PSY 337 exam 1

Meaning component

using our strengths to serve something bigger than ourselves, satisfies longing for purpose in life Ex. social justice, family, community, politics, higher spiritual power, pursuing creation of knowledge

experience sampling

Csikszentmihalyi and Hunter (2003) = People are given a programmable wristwatch set to signal at random moments 8 times a day, from 7:30 am to 10:30pm, for one week. When people hear the signal, they have to complete a form with questions about what they are doing at the moment, as well as multiple-choice questions about whom they were with.They also rate emotions and feelings that they are experiencing using 7-point scales. These various scores and ratings can be combined to create a single variable of happiness for each participant advantages -provides a direct window into the activities that lead to positive and negative feelings of happiness and engagement in what people are doing. -It is done "on-line" (as the event is occurring/at the time of the event) and gets away from requiring people to people to reflect on their lives as a whole, which can be a challenging cognitive task -It can be used to assess a person's general level of happiness by averaging how they respond across various intervals Some studies show moderate relationships between global and ESM measures, while others show much weaker ones -ESM and global are related, not identical, ways to assess SWB -ESM are especially sensitive to momentary alterations in mood, sensitive to both the effect of events on mood and also the effects of personality traits (in between person comparisons) -Global measures are influenced by genetic temperament and personality traits, and less sensitive to the effect of events

Duchenne study

Duchenne women (in college yearbook photos), on average, were more likely to be married, to stay married, and to experience more personal well-being over the next thirty years.

intellectual and emotional strategies for cultivating happiness about the past

Emotions about the past are completely determined by our thoughts about the past -Freud believed thoughts were caused by emotions, but the cognitive revolution (led largely by Beck) posited that emotion is always generated by cognition -The evidence suggests that each drives each other at times, some of our emotional life is instantaneous and reactive, and some emotions require interpretation, memory, or thought Intellectual component (realizing past has very little bearing on present and future) -Darwin, Marx, and Freud all contributed to the belief that the future is inevitable -But, there is no research to support large effects of childhood events on adult personality. Major traumas of childhood may have some influence on adult personality, but only a barely detectable one Studies show a large effect of genes on adult personality and only a negligible effect of any childhood events (identical twins raised apart are more similar as adults than fraternal twins reared together. Adopted children are much more similar as adults to their biological parents than they are to their adoptive parents) Additionally, there is no need to release emotions as many think (in accordance with Freud's theories). Beck found that it was easy to get depressed people to open up about and dwell on the past, but that this made them much unhappier -Dwelling on and expressing anger produces more cardiac disease and more anger. In one study, the angriest medical students had five times as much heart disease twenty five years later. -In another study, men who had the highest risk of heart attacks had more explosive voices, more irritation when forced to wait, and more outwardly directed anger. In experimental studies, when males bottle up anger blood pressure goes down, and when they express it it goes up. -In reality, emotions, left to themselves, will dissipate. When expressed and dwelt upon though they will get stronger Insufficient appreciation and savoring of good events and overemphasis of bad ones are the two causes of unhappiness about the past Can be remedied with -gratitude, which amplifies savoring and appreciation -exercising forgiveness Gratitude -works to increase life satisfaction by amplifying good memories about the past (their intensity and their frequency) Forgiveness -The only way to change your thoughts about the past is to rewrite it, either by suppressing it, forgetting, or forgiving. Forgiving is the only feasible option -Physical health, particularly cardiovascular, is better for those who forgive than those who do not -The ability to forgive is somewhat based on your personality -REACH strategy for forgiveness (Recall the hurt as objectively as possible, Empathize with the perpetrator, Altruistic gift of forgiveness, Commit yourself to forgive publicly, and Hold onto forgiveness). Adults assigned to nine hour forgiveness workshops experienced less anger, less stress more optimism, better reported health, and more forgiveness.

studies on kindness and altruism

Exercise of kindness led ot more happiness than acts of pleasure, because the exercise of kindness is a gratification (calls on your strengths to meet a challenge), in contrast to a pleasure. Kindness is not accompanied by a separable stream of positive emotion like joy; rather, it consists in total engagement and in the loss of self-consciousness.

