


Eudaimonic motives promoted life satisfaction through meaning or the combination of meaning and emotion, while hedonic motivation promoted life satisfaction through positive emotion. (2) The difference in the predictive effect between the two kinds of motivation was due to the different influencing mechanisms. The results showed that (1) the predictive effect of eudaimonic motives on life satisfaction was much higher than that of hedonic motives. Structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the mediating effect of meaning in life and emotion between happiness motivation and life satisfaction.

To this end, the study randomly selected 852 university students from 19 different provinces in China to examine the relationships between eudaimonic and hedonic motives, meaning-seeking, meaning experience, positive emotions, negative emotions, and life satisfaction. The present study attempts to investigate the secret of eudaemonists who experience more happiness by comparing the differences in the mechanisms by which the two happiness motives affect life satisfaction. Previous studies have suggested that eudaimonic motivation is a more effective predictor of happiness than hedonic motivation, but little is known about the reasons for this. Eudaimonia and hedonia are two different sources of motivation for people to pursue happiness.
