passion and personality

8/12/2019 Passion and Personality

1/31

Availabe at:http://hdl.handle.net/2078/120587

[Downloaded 2013/11/15 at 11:16:51 ]

Article de priodique (Journal article)

"Passion and Personality: Is PassionateBehaviour a Function of Personality?"

Balon, Sverine ; Lecoq, Julie ; Rim, Bernard

Abstract

La passion, en tant que concept mais galement en tant que mode de vie,semble susciter un intrt toujours croissant dans la population des chercheurs,

et mme celle des employeurs. Le Modle Dualiste des Passions (Vallerand,Blanchard, Mageau, Koestner, Ratelle, Lonard et al., 2003) a suggr que celle-ci pouvait prendre deux formes distinctes : harmonieuse vs. obsessive. Le dbatrestait nanmoins ouvert concernant les facteurs (contextuels vs. dispositionnels)susceptibles dinfluencer la propension dvelopper une passion. Cetterecherche visait explorer les relations entre passion et dimensions de lapersonnalit, et se prononcer sur limportance de ces liens. Pour ce faire, 241participants ont rempli un questionnaire en ligne comprenant une mesure dela passion ainsi quune mesure de personnalit, savoir une valuation desdiffrentes dimensions du Big Five. Les rsultats obtenus permettent dtablircertains liens entre passion et personnalit. Toutefois, la faiblesse des relationsobserves encourage les recherches futures se concentrer davantage sur lesfacteurs [...]

Rfrence bibliographique

Balon, Sverine ; Lecoq, Julie ; Rim, Bernard. Passion and Personality: Is Passionate Behavioura Function of Personality?. In: Revue Europenne de Psychologie Applique, Vol. 63, no.1, p.59-65 (janvier 2013)

DOI : 10.1016/j.erap.2012.06.001
http://hdl.handle.net/2078/120587http://hdl.handle.net/2078/120587


2/31

Passion and Personality 1Running head: PASSION AND PERSONALITY

Passion and Personality:

Is Passionate Behaviour a Function of Personality?

Passion et Personnalit :

Le Comportement Passionn Sexprimerait-il en Fonction de la Personnalit ?

Sverine Balon, Julie Lecoq, and Bernard Rim

Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Universit catholique de Louvain, 10 Place du

Cardinal Mercier, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium


3/31

Passion and Personality 2Abstract

Introduction. Passion as a concept but also as a way of life still seems to generate an ever-

growing interest among researchers and even employers. The Dualistic Model of Passion

(Vallerand, Blanchard, Mageau, Koestner, Ratelle, Lonard et al., 2003) has suggested that

passion could take two distinct forms: harmonious vs. obsessive passion. However the debate

has still remained open on the factors (contextual vs. dispositional) that are likely to influence

the tendency to develop a passion for an activity.

Objective. This research was designed to explore the relations between passion and

personality and to determine the strength of those links.

Method. To this end, 241 participants completed an online questionnaire comprising one

measure of passion along with one measure of personality, namely an assessment of the

different Big Five dimensions.

Results. The results show a pattern of relations between passion and personality that is

consistent with previous research which highlighted the more positive/adaptive nature and

consequences of harmonious passion, in comparison with obsessive passion.

Conclusion. These outcomes nevertheless remain weak. Future research is therefore needed to

focus more on the contextual factors that could play an important role in the development of

passion, mainly in its harmonious form.

Keywords: passion for an activity, personality, Big Five


4/31

Passion and Personality 3Rsum

La passion, en tant que concept mais galement en tant que mode de vie, semble susciter un

intrt toujours croissant dans la population des chercheurs, et mme celle des employeurs. Le

Modle Dualiste des Passions (Vallerand, Blanchard, Mageau, Koestner, Ratelle, Lonard et

al., 2003) a suggr que celle-ci pouvait prendre deux formes distinctes : harmonieuse vs.

obsessive. Le dbat restait nanmoins ouvert concernant les facteurs (contextuels vs.

dispositionnels) susceptibles dinfluencer la propension dvelopper une passion. Cette

recherche visait explorer les relations entre passion et dimensions de la personnalit, et se

prononcer sur limportance de ces liens. Pour ce faire, 241 participants ont rempli un

questionnaire en ligne comprenant une mesure de la passion ainsi quune mesure de

personnalit, savoir une valuation des diffrentes dimensions du Big Five. Les rsultats

obtenus permettent dtablir certains liens entre passion et personnalit. Toutefois, la faiblesse

des relations observes encourage les recherches futures se concentrer davantage sur les

facteurs contextuels pouvant jouer un rle dans le dveloppement de la passion,

principalement sous sa forme harmonieuse.

Mots-cls : passion pour une activit, personnalit, Big Five


5/31

Passion and Personality 4Passion and Personality: Is Passionate Behaviour a Function of Personality?

There is a famous French maxim that says: La sagesse fait durer, les passions font

vivre (Chamfort, 1928, p. 29): whereas wisdom lengthens life, passions make us live. Indeed,

mans heart has always beaten to the rhythm of his passions. They are a real strength enabling

individuals to go into action and to achieve great things. When someone is passionate, his

view of life is driven by positive affectivity; he tends to give his best and to surpass himself.

Many great facts, findings or achievements were only possible due to the enthusiasm and the

perseverance that characterise passionate behaviour.