mood vs. emotion

Friedrickson distinguishes between mood and emotion Mood = general concept, long term Emotion = temporary states tied to meaningful events, highly specific

Nun happiness study

90 percent of the most cheerful quarter of nuns was alive at age eighty-five versus only 34 percent of the least cheerful quarter. Similarly, 54 percent of the most cheerful quarter was alive at age ninety-four, as opposed to 11 percent of the least cheerful

Three components/paths/routes of happiness

All three routes can be pursued independently. When someone achieves all three, they are said to live a "full life" hedonic component, gratification component, and meaning component

positive vs. negative emotions

Barbara Fredrickson claims that positive and negative emotions evolved to serve very different functions Differences in levels of positive and negative affect are linked to personality and wellbeing There are physiological differences in the brain when experiencing positive vs negative emotions All emotions have a feeling, sensory, thinking, and action component -The feeling component of all negative emotions is aversion -These emotions cause actions, not the other way around

Why positive psychology?

Because enhancing people's strengths and positive emotions: -prevents mental illness -helps develop resilience (the ability to recover from adversity and live a full life as defined by the ability to work productively and develop close, healthy, and meaningful relationships)

happiness enhancing strategies: committing acts of kindness

Bolsters self esteem Leads to positive social interactions, which can lead to people themselves being helped in the future What factors should be kept in mind when using this strategy to boost happiness? -You have to choose the acts carefully (do something meaningful for the other person) -Ideally for a stranger Boehm and Lyubomirsky (2009) -Had people practice acts of kindness over a ten week period and manipulated the variety of acts of kindness (either varying the acts or doing the same ones) -The control group did not change in happiness during the study. -Those that were asked to vary their acts of kindness increased their levels of happiness over the 10 weeks, and had more positive ratings at the 1 month follow up -Those that performed the same acts repeatedly actually had their level of happiness go down toward the mid point of the study. But, by the end they returned to the baseline -It is likely that people that do the same acts all the time get bored doing them, a greater variety of experiences prevents people from accommodating to the task (as per the sustainable happiness model)

negative emotion and happiness

Bradburn found that there is only a moderate negative correlation between positive and negative emotion

positive emotions and health/longevity research

In study of almost 3,0000 mexiacn americans, positive emotion strongly predicted who lived and who died, as well as disability. Happy people were half as likely to die and half as likely to become disable Happy people have better health habits, lower blood pressure, and better immune systems

positive affectivity research

Research from the University of Minnesota shows that there is a personality trait of good cheer and bubbliness (called positive affectivity), which is highly heritable. This affect can be measured by PANAS Some people have a lot of positive affect (this stays pretty fixed over a lifetime), other people have very little. Most are in between Natural selection has plenty of use for low positive affect You can be happy regardless of positive affect

social life and happiness

The increased sociability of happy people may actually be the cause of the marriage findings It is seriously possible that a social life will make you happier, but it could be that people who are happier are more likely to be more well liked and have more friends, or, as with marriage, there could be a third variable contributing to happiness and a good social life

intentional activities

activities that people engage in with the presumed goal of increasing happiness Intentional activities account for more variance in happiness. One reason for this may be because circumstantial changes are much more easily adapted to than intentional activities

sustainable happiness model

discusses factors influencing how beneficial intentional activities are. The activities must -Fit one's personality, dispositions, and needs (self concordance) -Vary in their content -Vary in their timing The last two serve to prevent adaptation

physical attractiveness and happiness

does not have much effect at all on happiness

Gratification component

participating in activities that engage us fully, drawing on our most-valued talents ("flow activities") No shortcut and activities aren't necessarily accompanied by a lot of positive emotions while we are engaged in them Ex. learning an instrument, accomplishing a difficult task, dancing, good conversation

The disease model

post WWII there were thousands of soldiers were suffering trauma from war Veterans associations were created that helped fund research and treatment led to domination of disease model looks at psychological problems as diseases (as opposed to personal failings) focuses on mental illnesses left positive psychology ignored

contributors to happiness

set range + circumstances + voluntary variables

signature strengths

strengths that are characteristic of you Best to build and use signature strengths, instead of focusing on weaknesses Use your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness

