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Strong Attachment to Heroes: How Does It Occur and Affect People’s Self-Efficacy and Ultimately Quality of Life?

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Abstract

In spite of increasing evidence on the influence of heroes on the lives of ordinary people, there has been no formal study on the subject in relation to people’s attachment to a hero (or hero attachment). The current study proposed a consumer model to examine how a hero makes a positive impact on people’s lives in terms of their hero attachment, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction. Using observations from a survey, we examined both the direct and indirect effects that the contribution of a hero in people’s fundamental A-R-C (autonomy, relatedness, and competence) need fulfillment has on self-efficacy and ultimately on life satisfaction. We found that the impact of a hero in fulfilling the A-R-C needs has a direct, differential effect on self-efficacy and life satisfaction. More importantly, we found that the fulfillment of A-R-C needs by a hero significantly influences hero attachment, which in turn positively affects life satisfaction through self-efficacy. As the first empirical study on hero attachment in relation to people’s self-efficacy and life satisfaction, the study yields significant theoretical contributions and practical implications for practitioners and policy makers in the areas of public health, education, and quality of life.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2013S1A5A2A01018545).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, 3601 Watt Way, GFS-315, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA

    Mina Jun

  2. Graduate School of Business, Sungkyunkwan University, Jongro Myungyun 3-53, Business Hall 517, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Chung K. Kim & Miyea Kim

  3. Graduate School of Business, Yonsei University, Seodaemun-gu Sinchon-dong, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Jeongsoo Han

  4. Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida, 100 Bryan Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Joshua Y. Kim

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  1. Mina Jun
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Correspondence to Chung K. Kim.

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Jun, M., Kim, C.K., Han, J. et al. Strong Attachment to Heroes: How Does It Occur and Affect People’s Self-Efficacy and Ultimately Quality of Life?. Applied Research Quality Life 11, 271–291 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-014-9369-4

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