Because of these many potentialities, passion appears to be an essential strength to

optimise the way in which human organizations work. In this sense, it has been shown that

passionate employees reported a higher level of psychological adjustment to work compared

to non-passionate ones (Vallerand & Houlfort, 2003). But passion also constitutes a strong

marketing tool. For instance, some sport stores have been found mostly to recruit passionate

sportsmen as their sales clerks because they have a greater ability to attract and retain

customers (Gasparini & Pichot, 2007). Every company should thus consider hiring passionate

employees. However, we should first be able to provide an answer to the following critical

question: does passion fit a personality profile that we ought to recruit or, on the contrary,

does it develop in a particular context that we should put in place?

Passion and personality: An ongoing debate

At the beginning of the past century, passion was primarily understood as a

temperament, a trait or in any case something resulting from the individuals internal

dispositions (Ribot, 1907). At the beginning of personality inventories, Heymans and

Wiersma (1912) developed a typology of eight characters including the passionate type

described as emotional, active and secondary. According to these authors, this character is the

most frequent as it applies to one third of the population. This classification has also been


6/31

Passion and Personality 5taken up by Le Senne (1963) who has described the passionate as the most intense character

where history can find its most active heroes (p.259). The individuals concerned by this

categorization are characterised by their remarkable capacity for action, their perseverance,

their ability to release long-lasting and powerful energy and their open mind, but nevertheless

also appear vain and showy in some respects. However, it should be noted that this represents

the very few works giving comments on personality traits that could be associated with

individuals termed passionate. Thereafter, characterology gave way to the emergence of

personality models and the passionate type completely disappeared from typologies. Very

recently, the concept of passion has reappeared in psychological scientific literature, although

now it is no longer considered as a personality type but rather as a motivational strength

whose development inside a human being has never been justified other than by

environmental factors.

Nowadays, the model that has taken its place in empirical psychology clearly favours

an approach based on motivational aspects. This is known as the Dualistic Model of Passion

(Vallerand, Blanchard, Mageau, Koestner, Ratelle, Lonard et al., 2003) and it defines passion

as a strong inclination towards an activity that (1) people like (or even love), that (2) they

find important and (3) in which they invest time and energy. The theory behind this model

relies in part on the Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000). Further, the

characteristic feature of this conception lies in the fact that it postulates the existence of two

types of passion for an activity, namely harmonious vs. obsessive passion. Those two forms

both relate to the above general definition of the passion concept but are distinguishable from

one another in their mode of development as well as the kind of consequences they lead to.

Concerning the development of passion, the Dualistic Model hypothesises that two

processes are in play: activity valuation and the internalization of the representation of the

activity in ones identity (Vallerand, Rousseau, Grouzet, Dumais, Grenier & Blanchard,


7/31

Passion and Personality 62006). Indeed, past research has demonstrated that when an object of interest is highly valued,

one is inclined to internalize the given object, to make it part of oneself (Aron, Aron &

Smollan, 1992; Csikszentmihalyi, Rathunde & Whalen, 1993). According to Deci and Ryan

(2000, Ryan & Deci, 2003), this internalization process can be of two different kinds. An

autonomous internalization would occur when people have freely accepted that the activity

has become important for them. This configuration would lead to the emergence of a more

harmonious passion. In contrast, a controlled internalization would occur when the

individual is subject to some intra- and/or interpersonal pressure (e.g. a young boy who would

engage in a given activity in order to please his parents). Such an internalization would then

result in a more obsessive form of passion. In the former case, the individual is able to control

the activity he decided to engage in, whereas in the latter, the individual finds himself

controlled by his favourite activity because he cannot help but engage in it (Vallerand et al.,

2003).

Finally, regarding the consequences of passion, numerous differences can be reported

between the two forms. Harmonious passion seems to lead to positive affective, cognitive,

behavioural and relational outcomes, while obsessive passion appears to lead to more negative

ones (e.g. Mageau & Vallerand, 2007; Stoeber, Harvey, Ward & Childs, 2011; Vallerand,

Salvy, Mageau, Elliot, Denis, Grouzet et al., 2007). Results from various research studies

conducted on these two forms have in a way brought significant nuances to the optimistic

view of passion mentioned at the beginning of this article. Not every passion leads to the

desired positive outcomes. Some kinds of passion appear to be linked to behaviours that can

be viewed as counterproductive, conflictual or even detrimental for passionate individuals

and/or for the circle they evolve in (e.g. Ratelle, Vallerand, Mageau, Rousseau & Provencher,

2004; Rip, Fortin & Vallerand, 2006; Sguin-Lvesque, Lalibert, Pelletier, Blanchard &

Vallerand, 2003; Vallerand, 2008).


8/31

Passion and Personality 7The personality issue in the Dualistic Model

According to the Dualistic Model, passion constitutes a kind of dynamic process that

develops in the interface between an individual and a given activity. Such a definition makes

it less likely to fit with the idea that passion relies on a specific personality type (Carbonneau,

Vallerand & Massicotte, 2010) and suggests that passion can in fact develop in everyone.

Very recently, Mageau, Vallerand, Charest, Salvy, Lacaille, Bouffard et al. (2009) examined

some contextual factors that could intervene and influence the development of a passion for

an activity. The results showed that the individuals social environment - and especially

parents seems to have an impact on the internalization process that will occur as well as on

the type of passion that will develop further. Concretely, the occurrence of a harmonious

passion would be favoured by having parents supporting autonomy. In contrast, parents with a

controlling style that force their child to think, feel and behave in a very precise way pave the

way to the emergence of a more obsessive form of passion in the very heart of their child.

