Beyond Hedonism: Life Satisfaction Requires Autonomy Independent of Affect

Hedonic and Eudaemonic theories offer distinct frameworks for understanding wellbeing—one focuses on affective experience, the other on psychological need fulfillment. However, it is unclear how much individuals consider hedonic and eudaemonic aspects in evaluations of their lives. This study examined how these components independently and jointly predict Life Satisfaction. Life Satisfaction was regressed on measures of positive and negative affect, as well as fulfillment of Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness needs. Confirmatory Factor Analysis in two general population samples was used to also control for measurement error Of Self- Determination Theory needs, only Autonomy uniquely predicted Life Satisfaction in addition to Positive Affect and Negative Affect. Competence and Relatedness were only predictive of Life Satisfaction in so far as they overlapped with hedonic factors. These findings suggest that hedonic and eudaemonic perspectives are distinct and complementary. Individuals are not merely hedonists and individuals rely on some eudaemonic factors in their life-evaluations.