Pride and the experience of meaning in daily life

Abstract

To investigate meaning as experienced in daily life, where it has been linked to positive events and emotions, experience-sampling data were used to examine the positive emotion of pride. Recent empirical work emphasizes self-focused, self-enhancing action (i.e. achieving) as a source of pride, but theory suggests that other-focused action (i.e. caring) is also significant. Because work and family are common sources of meaning that offer opportunities to feel pride about both achieving and caring in daily life, working parents (247 mothers and 271 fathers) were studied. Achievement experience and prosocial experience both were associated with pride. However, pride’s comparatively neglected relationship to prosocial experience was even stronger than its relationship to achievement experience, in family life and work life, for women and men. Two recognized sources of meaning – both other-oriented – were associated with experiences of intense pride: being with one’s children and working with clients.

Keywords:

• meaning
• pride
• positive emotion
• prosocial experience
• achievement experience
• daily life
• working parents
• experience sampling

Notes

1. Researchers have questioned the use of paper (vs. electronic) reporting because backfilling is not precluded and reported response lag cannot be verified (e.g. Stone, Shiffman, Schwartz, Broderick, & Hufford, 2002, cited in Green, Bolger, Shrout, Reis, & Rafaeli, 2006). However, after reviewing the literature and conducting multiple studies, (Bolger, Shrout, Green, Rafaeli, & Reis, 2006; Green et al., 2006) concluded there is not adequate basis for arguing that timely, valid responding is substantially lower with paper than electronic reporting.

2. Although more differentiated response scales provide greater sensitivity and are widely used with student samples, some ESM and daily-diary studies of working parents have employed four-point scales. Their lower cognitive burden may improve response rates with this very busy population (e.g. Larson & Gillman, 1999; Lavee & Ben-Ari, 2007; Totenhagen, Serido, Curran, & Butler, 2012).