Nonetheless, Vallerand and his colleagues (2006) emphasised the fact that personality

could also constitute an important determinant of the internalization process. In line with this

statement, an autonomous personality orientation (tendency to do things out of pleasure

and/or choice) would entail an autonomous internalization style and would further lead to

the emergence of a harmonious passion whereas a more controlled personality orientation

(tendency to do things out of outside or inner pressure) would facilitate a controlled

internalization style and would this time give rise to some obsessive passion. However, this

hypothesis has never been tested. Two studies did investigate the links between passion and

personality (Tosun & Lajunen, 2009; Wang & Yang, 2008) but it should be noted that the

authors chose to assess personality with inventories that are not widely used (Gomezs 25-

item personality scale, 2006) and/or chose to focus on a very specific type of passion (passion

for the Internet / for online shopping).


9/31

Passion and Personality 8Present research

Doubts were thus not allayed concerning the role of personality in passion as well as

in the development of one type of passion over the other. The main purpose of the present

research was therefore to empirically examine the relationships between passion and

personality and to assess the predominance of those possible links. In order to achieve this, it

was highly appropriate to work with the most consensual model from personality theories,

namely the Big Five model (e.g. Costa & McCrae, 1992; Costa & Widiger, 1994). This

widely accepted model defines personality with the help of five bipolar dimensions:

Extraversion (vs. Introversion), Agreeableness (vs. Antagonism), Conscientiousness (vs.

Impulsiveness), Neuroticism (vs. Emotional stability) and Openness (vs. Closedness) to

Experience. According to John and Srivastava (1999), each of these five dimensions can be

succinctly defined as follows:

Extraversion implies an energetic approach to the social and material world and

includes traits such as sociability, activity, assertiveness, and positive emotionality.

Agreeableness contrasts a prosocial and communal orientation towards others with

antagonism []. Conscientiousness describes socially prescribed impulse control that

facilitates task- and goal-directed behavior []. Neuroticism contrasts emotional

stability and even-temperedness with negative emotionality []. Finally, Openness to

Experience (vs. closed-mindedness) describes the breadth, depth, originality, and

complexity of an individuals mental and experiential life. (p. 121)

Given the fact that the concept of passion is associated with a kind of persistent

involvement (Vallerand et al., 2003; Mageau et al., 2009) and that it predicts a deliberate

practice motivated by the explicit aim of improving performance (Vallerand et al., 2007), it is

hypothesised that it would be positively associated with the Conscientiousness dimension of


10/31

Passion and Personality 9the Five Factor Model as this dimension notably refers to competence, search for success

(Bouvard, 2002) and engagement into specific tasks and goals (John & Srivastava, 1999).

In addition, a positive link could be hypothesised between harmonious passion and

Extraversion as this dimension especially refers to the feeling and the expression of positive

affects (John & Srivastava, 1999). Conversely, because of its propensity to negative affects

and maladaptive outcomes, obsessive passion could be found to be positively associated to

Neuroticism (Bouvard, 2002).

Concerning the Agreeableness dimension, systematically involved in emotional

processing (Hansenne, 2003), a positive relationship could be postulated with the harmonious

dimension of passion when considering the lack of conflict occurring in that particular case.

In contrast, Agreeableness would be negatively associated with the more obsessive side of

passion whose dynamics appear to be highly conflictual (Vallerand et al., 2003).

Eventually, the Openness dimension could be thought to be positively associated with

passion as it means a tendency to some curiosity and imagination as well as some aesthetic

sensitivity (Bouvard, 2002), all aspects that can be frequently observed in the two types of

passion. Moreover, it has already been assumed by Heymans and Wiersma (1912) that

passionate individuals would be particularly open-minded.

Method

Participants

The sample for the present research was composed of 241 participants, aged from 18

to 65 years old (M= 27.69; SD= 12.73), and all approached via the Internet. The two

assessment tools described in the next section were integrated into an online questionnaire

that was then posted on various forums dedicated to some kind of passion. In order to

diversify our sample, the study link was also sent to a set of First year Psychology students.

Gender composition was equivalent on the whole with 137 females (57%) and 104 male


11/31

Passion and Personality 10participants (43%). The total number of completed questionnaires amounted to 271 but 30

participants had to be removed for subsequent analyses. The participants in question were

moved aside (1) because they were under the age of 18 and/ or (2) because striking

inconsistencies emerged from their response pattern. Looking at participants nationality, this

sample mainly comprised Belgians (n= 147; 61%) and French (n= 84; 35%). Only a few

participants indicated another nationality (n= 10; 4%).

Material

Passion scale. Participants were invited to complete the Passion Scale developed by

Vallerand and his colleagues (2003). This 16-item instrument can be divided in two parts.

First, it is composed of two 6-item subscales assessing harmonious and obsessive passion. A

sample item for harmonious passion is This activity is in harmony with the other activities in

my life and for obsessive passion: I have difficulties controlling my urge to do my activity.

