Is the desire for fame related to well-being or ill-being?

The construct of fame in self-determination theory is very similar to the construct of social status in Anderson, Hildreth, and Howland’s (2015) status-as-fundamental-motive perspective. Both fame and social status are characterized by admiration and (admiring) respect by other people. Yet, while desiring fame is believed to distract or interfere with the fulfillment of basic needs (e.g., Ryan et al., 1999), desiring social status is believed to be very much equivalent to a basic need (Anderson et al., 2015). Inspired by these two theoretical standpoints, we tested opposing hypotheses in a pre-registered secondary data analysis of prospective longitudinal data spanning 10 years (N = 4,625; Mage at T1 = 19.60). Specifically, we tested whether or not desire for fame among early adults is related to their (a) concurrent subjective well-being, self-esteem, and health, (b) subsequent subjective well-being, self-esteem, and health, and (c) subsequent changes in subjective well-being, self-esteem, and health. Furthermore, we investigated (d) whether changes in desire for fame are related to contemporaneous changes in subjective well-being, self-esteem, and health. In line with self-determination theory, we found several positive correlations between desire for fame and the negative affect subscale of the PANAS, low self-esteem, and self-reported health complaints. In line with the status-as-fundamental-motive perspective, we found almost no substantial negative correlations between desire for fame and life satisfaction, the positive affect subscale of the PANAS, and self-rated health status. Thus, our results did not support either of the two positions unequivocally, indicating the need for further theoretical refinement.