On the psychology of passion: In search of what makes people's lives most worth living.
Abstract
The purpose of the present paper is to present a new conceptualisation on passion for activities, the Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) and an overview of related research. Passion is defined as a strong inclination toward an activity that people like, find important, and in which they invest time and energy. This model further posits the existence of two types of passion each associated with different outcomes and experiences. Harmonious passion originates from an autonomous internalisation of the activity in identity and leads people to choose to engage in the activity that they love. It is expected to mainly lead to more adaptive outcomes. Conversely, obsessive passion originates from a controlled internalisation in identity and leads people to experience an uncontrollable urge to engage in the activity. It is hypothesised to predict less adaptive outcomes. Results of several studies conducted with a variety of participants, activities, and outcomes provide support for the model. The development of passion was also addressed. These studies clearly support the significant role of passion in people's lives.
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Obsessive passion, which is oriented toward a fun activity consonant with one's interests and values, leads to less adaptive outcomes than harmonious passion and at times to clearly maladaptive consequences.
“obsessive passion which is oriented toward a fun activity consonant with one ' s interests and values, nevertheless leads to less adaptive outcomes than harmonious passion and at times to clearly maladaptive consequences.”
From The role of passion in sustainable psychological well-being (2012) · cites this paper as Vallerand 2008
There are two types of passion: harmonious and obsessive.
“the DMP proposes that there are two types of passion, obsessive and harmonious, that can be distinguished in terms of how the passionate activity has been internalized into one ' s identity.”
From The role of passion in sustainable psychological well-being (2012) · cites this paper as Vallerand 2008
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“This would be expected to be the case particularly for obsessive passion at least in part because the passionate activity then provides individuals a high sense of self-esteem when they reach their goal (Mageau & Vallerand, 2007). For instance, in a recent study with highly politically involved individuals, Rip, Valle…”
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“…plus mener à des problèmes de santé que la passion harmonieuse, probablement parce qu’elle amène la personne à émettre des comportements risqués (Vallerand et al., 2003, Étude 3) et à persévérer de façon rigide dans la pratique de l’activité alors qu’elle devrait cesser…”
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Vallerand, R. J., Paquet, Y., Philippe, F. L., & Charest, J. (2010) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00616.x · Cited by 432 · see citing works
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“Research by Rousseau and Vallerand (2008) has tested the above model within the confines of the same study.”
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Vallerand, R. J., Ntoumanis, N., Philippe, F. L., Lavigne, G. L., Carbonneau, N., Bonneville, A., Lagacé-Labonté, C., & Maliha, G. (2008) · Journal of Sports Sciences · doi:10.1080/02640410802123185 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
Self-citationObsessive Passion: A Compensatory Response to Unsatisfied Needs
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Self-citationPassion for Work and Emotional Exhaustion: The Mediating Role of Rumination and Recovery
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“On one hand, some theorists have argued that video games consist of motivational traits (Juul, 2005; McGonigal, 2011), fulfil basic psychological needs (Przybylski, Rigby, & Ryan, 2010), take up time and energy (Vallerand, 2008), or are socially satisfying (Griffiths & Hunt, 1998;”
BackgroundSelf-Regulation as a Mediator of the Associations Between Passion for Video Games and Well-Being
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- Authors
- Vallerand, R. J.
- Corresponding author
- Vallerand, Robert J.
- ORCID
- Vallerand, Robert J.
- Venue
- Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne
- Published
- 2008-02
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1-13
- ISSN
- 0708-5591 (ISSN-L)
- 1878-7304
- OpenAlex
- W2143868927
- Cited by
- 514
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 27 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 28 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 29
- FWCI
- 21.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne (publishedVersion)
- Research Bank (Australian Catholic University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Fonds Québécois pour la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Grit, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management
- Keywords
- passion, dualistic model of passion, harmonious passion, obsessive passion, activity engagement, autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, adaptive outcomes, quality of life
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