The second component of this scale is a set of 4 items assessing the extent to which

participants have a passion for the activity; it simply consists in criterion items dealing with

the definition of passion. Participants are asked to think about an activity that is dear to their

heart and then to rate the different statements on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = Do

not agree at all to 7 = Completely agree. In the present research, internal reliability

coefficients were .74 and .83 for harmonious and obsessive passion, respectively. These

values are satisfactory even though they appear to be slightly lower than those obtained in the

original research (.79 and .89; Vallerand et al., 2003). As in most studies, Cronbachs alpha

for the obsessive passion subscale was higher than for the other one (e.g. Ratelle et al., 2004;

Vallerand et al., 2007). Concerning passion criteria, alphas values are generally acceptable

(>.70, e.g. Mageau et al., 2009; Rip et al., 2006); in this study, it was exactly of .70.

Personality inventory.In order to assess the Big Five dimensions, participants were

invited to complete the French version of the Big Five Inventory (BFI-Fr; Plaisant, Srivastava,


12/31

Passion and Personality 11Mendelsohn, Debray & John, 2005). This easy-to-use questionnaire was chosen because of its

robustness and also because the amount of time needed for completion is less than 10

minutes, which is of great importance when conducting online studies. Moreover, Plaisant,

Courtois, Rveillre, Mendelsohn and John (2010) have recently established its convergent

validity with the French version of the NEO Personality Inventory Revised (NEO-PI-R;

Rolland, 1998). The BFI-Fr consists of 45 brief statements comprising adjectives associated

with traits known to depict the prototypical markers of the different Big Five dimensions. This

instrument is composed of 5 subscales: the E-scale (Extraversion, Energy and Enthusiasm)

that comprises 8 items, the A-scale (Agreeableness, Altruism, Affection) that comprises 10

items, the C-scale (Conscientiousness, Control, Constraint) that comprises 9 items, the N-

scale (Neuroticism, Nervousness, Negative Emotions) that comprises 8 items and finally, the

O-scale (Openness, Originality, Open-mindedness) that comprises 10 items. A sample item

for the E-dimension is I see myself as someone whois full of energy, for the A-

dimension: is generally trusting, for the C-dimension: does a thorough job, for the

N-dimension: is depressed, blue, and for the O-dimension: is original, comes up

with new ideas. Participants are asked to rate the different statements (I see myself as

someone who) on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = Strongly disapprove to 5 =

Strongly approve. Cronbachs alphas assessing the internal reliability of the different

dimensions were .85, .75, .82, .84 and .76 for the E-, A-, C-, N- and O-dimension,

respectively. These coefficients were satisfactory on the whole (.75) and they also have

been found to be slightly higher than those obtained in Plaisant and colleagues study (2010).

Procedure

A piece of text introducing the study was posted on various websites. Potential

participants were thus invited to complete an online questionnaire on their favourite activity

(about 10 minutes to complete), whether they were amateur or had a fervent love for the


13/31

Passion and Personality 12activity. This way of collecting data was selected as it allowed us to get in touch with a large

heterogeneous sample quickly and easily. In particular, the possibility of testing passionate

individuals was increased by the use of chat rooms. We nevertheless sent the link to a few

psychology students so that a certain dispersion of data could be guaranteed. Finally, it should

be noted that we deliberately referred to favourite activity rather than passion as

Vallerand and his colleagues (2003) did in order to avoid priming participants with some

stereotypes (e.g. passion is a kind of extreme behaviour) that could have influenced the way

they responded.

Results

Preliminary analyses

Passionate activities. A categorisation of the different kinds of activities mentioned by

our participants was first established. The same classification had already been conducted in

the initial study of Vallerand and his colleagues (2003) on the Dualistic Model of Passion.

Therefore, their approach served as a reference point for creating a detailed list of the various

activities reported by the present sample. However, some extra categories had to be added to

the original ones in order to clearly represent the diversity of our participants response

pattern.

Insert Table 1 here.

Table 1 presents this classification, carefully indicating the percentage of participants

engaged in each listed activity. The most popular categories were (1) individual sports such as

classical dance or martial arts, (2) activities involving animals such as horse riding or pigeon

racing and (3) passive leisure such as watching television or listening to music. The interest of


14/31

Passion and Personality 13Table 1 is that it helps us to understand the spread of the different activities people can engage

in and develop a passion for.

Passionate vs. non-passionate.The differentiation between passionate and non-

passionate has been determined according to the score obtained at the 4 criterion items

assessing the degree of passion (Donahue, Rip & Vallerand, 2009; Lecoq & Rim, 2009;

Mageau et al., 2009). Each criterion is met if participants get a score equal to or greater than

4, given that the middle of the response scale (in 7 points) can be used as a cutoff point

(Vallerand & Houlfort, 2003). However, it should be mentioned that all these criteria must be

met in order to consider the reported activity as a passion. If only one of these items gets a

score lower than 4, the corresponding participant may not be included in the passionate group

(Vallerand et al., 2003). In the present research, it was found that 202 participants could be

considered passionate about their favourite activity (84% of the total sample).

Factor structure of the Passion Scale.In their 2003 study, Vallerand et al. obtained a

two-factor solution revealing a clear distinction between items of the harmonious passion

subscale and those of the obsessive passion subscale. In an attempt to replicate these results,

an exploratory factor analysis was conducted which highlighted a two-factor solution

explaining 52.51% of the variance (see Table 2). Interestingly, this result appeared

particularly close to the one observed by Vallerand and his colleagues (2003) whose two-

factor solution explained 54.7% of the variance.


