노력해야 정체성이 생길까? 정체성이 생겨야 노력할까?

닭이 먼저냐 달걀이 먼저냐라는 질문은 늘 사람들의 흥미를 끈다.

심리학에도 이런 질문이 많고,

‘노력해야 정체성이 생길까? 정체성이 생겨야 노력할까?’도 그런 질문 중 하나다.

이에 대한 심리학적 연구의 답은 무엇일까? 심리학은 전자를 지지한다.

타고난 정체성이 있어야 노력하는게 아니라,

노력해야 정체성이라는 것도 생기고, 노력해야 열정이 생긴다.

타고난 특기적성이나 흥미가 있어야 공부하게 되는 것이 아니라,

공부해야 적성이 생기고 흥미가 생긴다.

Gielnik, M. M., Spitzmuller, M., Schmitt, A., Klemann, D. K., & Frese, M. (2015). “I put in effort, therefore I am passionate”: Investigating the path from effort to passion in entrepreneurship. Academy of Management Journal, 58(4), 1012-1031.

https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0727

Abstract

Most theoretical frameworks in entrepreneurship emphasize that entrepreneurial passion drives entrepreneurial effort. We hypothesize that the reverse effect is also true, and investigate changes in passion as an outcome of effort. Based on theories of self-regulation and self-perception, we hypothesize that making new venture progress and free choice are two factors that help to explain why and under which conditions entrepreneurial effort affects entrepreneurial passion. We undertook two studies to investigate our hypotheses. First, we conducted a weekly field study with 54 entrepreneurs who reported entrepreneurial effort and passion over 8 weeks (341 observations). The results showed that entrepreneurial effort predicted changes in entrepreneurial passion. Second, we conducted an experiment (n = 136) to investigate the effect of effort on passion and the underlying psychological processes in a laboratory setting. The results revealed that new venture progress mediated the effect of entrepreneurial effort on passion, and that free choice moderated the mediated effect. Overall, our findings provide a new theoretical perspective on the relationship between entrepreneurial effort and passion.