Freeing or freezing decisions? Belief in free will and indecisiveness

The value of believing in free will: A prediction on seeking and experiencing meaning in life

Despite abundant philosophical pondering and experiential evidence demonstrating the need for freedom in leading a meaningful life, the literature lacks an investigation of whether and how free will beliefs contribute to one's meaningful life as an antecedent variable. Based on the coupling of the life-affirming hypothesis and Chinese culture, we used a manipulation experiment (Study 1, n = 242) and a two-wave longitudinal study (Study 2, n = 378) to test the potential causality between laypeople's daily beliefs in free will and meaning in life (presence of and search for meaning) with two samples of Chinese undergraduates. The results show that belief in free will positively predicts the presence of meaning and search for meaning, immediately (Study 1) and 2 months later (Study 2). The present work corroborated that the belief in free will is an antecedent variable that imbues life with meaning and sparks actions seeking meaning, supporting the life-affirming hypothesis instead of the deficit-correcting hypothesis.

Risk or Return? The Effect of Face Consciousness Influences on the Career Construction of Chinese Rural Dwellers in Urban Areas

This research improves our understanding of entrepreneurial intention in the Chinese cultural context. Drawing on career construction theory, we received 408 valid surveys from rural Chinese dwellers and examined the relationships rural Chinese have among "face consciousness," indecisiveness, career adaptability, and entrepreneurial intention. We found that those who are fearful of losing face are less likely to have entrepreneurial intentions, but one's desire to gain face has no significant direct impact on entrepreneurial intention. In addition, face consciousness and an indecisive personality interact to influence career adaptability and, in turn, entrepreneurial intention. In sum, this study supports the career construction perspective on understanding the formation of entrepreneurial intention and offers theoretical, practical, and policy implications for entrepreneurial career counseling and training.