The first factor explained 30% of the total variance and presented significant loadings

(.58) for all the six items corresponding to the obsessive passion subscale. The second factor

then explained 22.51% of the total variance. Significant loadings (.58) were also found for


15/31

Passion and Personality 14the six items referring this time to the harmonious component of passion. However, it should

be stressed that the fifth item (This activity reflects the qualities I like about myself)

appeared somewhat less discriminant. Indeed, this item presented additionally a slight loading

on the other factor (.31).

Correlation between harmonious and obsessive passion. As mentioned above, both

types of passion fit the different components described in the concept definition, namely

liking of the activity and activity valuation, as well as time and energy invested by the

passionate individual. This kind of conceptual similarity may, as a result, lead to a strong

positive correlation between harmonious and obsessive passion subscales. In this study, the

correlation was found to be non-significant (r(202) = .10, ns). This result differed

significantly from the one obtained in the initial research of Vallerand and colleagues (r= .46,

2003) and seemed to indicate that the two dimensions of passion investigated in the present

research could be considered as independent.

Statistical analyses

To better address the previously made assumptions, we chose to conduct several

correlational analyses. All the correlation results are summarised in Table 3.


As indicated in Table 3, harmonious passion presented a positive and statistically

significant correlation with the Conscientiousness dimension, r(202) = .30,p< .001. But,

contrary to what had been suggested, no significant correlation was found between this

dimension and obsessive passion, r(202) = .04, ns. Therefore, these results only partially

support our first hypothesis given that it postulated a positive correlation for both dimensions

(harmonious and obsessive) of the passion concept and that only harmonious passion seems to


16/31

Passion and Personality 15fulfill this function.

In agreement with the second hypothesis, the data obtained demonstrated the existence

of a positive and significant relationship between harmonious passion and the Extraversion

dimension, r(202) = .18,p< .05. On the other hand, obsessive passion did not present any

relationship with this tendency to experience positive affects,r(202) = .03, ns. Unfortunately,

the present data were found to be inconsistent with the third hypothesis. As such, the positive

correlation expected between obsessive passion and the Neuroticism dimension did not

emerge from our analyses, r(202) = .11, ns. Also, the correlation between harmonious passion

and this tendency to experience negative affects was found to be virtually zero, r(202) = -.01,

ns.

Concerning the Agreeableness dimension, our fourth hypothesis appeared doubly

supported by the data. Indeed, as indicated in Table 3, harmonious passion did present a

positive and significant correlation with the Agreeableness dimension, r(202) = .23,p< .01

while obsessive passion did so negatively with this tendency to altruism and compassion,

r(202) = -.19,p< .01.

Finally, our last hypothesis addressing the Openness dimension was found to be

partially supported. In line with what had been hypothesised, it emerged that harmonious

passion was positively associated with Openness, r(202) = .20,p< .01. But, contrary to our

assumptions, obsessive passion was unrelated to this dimension despite referring to originality

and open-mindedness, r(202) = .08, ns.

Discussion

The purpose of the present research was to examine the links between passion for an

activity and personality traits and to determine the significance of those links. In particular, it

aimed also to investigate whether these relationships could vary according to the type of

passion under examination (harmonious vs. obsessive). To deal with this, a questionnaire


17/31

Passion and Personality 16assessing the degree and the type of passion as well as the different dimensions of the Five

Factor Model was posted on various websites and discussion forums. The results suggest that

personality plays a rather limited role. Some correlations nevertheless appear significant and

make it possible to consider some traits as more related than others to one or the other type of

passion. The different assumptions made concerning this issue have been found to be partially

supported.

Considering our first hypothesis, we thought the Conscientiousness dimension to be

linked with each dimension of the passion concept, as every passion can be characterised by a

persistent involvement towards tasks. This association was found only for harmonious

passion. The observed lack of connection with obsessive passion could be explained by some

other characteristics defining Conscientiousness, such as the sense of duty and/or the impulse

control (John & Srivastava, 1999). Those elements are indeed not very present in obsessive

passion where the individual is controlled by his own activity and faces numerous difficulties

in managing his engagement in a healthy way.

The second hypothesis suggested a positive correlation between harmonious passion

and the Extraversion dimension. The results obtained highlighted such a relation while

obsessive passion revealed another lack of connection with this dimension. The third

hypothesis addressed the Neuroticism issue and assumed a reversed pattern of results

compared to the one reported previously. However, neither harmonious passion, nor obsessive

passion presented statistically significant correlations with this tendency to experience

negative affects. These outcomes thus partially agree with previous data emphasizing both the

general positivity of affects experienced by individuals presenting harmonious passion and the

negative affectivity highly apparent in individuals presenting a more obsessive form of

passion (Mageau & Vallerand, 2007; Vallerand et al., 2003).

Concerning the Agreeableness dimension, our fourth hypothesis expected a positive


18/31

Passion and Personality 17relationship with harmonious passion but a negative one with obsessive passion. The data

observed appeared to support this double postulate. According to John and Srivastava (1999),

Agreeableness would mean some kind of positive attitude and altruism, oriented towards

others. However, as already mentioned, obsessive passion would be likely to throw the

passionate individual into conflictual dynamics involving not only other life activities but also

people not directly engaged in the favourite activity, such as the partner (Sguin-Lvesque et

al., 2003). Harmonious passion, in contrast, would not lead to such negative complications.

