College students' motivations for money and subjective well-being.
Previous research indicates that, while making money is important to college students, it is negatively correlated with subjective well-being. This study asked 157 undergraduate business and psychology students about the importance of making money, their motives for doing so, and several dimensions of subjective well-being: satisfaction with life, self-actualization, and mood/affect. Making money remains very important to college students. Being motivated to make money was not globally related to subjective well-being, but wanting to make money to help others, to feel secure, and to feel proud of oneself were predictive of happiness or subjective well-being. Motives such as comparing oneself favorably to others, spending impulsively, and overcoming self-doubt were not correlated with subjective well-being. Business students appeared more motivated to make money than other students and also to have more negative affect.
Robak
Rostyslaw W
RW
Psychology Department, Pace University, 861 Bedford, Rd., Pleasantville, NY 10570, USA. rrobak@pace.edu
Chiffriller
Sheila H
SH
Zappone
Melinda C
MC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004467:Economics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities