Virtue in Pursuit of Goals: A Goals-Based Approach to Patience Measurement

In this paper, we provide a contextualized assessment of virtue through validation of a goals-based approach to measuring patience, the Goals-Based Virtue-Patience Scale (GBV-P). To assess virtue in a way congruent with its definition requires consideration of situational and contextual factors; however, most extant measures of virtue instead assess virtue at a decontextualized, global level (Ng & Tay, 2020). As such, we developed a contextualized and motivationally attuned goals-based assessment of the virtue of patience, the ability to remain calm in the face of frustration, suffering, or delay in goal pursuit. We engaged multilevel structural equation modeling to validate a new measure of patience in pursuit of goals nested within people. Across three studies (N = 798) assessing the GBV-P, data were consistent with reliability and structural validity tests, and associations of the new measure with other regulatory virtues or constructs (e.g., global patience, self-control, conscientiousness, perseverance, emotion regulation) as well as well-being (e.g., life satisfaction, goal orientation, meaning) and ill-being outcomes (e.g., depression and anxiety symptoms, loneliness, stress) provided evidence of convergent validity. Likewise, patience was differentially engaged depending on the goal domain and type; approach (vs. avoidance), interpersonal (vs. intrapersonal), and generativity goals were pursued with more patience.