Consequently, the above-mentioned results are in agreement with the idea whereby obsessive

passion is characterised by conflicts (intra and/or interpersonal) and harmonious passion by an

appropriate degree of serenity.

Finally, our last hypothesis predicted a positive association between the Openness

dimension and both dimensions of the passion concept. The analyses highlighted a pattern of

results similar to the one obtained for our first hypothesis. In other words, it was found that

only harmonious passion was positively and significantly correlated with this dimension

referring to creativity and some kind of wanderings. Thinking back, we may understand that

such a deployment of originality would rather be a consequence of harmonious passion as it

enables passionate individuals to focus on tasks and feel immersed in (Vallerand et al.,

2003). In contrast, obsessive passion rather tends to trap individuals in negative cognitive

processes (e.g. distraction, rumination), which finally leaves little room for open-

mindedness.

In conclusion, the present research demonstrated that some links do exist between

passion and personality, and that the traits associated with harmonious vs. obsessive passion

differ considerably from one another. Despite the weakness of the correlations obtained, it

seems that harmoniously passionate individuals would be characterised by a certain degree of

Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Openness, whereas obsessive passion


19/31

Passion and Personality 18would display a low level of Agreeableness as well as a lack of connection with any of the

other personality dimensions that were under examination (see Figure 1).

Insert Figure 1 here.

In line with research examining the consequences of the two types of passion and

studies investigating contextual factors that could influence the internalization process

(Mageau et al., 2009), the present research helps us to improve our understanding of the

concept of passion for an activity. From now on, we can have a better view of the different

personality traits that can be respectively associated with one or the other type of passion.

Moreover, the results were found to support previous research that has systematically

emphasised the more positive/adaptive nature and consequences of harmonious passion, in

comparison with those of obsessive passion (Mageau & Vallerand, 2007; Ratelle et al., 2004;

Rip et al., 2006; Vallerand et al., 2003).

If we address the two forms of passion through Carver and Scheiers perspective

(1998), obsessive passion would be synonymous with limited self-regulation skills

(difficulties in adjusting the different tasks/goals and in disengaging when it is convenient to).

In contrast, harmonious passion seems to gather all the required qualities to lead to an

adaptive self-regulation of behaviour (adjustment of goals/priorities and disengagement when

it is the appropriate thing to do). The adaptive as well as the maladaptive outcomes of

harmonious and obsessive passion, respectively, are proved to be well-established

characteristics, enabling a clear distinction between the two forms of passion for an activity.

The results obtained within this study are meaningful, given that personality traits associated

to harmonious passion appeared more positive/adaptive and that those associated to obsessive

passion indicated some tendency to far less adaptive behavioural responses.


20/31

Passion and Personality 19At this stage, it is important to note that research in organisational areas (e.g. Cardon,

2008) has developed a strong interest in passion (towards work in this particular case).

According to Houlfort and Vallerand (2006), future research should thoroughly investigate

contextual determinants of both types of passion, so that organisations become able to place

their employees in the appropriate conditions to develop a harmonious passion for work. Such

actions could have great implications if one thinks, for instance, of the results obtained in

recent research examining the relationships between passion for work and burnout

(Carbonneau, Vallerand, Fernet & Guay, 2008; Vallerand, Paquet, Philippe & Charest, 2010).

These studies, conducted with teachers and nurses, highlighted not only the protective role of

harmonious passion but also the facilitative role of obsessive passion towards burnout

symptoms. In fact, having a harmonious passion for ones work would lead to more

satisfaction at work which, in turn, would prevent the emergence of burnout. In contrast,

obsessive passion would favour the emergence of conflicts between the individuals work and

his other life activities, which could finally lead to some negative outcomes like burnout. In

light of these considerations and the results of the present research, it would be relevant to

examine and compare the significance of roles played by contextual as well as personality

factors in the development of one type of passion over the other. If such investigations

conclude with a certain predominance of contextual factors, possible steps could then be

suggested to working people.

Limitations

In spite of its positive results, this research also presents some limitations. Firstly, our

methodology was based on the use of online questionnaires; but, collecting data via the

Internet can lead to some biases. Notably, it is important to take into account the lack of

control concerning completion of the questionnaires. It could then be relevant to attempt to

replicate the different results of the present research by means of paper/pencil questionnaires.


21/31

Passion and Personality 20Secondly, the main analyses of this study were correlational, which constitutes a limitation

per se as it enables comments to be made on the causality issue. Indeed, one can wonder

whether personality traits could play a role in the development of passion and/or whether the

development of a passion for an activity could have some influence on personality

construction. The latter assumption can be accounted for by the fact that, for numerous

people, passion develops during adolescence a crucial time for identity construction

(Vallerand, 2008). It could therefore be interesting to set up some kind of longitudinal design

in order to provide some possible answers to this question. Finally, it should be noted that no

contextual variables (e.g. individuals social environment, see Mageau et al., 2009) were

taken into account during our analyses. Such an approach should be considered in future

studies.

Future research

As the present research constitutes one of the few works examining the relationships

between personality factors and passion for an activity, it seems necessary to conduct new

research in order to (1) replicate the results obtained and (2) possibly give comments on the

direction of causality. Nonetheless, as passion seems to appear as a process likely to develop

in everyone, researchers should be encouraged to thoroughly investigate the issue of

contextual factors that would tend to facilitate the emergence of a harmonious passion for an

individuals favourite activity or work. The study of proximal (e.g. direct working

environment) rather than distal (e.g. parents) contextual factors would then appear particularly

relevant.


