The Within-Person Dynamics of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation, Affective States, and Cultural Identification: A Diary Study of Bicultural Individuals

This study investigates the link between motivational and affective experiences in the daily life of bicultural individuals. Employing a diary design, the authors examined the role of cultural identification in the dynamic goal-affect association in East-Asian Canadian biculturals. Using multilevel modeling procedures, the authors found that momentary cultural identification systematically moderated the association between extrinsic motivation and Negative Affect (NA) over time. Similar to previous findings observed from monocultural Westerners, biculturals in this study showed a positive association between extrinsic motivation and NA when they identified with Western culture. When they identified with Asian culture, however, biculturals' extrinsic motivation was not linked to NA, suggesting that when their Asian identity is salient, they are less negatively influenced by extrinsic goal pursuit than when they identified with Western culture. Findings indicate the importance of within-individual short-term variations in cultural identification for understanding the affective implications of extrinsic motivation in the lives of bicultural individuals.