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Two sides of the same coin: The differentiating role of need satisfaction and frustration in passion for screen‐based activities
Author(s) -
TóthKirály István,
Bőthe Beáta,
Márki Anett Neszta,
Rigó Adrien,
Orosz Gábor
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2588
Subject(s) - passion , frustration , psychology , social psychology , great rift , passion fruit , function (biology) , chemistry , physics , food science , astronomy , evolutionary biology , biology
Abstract Rooted in Self‐Determination Theory, the present research sought to investigate whether the “bright” and “dark” side of human functioning (need satisfaction and need frustration, respectively) would, as determinants, differentially predict harmonious passion ( HP ) and obsessive passion ( OP ) for screen‐based activities such as Facebook use, TV series watching, online gaming, and smartphone gaming. For this purpose, four cross‐sectional studies were carried out ( N total = 1,065). Results showed that, across all activities, need satisfaction was negatively related to OP , but not HP . A similar pattern emerged with need frustration: It was positively related to OP , but not HP . Moreover, even after controlling for the self‐reported amount of time spent on the activities, HP predicted adaptive, activity‐specific outcomes, whereas OP predicted maladaptive ones. These findings suggest that general need satisfaction may be a protective factor against the compensatory function of OP , but need frustration may be a potential risk factor of OP and both should be taken into account in the case of passion for screen‐based activities.