22/31

Passion and Personality 21References

Aron, A., Aron, E. N., & Smollan, D. (1992). Inclusion of other in the self scale and the

structure of interpersonal closeness.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,

63(4), 596-612.

Bouvard, M. (2002). Questionnaires et chelles dvaluation de la personnalit(2ed.). Issy-

les-Moulineaux, France : Masson.

Carbonneau, N., Vallerand, R. J., Fernet, C., & Guay, F. (2008). The role of passion for

teaching in intrapersonal and interpersonal outcomes.Journal of Educational

Psychology, 100(4), 977-987.

Carbonneau, N., Vallerand, R. J., & Massicotte, S. (2010). Is the practice of yoga associated

with positive outcomes? The role of passion. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 5(6),

452-465.

Cardon, M. S. (2008). Is passion contagious? The transference of entrepreneurial passion to

employees.Human Resource Management Review, 18, 77-86.

Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1998). On the self-regulation of behavior. New York:

Cambridge University Press.

Chamfort, N. (1928).Maximes et penses. Paris : Larousse.

Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). The five-factor model of personality and its relevance

to personality disorders.Journal of Personality Disorders, 6, 343-359.

Costa, P. T., & Widiger, T. A. (1994). Personality disorders and the five-factor model of

personality. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.

Csikszentmihalyi, M., Rathunde, K., & Whalen, S. (1993). Talented teenagers: The roots of

success and failure. New York: Cambridge.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985).Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human

behavior. New York: Plenum Press.


23/31

Passion and Personality 22Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The what and why of goal pursuits: Human needs and

the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268.

Donahue, E. G., Rip, B., & Vallerand, R. J. (2009). When winning is everything: On passion,

identity, and aggression in sport. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10, 526-534.

Gasparini, W., & Pichot, L. (2007). Rgulation des relations de travail et culture sportive.

Lexemple des entreprises de la distribution darticles de sport.LHomme et la

Socit, 163-164, 35-58.

Gomez, R. (2006). Gender invariance of the Five-Factor Model of personality among

adolescents: A mean and covariance structure analysis approach. Personality and

Individual Differences, 41(4), 755-765.

Hansenne, M. (2003). Psychologie de la personnalit. Bruxelles : De Boeck.

Heymans, G., & Wiersma, E. (1912). Beitrage zur speziellen psychologie auf grund einer

massenuntersuchung.Zeitschrift Fur Psychologie, 62, 1-59.

Houlfort, N., & Vallerand, R. J. (2006). La passion envers le travail: Les deux cts de la

mdaille.Revue Multidisciplinaire sur lEmploi, le Syndicalisme et le Travail, 2(1), 4-

17.

John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement and

theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin, & O. P. John (Eds.),Handbook of

personality: Theory and research (pp. 102-138). New York: Guilford.

Lecoq, J., & Rim, B. (2009). Les passions : aspects motionnels et sociaux.Revue

Europenne de Psychologie Applique, 59, 197-209.

Le Senne, R. (1963). Trait de caractrologie(7ed.). Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

Mageau, G. A., & Vallerand, R. J. (2007). The moderating effect of passion on the relation

between activity engagement and positive affect.Motivation and Emotion, 31, 312-

321.


24/31

Passion and Personality 23Mageau, G. A., Vallerand, R. J., Charest, J., Salvy, S.-J., Lacaille, N., Bouffard, T., &

Koestner, R. (2009). On the development of harmonious and obsessive passion: The

role of autonomy support, activity specialization, and identification with the activity.

Journal of Personality, 77(3), 601-646.

Plaisant, O., Courtois, R., Rveillre, C., Mendelsohn, G. A., & John, O. P. (2010). Validation

par analyse factorielle du Big Five Inventory franais (BFI-Fr). Analyse convergente

avec le NEO-PI-R [Factor structure and internal reliability of the French Big Five

Inventory (BFI-Fr). Convergent and discriminant validation with the NEO-PI-R].

Annales Mdico-Psychologiques, 168, 97-106.

Plaisant, O., Srivastava, S., Mendelsohn, G. A., Debray, Q., & John, O. P. (2005). Relations

entre le Big Five Inventory franais et le manuel diagnostique des troubles mentaux

dans un chantillon clinique franais [Relations between the French version of the Big

Five Inventory and the DSM classification in a French clinical sample of psychiatric

disorders].Annales Mdico-Psychologiques, 163(2), 161-167.

Ratelle, C. F., Vallerand, R. J., Mageau, G. A., Rousseau, F. L., & Provencher, P. (2004).

When passion leads to problematic outcomes: A look at gambling.Journal of

Gambling Studies, 20(2), 105-119.

Ribot, T. (1907). La mmoire affective : Nouvelles remarques.Revue Philosophique, 64, 588-

613.

Rip, B., Fortin, S., & Vallerand, R. J. (2006). The relationship between passion and injury in

dance students.Journal of Dance Medicine & Science, 10, 14-20.

Rolland, J. P. (1998). Adaptation franaise du NEO-PI-R. In J. P. Rolland (Ed.),Manuel du

NEO-PI-R. Inventaire de personnalit rvis(pp. 57-88). Paris : Editions Centre

Psychologie Applique.

