Happy and Satisfied: Basic Psychological Needs, The Big Five, and Subjective Well-Being

Selda Koydemir, Astrid Schütz, Selin Mısır

According to the basic psychological needs theory, three basic psychological needs - autonomy, relatedness and competence - are essential for growth and development. The theory assumes that levels of well-being are directly related to the degree to which such needs are adequately satisfied. Despite the empirical evidence in relation to the link between satisfaction of psychological needs and mental health, little work exists as to how general personality traits and psychological needs are associated. This study aimed at providing evidence for the relationships between basic psychological needs, The Big Five personality traits, and subjective well-being (happiness and life satisfaction). The data consisted of a community sample in Turkey. Satisfaction of all three needs significantly correlated with the Big Five in expected directions. Among the Big Five traits, Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness were significant contributors to happiness and life satisfaction. Although all three needs satisfaction were significant contributors to happiness, and competence and autonomy contributed to life satisfaction, competence and autonomy, but not relatedness explained additional variance in happiness above and beyond personality. Competence mediated the relationship between conscientiousness and the two well-being outcomes, as well as openness to experience and happiness. Overall, the findings revealed that satisfaction of basic psychological needs are indeed linked to the Big Five, and they may account for the relationship between personality and well-being.