The Complexities of "Minding the Gap": Perceived Discrepancies Between Values and Behavior Affect Well-Being

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Self-determination theory and clinical models like acceptance and commitment therapy highlight the importance of value-congruent behavior for well-being.
• Moral hypocrisy research suggests acting incongruently with values can negatively affect psychological health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally investigate the impact of discrepancies between values and behavior on well-being.
• To test if value-expressive behaviors, when incongruent with personal values, are more detrimental to well-being.

Main Methods:

• An experiment involving 158 first-year psychology students was conducted.
• Participants' perceived discrepancies between their past behavior and their value-based expectations were manipulated.
• Well-being was assessed through self-reported measures of affect and positive well-being.

Main Results:

• Greater perceived gaps between reported past behavior and expected behavior were associated with negative affect and lower positive well-being.
• No evidence was found for differential effects of manipulated value-expressive behaviors or interactions between personal values and manipulated behaviors.
• Value content influenced the induction of perceived behavioral gaps.

Conclusions:

• Perceived discrepancies between any personal value and reported behavior can negatively impact aspects of well-being.
• The study highlights the significance of the perceived behavioral gap in mediating the relationship between values and well-being.
• Further research can utilize this methodology to explore the complex value-behavior nexus.