Ryan, R.M., & Deci, E. L. (2003). On assimilating identities of the self: A Self-Determination


25/31

Passion and Personality 24Theory perspective on internalization and integrity within cultures. In M. R. Leary, &

J. P. Tangney (Eds.),Handbook of self and identity(pp. 253-272). New York:

Guilford.

Sguin-Lvesque, C., Lalibert, M.-L. N., Pelletier, L. G., Blanchard, C., & Vallerand, R. J.

(2003). Harmonious and obsessive passion for the Internet: Their associations with the

couples relationship.Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33(1), 197-221.

Stoeber, J., Harvey, M., Ward, J. A., & Childs, J. H. (2011). Passion, craving, and affect in

online gaming: Predicting how gamers feel when playing and when prevented from

playing. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 991-995.

Tosun, L. P., & Lajunen, T. (2009). Why do young adults develop a passion for Internet

activities? The associations among personality, revealing true self on the Internet,

and passion for the Internet. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 12(4), 401-406.

Vallerand, R. J. (2008). On the psychology of passion: In search of what makes peoples lives

most worth living. Canadian Psychology, 49(1), 1-13.

Vallerand, R. J., Blanchard, C., Mageau, G. A., Koestner, R., Ratelle, C. F., Lonard, M.,

Gagn, M., & Marsolais, J. (2003). Les passions de lme: On obsessive and

harmonious passion.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(4), 756-767.

Vallerand, R. J., & Houlfort, N. (2003). Passion at work: Toward a new conceptualization. In

D. Skarlicki, S. Gilliland, & D. Steiner (Eds.),Social issues in management: Vol. 3.

Emerging perspectives of values in organizations(pp. 175-204). Greenwich, CT:

Information Age Publishing.

Vallerand, R. J., Paquet, Y., Philippe, F. L., & Charest, J. (2010). On the role of passion for

work in burnout: A process model.Journal of Personality, 78(1), 289-312.

Vallerand, R. J., Rousseau, F. L., Grouzet, F. M. E., Dumais, A., Grenier, S., & Blanchard, C.

(2006). Passion in sport: A look at determinants and affective experiences.Journal of


26/31

Passion and Personality 25Sport & Exercise Psychology, 28, 454-478.

Vallerand, R. J., Salvy, S.-J., Mageau, G. A., Elliot, A. J., Denis, P. L., Grouzet, F. M. E., &

Blanchard, C. (2007). On the role of passion in performance.Journal of Personality,

75(3), 505-534.

Wang, C.-C., & Yang, H.-W. (2008). Passion for online shopping: The influence of

personality and compulsive buying. Social Behavior and Personality, 36(5), 693-706.


27/31

Passion and Personality 26Table 1

Classification of the Different Passionate Activities

Activities Types of activities % of participants

1. Individual sports Diving, dancing, martial arts, skating,

swimming, athletics28.5

2. Activities with animals Horse riding, pigeon racing, canine

sports/contests (agility, obedience)19.4

3. Passive leisure Watching movies and/or series, cinema,

listening to music9.5

4. Reading Reading novels 7.1

5. Relational activities Going out with friends, having a drink,

voluntary work

7.1

6. Divers Shopping, cooking, playing poker,

house cleaning7.1

7. Art activities Photography, playing theatre, knitting,

writing, modeling, drawing

6.7

8. Animation Youth movements (boy scouts,

guides)5.1

9. Active music Singing, playing violin, battery 3.210. Team sports Rugby, hockey, football, basketball 2.4

11. Multimedia Surfing on the Internet, computing,

playing video games2.4

12. Work/education Studying psychology, doing research 1.6


28/31


Factorial Structure of the Passion Scale: Matrix After Varimax Rotation

Factor 1 Factor 2O.P.

subscale

H.P.

subscale

12. I have the impression that my activity controls me. .818

4. I have almost an obsessive feeling for this activity. .7887. This activity is the only thing that really turns me on. .7289. If I could, I would only do my activity. .70811. This activity is so exciting that I sometimes lose

control over it..705

2. I have difficulties controlling my urge to do my

activity..582

1. This activity is in harmony with the other activitiesin my life.

.759

8. My activity is well integrated in my life. .705

10. My activity is in harmony with other things that are

part of me..694

3. The new things that I discover with this activity

allow me to appreciate it even more..627

6. This activity allows me to live a variety of

experiences.

.615

5. This activity reflects the qualities I like about

myself.

.310 .584

Note. O.P. = obsessive passion; H.P. = harmonious passion. Values lower than .30 are not included in the Table.


29/31


Correlations Between Big Five Dimensions and Both Types of Passion for an Activity

(Harmonious vs. Obsessive)

Big Five dimensions

Harmonious

passion

Obsessive

passion

Conscientiousness .30*** .04

Extraversion .18* .03

Neuroticism -.01 .11

Agreeableness .23** -.19**

Openness .20** .08*p< .05. **p< .01. ***p< .001.


30/31

Passion and Personality 29Figure 1 Legend

Figure 1.Summary of the different personality traits associated with each type of passion for

an activity (harmonious vs. obsessive).


31/31

Passion and Personality 30

Harmonious Passion

Conscientiousness

Extraversion

Agreeableness

Openness

Obsessive Passion

Antagonism

(negative pole of

Agreeableness)

Passion for an activity

VS.

passion and personality

Documents