The Energy behind Human Flourishing: Theory and Research on Subjective Vitality

This chapter reviews the history of theory and research on subjective vitality within self-determination theory (SDT). Research on subjective vitality, defined as the phenomenal experience of aliveness and of having energy available to the self, has demonstrated the centrality of this experience of energy to wellness and flourishing. Research has shown that subjective vitality varies not only with physical conditions but also with different types and conditions of motivation. Generally, more autonomous motives are associated with enhanced vitality, whereas controlled motives diminish subjective energy. Findings also show that satisfaction of basic psychological needs enhances subjective vitality, whereas need frustrations deplete one’s sense of energy and aliveness. Experimental work on “ego depletion,” in which self-controlling motives are induced, leading to lowered energy, is consistent with this SDT-based theorizing. Subjective vitality has been studied in many domains, beginning with exercise and physical activity and extending to areas such as health and wellness, sleep, energy in the workplace, and the importance of nature to the experience of vitality. Across contexts and characters, subjective vitality remains one of the most phenomenally accessible and predictive indicators of wellness available.