Abstract :
Although people generally endorse intrinsic
goals for growth, intimacy, and community more than
extrinsic goals for money, appearance, and popularity,
people sometimes over-emphasize extrinsic goals, to the
potential detriment of their well-being. When and why does
this occur? Results from three experimental studies show
that psychological threat increases the priority that people
give to extrinsic compared to intrinsic goals. This was
found in the case of existential threat (Study 1), economic
threat (Studies 2), and interpersonal threat (Study 3). Discussion
focuses on the possible reasons why threat breeds
extrinsic orientations.
