Using signature strengths in pursuit of goals: Effects on goal progress, need satisfaction, and well-being, and implications for coaching psychologists

By P. Alex Linley, K. Nielsen, Alex M. Wood, Raphael Gillett, R. Biswas-Diener. International Coaching Psychology Review, 2010

343 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Objective:In recent years there has been a growing interest in research related to the use of strengths. Although results from past research have consistently suggested that the use of strengths is associated with higher performance and greater well-being there is, as yet, no clear theory describing how using strengths might contribute to greater well-being or goal progress. The objective of the current research was to test a model of how strengths use may support performance and well-being through an extension of the self-concordance model of healthy goal attainment.Design:We test a repeated measures cross-sectional model in which using signature strengths is associated with goal progress, which is in turn associated with the fulfilment of psychological needs, and in turn well-being.Method:Participants were 240 college students who completed measures of psychological strengths, need satisfaction, well-being, goal progress and goal attainment at three time points over a three-month period.Results:Our results demonstrate that strengths use is associated with better goal progress, which is in turn associated with psychological need fulfilment and enhanced well-being.Conclusions:Strengths use provides a key support in the attainment of goals, and leads to greater need satisfaction and well-being, providing an extension of the self-concordance model of healthy goal attainment. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Subfields: Applied Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/d7c6df66525f8dff695d657d57c2c2dab2547bc4

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Citations in the corpus

Harmonious passion as an explanation of the relation between signature strengths’ use and well-being at work: Test of an intervention program (2012, background): “While research has shown that using our strengths leads to higher performance (e.g. Berman, 2008; Govindji and Linley, 2007; Park et al., 2004), researchers and leaders usually try to identify workers’ weaknesses in order to increase performance (Joseph and Linley, 2006; Linley et al., 2010a).”
Character Strengths Interventions: Building on What We Know for Improved Outcomes (2011, background): “Although research has not yet identified the ‘active ingredients’ and mechanisms through which strengths interventions enhance well-being, initial research has identified a number of promising factors (Linley et al. 2010).”
The Working for Wellness Program: RCT of an Employee Well-Being Intervention (2012, methodology): “Now that research has supported that strength-use can be beneficial for personal and workplace well-being, it is important to ascertain how people can use their strengths (Linley et al. 2010).”
Review of Brief School-Based Positive Psychological Interventions: a Taster for Teachers and Educators (2017, background): “Authors have argued that the link between well-being and the use of signature strengths may be explained by the fact that these practices help meet basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and social relatedness (Linley et al. 2010a).”
A dynamic approach to psychological strength development and intervention (2011, unknown): “Although most strengths theorists ground their work in the foundation of personality theory most, if not all, also acknowledge the role of positive emotion as a hallmark feature of strengths (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001; Linley et al., 2010).”
An applied framework for Positive Education (2013, background): “org 152 and subjective and psychological wellbeing (Govindji & Linley, 2007; Linley, Nielsen, Gillett, & Biswas-Diener, 2010), increased progress towards their goals (Linley et al., 2010), and enhanced resilience after stressful events (Peterson & Seligman, 2003).”