According to a recently published study, Journal of Personality Research They study how people’s perception of their role as a major or minor character in their life story affects their psychological well-being. They find that people who see themselves as major characters tend to be happier and have more of their basic psychological needs met than those who see themselves as minor characters.
The study aimed to determine how autobiographical memory and narrative identity affect well-being. Previous research has shown that the way people tell their life stories, particularly the emotions and themes they emphasize, can affect mental health. However, the study took a novel approach by asking participants to evaluate their role in their life story and consider whether they consider themselves to be the main character who drives the story, or a supporting character who observes from the background.
To explore this, the researchers conducted three studies among undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university.
Study 1 involved 358 undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university. They participated in the study to receive course study credit. Participants’ average age was 18.7 years old, and the majority were female and white. 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 they were a major or supporting character in their life story. The items used a scale of 1 to 5 and used a variety of terms, such as “supporting character” and “major character,” “supporting character” and “major character,” and “background character” and “protagonist.” 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.
Additionally, the study measured well-being by combining scores for positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction into a single happiness 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 perceived themselves as the main character in their life story reported higher happiness and greater satisfaction of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). Longitudinal data revealed that feeling like a main character at the beginning predicted greater happiness four weeks later, even when controlling for initial happiness levels.
Further analyses showed that these effects were robust even when accounting for self-esteem and narcissism, suggesting that key personality constructs make unique contributions to well-being outcomes.
Study 2 involved 326 students with a similar demographic profile to Study 1. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: recalling a time when they felt they were a main character in their life story, or recalling a time when they felt they were a supporting 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 a scale of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration that includes items for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Well-being was measured as affect balance, calculated by subtracting negative affect scores from positive affect scores.
Results showed significant interaction effects of condition (major vs. minor characters) and assessment time (pre vs. post) on both desire satisfaction and well-being. Participants who recalled a time when they felt like a major character experienced significant increases in desire satisfaction and well-being after the manipulation. In contrast, participants who recalled a time when they felt like a minor character experienced significant decreases in these measures.
Study 3 involved 298 undergraduate students. Participants first listed three goals they were currently pursuing and rated their motivation for those goals. Next, they completed measures of need satisfaction, happiness, and key character perceptions. Finally, participants wrote a story in which they described themselves as a character in their life story.
Goal motivation was assessed using the eight-item Perceived Causal Control (PLOC) scale, which includes items for different types of motivational control, from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation. Self-reported perceptions of the main characters were measured using the same items as in Study 1. Narratives were coded based on agency, defined as the degree to which individuals feel they can influence their own lives and outcomes.
The researchers found that participants who viewed themselves as key players were more likely to pursue goals that were personally meaningful and consistent with their values. These individuals demonstrated higher levels of autonomous motivation (identified and intrinsic control) and lower levels of controlled motivation (external and internalized control).
Major character identification was positively correlated with higher coded agency, and both major character identification and agency were significant predictors of need satisfaction and well-being. In the final regression analysis, major character identification and agency both initially predicted well-being, but their effects were mediated by need satisfaction. This result suggests that viewing oneself as a major character enhances well-being by fulfilling a basic psychological need.
“These results support our idea that the way in which individuals perceive themselves as characters in their life stories is likely to influence their well-being. When people perceive themselves as agents in their own lives, making their own decisions rather than being swayed by external forces (and other people) as the main characters are, then their well-being is likely to improve.
Theirs is a more integrated, fully functioning self,” the researchers explained.
“Such individuals feel more independent, more competent, and more effective, and also experience greater satisfaction with relationships with others, as evidenced by the increased satisfaction of basic psychological needs. Conversely, individuals who view themselves as supporting actors are more likely to feel hindered in the satisfaction of these needs, a state associated with reduced self-integrity and well-being.”
However, it is important to note that the sample consisted of undergraduate students, which may limit the generalizability of the results. Cultural context also plays a role; individualistic societies may emphasize the importance of being a leading character more than collectivist cultures. Future research should explore these dynamics in more diverse and older populations.
“In conclusion, this study identified a new metanarrative construct that varies across individuals and has important implications for the experience of well-being,” the researchers wrote. “We hope that this study will make a significant contribution to broadening approaches to narrative and autobiographical assessment and that this new perspective will be considered as a short, supplementary measure in future narrative identity research, allowing narrative researchers to take into account the subjective perspective participants take when responding to narrative assessments.”
the study, “The inner autobiographical critic: Perceiving yourself as the main character in your life story predicts happiness” was written by Ryan Goffredi and Kennon M. Sheldon.
