Congruence of Life Goals and Implicit Motives as Predictors of Life Satisfaction: Cross-Cultural Implications of a Study of Zambian Male Adolescents

This paper examines the relationship between implicit motives, explicit life goals, and life satisfaction in a Zambian sample of male adolescents. A questionnaire assessing life goals (K. Pöhlmann & J. C. Brunstein, 1997), the Satisfaction With Life Scale (E. Diener, R. A. Emmons, R. J. Larsen, & S. Griffin, 1985), and a TAT-type picture-story-test were administered to 120 Gwembe Tonga adolescents in Zambia. The stories were coded according to a scoring system developed by D. G. Winter (1991). Based on motives associated with the domains achievement and affiliation-intimacy, the results revealed that congruence between implicit motives and self-attributed goals is associated with an enhanced satisfaction with life. This pattern does not appear to hold true for motives associated with the domain of power.