Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 85, 2003
Abstract:
Passion is defined as a strong inclination toward an activity that people like, that they find important, and
in which they invest time and energy. Two types of passion are proposed: obsessive and harmonious.
Obsessive passion (OP) refers to a controlled internalization of an activity in one’s identity that creates
an internal pressure to engage in the activity that the person likes. Harmonious passion (HP) refers to an
autonomous internalization that leads individuals to choose to engage in the activity that they like. HP
promotes healthy adaptation whereas OP thwarts it by causing negative affect and rigid persistence.
Results from four studies involving more than 900 participants from different populations supported the
proposed conceptualization.