & Wilson, A. (1985). Relation between ego identity and temporal perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 1609–1620. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.48.6.1609CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2002). Overview of self-determination theory: An organismic dialectical perspective. In Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 3–33). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.Google Scholar
Schafer, J. L., & Olsen, M. K. (1998). Multiple imputation for multivariate missing-data problems: A data analyst’s perspective. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 33, 545–571. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327906mbr3304_5CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheier, M. F., & Carver, C. S. (1985). Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4, 219–247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Bridges, M. W. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A re-evaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063–1078. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.1063CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwarcer, R. (1992). Self-Efficacy: Thought control of action. Washington, DC: Hemisphere.Google Scholar
Schwartz, S. J., Côté, J. E., & Arnett, J. J. (2005). Identity and agency in emerging adulthood: Two developmental routes in the individualization process. Youth & Society, 37, 201–229. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118x05275965CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, S. J., Zamboanga, B. L., Wang, W., & Olthuis, J. V. (2009). Measuring identity from an Eriksonian perspective: Two sides of the same coin? Journal of Personality Assessment, 91, 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890802634266CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seginer, R., & Noyman, M. S. (2005). Future orientation, identity and intimacy: Their relations in emerging adulthood. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2, 17–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405620444000201CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheldon, K., & Deci, E. (1993). The Self-Determination Scale (Unpublished manuscript). University of Rochester, NY.Google Scholar
Shlomo, S. B., Levy, D., & Itzhaky, H. (2012). Development of professional identity among social work students: Contributing factors. The Clinical Supervisor, 31, 240–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/07325223.2013.733305CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shrout, P., & Bolger, N. (2002). Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 7, 422–445. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.7.4.422CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snyder, C. R. (1994). The psychology of hope: You can get there from here. New York, NY: Free Press.Google Scholar
Snyder, C. R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13, 249–275. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1304_01CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2011). When is identity congruent with the self? A Self-Determination Theory perspective. In Schwartz, S. J., Luyckx, K., & Vignoles, V. L. (Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 381–402). New York, NY: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soenens, B., Berzonsky, M. D., Vansteenkiste, M., Beyers, W., & Goossens, L. (2005). Identity styles and causality orientations: In search of the motivational underpinnings of the identity exploration process. European Journal of Personality, 19, 427–442. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.551CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strachan, S. M., Fortier, M. S., Perras, M. G. M., & Lugg, C. (2013). Understanding variations in exercise-identity strength through identity theory and self-determination theory. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 11, 273–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197x.2013.749005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sun, Q., Ng, K. M., & Wang, C. (2012). A validation study on a new Chinese version of the Dispositional Hope Scale. Measurement & Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 45, 133–148. https://doi.org/10.1177/0748175611429011CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D., & Wetherell, M. (1987). Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Umaña-Taylor, A. J. (2004). Ethnic identity and self-esteem: Examining the role of social context. Journal of Adolescence, 27, 139–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.11.006CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Petegem, S., Beyers, W., Vansteenkiste, M., & Soenens, B. (2012). On the association between adolescent autonomy and psychosocial functioning: Examining decisional independence from a self-determination theory perspective. Developmental Psychology, 48(1), 76–88. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025307CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Ryzin, M. J., Gravely, A. A., & Roseth, C. J. (2009). Autonomy, belongingness, and engagement in school as contributors to adolescent psychological well-being. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9257-4CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vlachopoulos, S. P., Kaperoni, M., & Moustaka, F. C. (2011). The relationship of self-determination theory variables to exercise identity. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 12, 265–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2010.11.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waterman, A. S., Schwartz, S. J., & Conti, R. (2008). The implications of two conceptions of happiness (hedonic enjoyment and eudaimonia) for the understanding of intrinsic motivation. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 41–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9020-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wille, B., & De Fruyt, F. (2014). Vocations as a source of identity: Reciprocal relations between Big Five personality traits and RIASEC characteristics over 15 years. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(2), 262–281. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034917CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yang, B., Kim, Y., & McFarland, R. G. (2011). Individual differences and sales performance: A distal-proximal mediation model of self-efficacy, conscientiousness, and extraversion. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 31, 371–381. http://doi.org/10.2753/PSS0885-3134310401CrossRefGoogle Scholar