A recent study published in the Journal of Personality Research The study explores how individuals’ perceptions of their role as main or secondary characters in their story influence their psychological well-being. The researchers found that individuals who view themselves as main characters tend to have higher well-being and greater satisfaction of their basic psychological needs compared to those who view themselves as secondary characters.
The study aimed to shed light on how autobiographical memories and narrative identities influence well-being. Previous research has shown that the way people tell their life stories, including the emotions and themes they highlight, can affect their mental health. However, this study took a novel approach by asking participants to rate their role in their life story, asking whether they see themselves as main characters who direct their narrative or secondary characters who observe in the background.
To examine this question, the researchers conducted three studies involving undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university.
Study 1 involved 358 undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university who participated in the study for course research credit. The average age of participants was 18.7 years, with the majority being female and Caucasian. Participants completed an online survey at two different time points, four weeks apart.
Participants were asked to rate themselves on three items designed to measure the extent to which they felt like a major or minor character in their personal story. These items used a scale of 1 to 5, with different terminology such as “minor character” versus “major character,” “secondary character” versus “main character,” and “secondary character” versus “main character.” The three ratings were averaged to create a single major character score for each participant at each time point. Reliability estimates for this measure were high.
The survey also measured well-being by combining positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction scores into a single well-being score. Need satisfaction was assessed using a six-item scale covering autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Self-esteem and narcissism were also measured using validated scales.
The researchers found that participants who viewed themselves as major figures in their life story reported higher levels of well-being and greater satisfaction of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). Longitudinal data revealed that feeling like a major figure at baseline predicted higher well-being four weeks later, even after controlling for baseline levels of well-being.
Further analyses indicated that these effects were robust even when controlling for self-esteem and narcissism, suggesting that the major trait construct uniquely contributes to well-being outcomes.
Study 2 involved 326 college students, with a similar demographic profile to Study 1. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: recalling a time when they felt like a major character in their life story or a time when they felt like a minor character. Participants completed an initial questionnaire, wrote about their assigned memory, and then completed the questionnaire again.
Pre- and post-manipulation surveys included measures of need satisfaction and well-being. Need satisfaction was assessed using the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale, which includes items on autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Well-being was measured as affective balance, calculated by subtracting negative affect scores from positive affect scores.
Results showed significant interaction effects between condition (major or minor character) and assessment time (pre or post) on need satisfaction and well-being. Participants who recalled moments when they felt like major characters experienced significant increases in need satisfaction and well-being after the manipulation. In contrast, those who recalled moments when they felt like minor characters showed significant decreases on these measures.
Study 3 involved 298 undergraduate students. Participants first listed three current goals they were pursuing and rated their motivations for those goals. They then completed measures of need satisfaction, well-being, and perceptions of main characters. Finally, participants wrote a narrative in which they described themselves as characters in their life story.
Goal-related motivations were assessed using an eight-item perceived locus of causality (PLOC) measure, which included items for different types of motivational regulation, from external to intrinsic. Self-reported perceptions of main characters were measured using the same items as in Study 1. Narratives were coded for agency, defined as the degree to which individuals believed they could influence their lives and outcomes.
The researchers found that participants who viewed themselves as main characters were more likely to pursue goals that were personally meaningful and aligned with their values. These individuals had higher levels of autonomous motivation (identified and intrinsic regulation) and lower levels of controlled motivation (external and introjected regulation).
Perceptions of main characters were positively associated with greater encoded agency, and both perceptions of main characters and agency were significant predictors of need satisfaction and well-being. The final regression analysis showed that while perceptions of main characters and agency initially predicted well-being, their effects were mediated by need satisfaction. This finding suggests that viewing oneself as a main character enhances well-being through the satisfaction of basic psychological needs.
“These findings support our idea that how an individual sees themselves as a character in their life story is likely to impact their well-being. When people see themselves as the driving force in their lives and make decisions for themselves, as the main characters do, rather than being swept along by external forces (and other people),
“They are more integrated and more fully functional,” the researchers explained.
“These individuals feel more autonomous, competent, and effective, and also experience greater relationship satisfaction with others, as evidenced by increased satisfaction of their basic psychological needs. Conversely, those who view themselves as secondary characters are more likely to feel thwarted in meeting these needs, a condition associated with diminished personal integration and well-being.”
It is important to note, however, that the samples consisted of undergraduate students, which may limit the generalizability of the results. Cultural context also plays a role; individualistic societies may place more emphasis on the importance of being a major figure than collectivist cultures. Future research should explore these dynamics in more diverse and older populations.
“In conclusion, this research has identified a novel meta-narrative construct that varies across individuals and has important implications for experiences of well-being,” the researchers wrote. “We hope that this work represents a significant contribution to expanding narrative and autobiographical assessment approaches, and suggest that this new perspective could be considered in future research on narrative identity as a short-term, complementary measure, allowing narrative researchers to consider the subjective perspective that participants adopt when responding to narrative assessments.”
The study, “The Inner Autobiographical Critic: Perceiving Oneself as a Major Character in One’s Life Story Predicts Well-Being,” was authored by Ryan Goffredi and Kennon M. Sheldon.