Hedonic component

the pursuit of pleasure Positive emotions about past, present, and future can be increased -past: practicing gratitude and forgiveness -present: savoring experiences and practicing mindfulness -future: building hope and optimism

Behavior under emotionally "hot" vs. "cold" states

Ariely and Loewenstein (2006) = found that people tend to overestimate the strength of their willpower (underestimate the powerful influence of strong emotional states) -Study used undergraduate males from UC Berkeley. Subjects in cold condition, no arousal, and hot condition, arousal, saw a question on the screen, and then indicated whether or not something is desirable, or whether they would engage in some sort of behavior. -The males gave very different answers under "hot" and "cold" conditions. -When aroused, young men become sexually attracted to things that are otherwise off-putting, and grow more willing to engage in morally questionable behavior that might lead to sex -Other studies show that young men are also more likely to agree to unprotected sex under "hot" conditions

Predicting feelings to changing circumstances

Brickman, Coates & Janoff-Bulman (1978) = -compared a group of lottery winners who had recently won to a control group made up of people that were otherwise similar in their demographic characteristics. -They found lottery winners rated happiness at 4.00, while the control group rated its happiness at 3.82, showing that people overestimate the effects of winning money (same can hold true for buying a larger home or TV)

happiness and intelligence

Depressed students were more accurate in estimating how much control they had over a light turning on than nondepressed people, who were accurate when they had control but guessed that they had 35% control when they had none But, Aspinwall found that in making important real life decisions happier people may be smarter than unhappy people. In her research, happy people remember more of the negative info they are presented with and rate is as more convincing than do the unhappy people In the normal course of events, happy people rely on their tried and true positive past experiences, whereas less happy people are more skeptical. But, when events are threatening, happy people readily switch tactics and become skeptical and analytic So a chilly, negative mood activates a battle-stations mode of thinking: the order of the day is to focus on what is wrong and then eliminate it. A positive mood, in contrast, buoys people into a way of thinking that is creative, tolerant, constructive, generous, undefensive and lateral.

feelings vs. traits

Feelings = states, momentary occurrences that need not be recurring features of personality Traits = are either negative or positive characteristics that recur across time and different situations, and strengths and virtues are the positive characteristics that bring about good feeling and gratification. Abiding dispositions whose exercise makes momentary feelings more likely.

evidence for broaden and build theory

Gottman (1998) examined how happy and unhappy married couples interact. -Unhappy couples = very structured, predictable, and rigid. -Happy couples = more unpredictable -Consistent with the broaden and build model. When people are happy, they behave in novel, more creative ways, and are more playful with each other Fredrickson (2002) -People were asked to see film clips that elicited joy, contentment, anger, fear, or a neutral condition -Participants who experienced joy or contentment listed more desired possibilities than did the people in the neutral or negative conditions. Isen, Daubman and Nowicki (1987) gave one group of participants a bag of candy to induce positive mood, the other group serving as a control (no candy). Those in a positive mood were more likely to perform well on a test where they get three words, and they had to generate a word that links them, showing that they are more creative than those in the control group. in visual scanning study, if people receive candy first, they are more likely to look all around the different peripheral aspects of what they are being shown, as opposed to those who don't receive the candy who focus just on the image at the center If asked to sit and think of a positive memory before taking a test, children perform better on tests Participants, when given a small bag of candy to induce positive emotion (or something similar) are more likely to be creative in fulfilling a task (such as attaching a candle to the wall such that the wax does not drip on the floor) Children who were induced positive mood condition were able to do better on a learning task about different shapes Physicians who received a bag of candy did best in diagnosing a hard to diagnose case of liver disease, considering liver disease earliest and most efficiently

happiness and job satisfaction research

Happiness actually causes more productivity and higher income. One study followed employees for 18 months, and found that happier people got better evaluation from their supervisors and higher pay In another study, happiness made gainful employment and higher income more likely People who are put in a good mood select higher goals, perform better, and persist longer on a variety of laboratory tasks

Education, climate, race, gender, and health

Happiness does not vary with climate, intelligence, and race Education only contributes to higher happiness slightly among those who have a low income In average emotional tone women and men don't differ But, researchers have found that while women experience considerably more negative emotion than men, they also experience considerably more positive emotion

Shared characteristics of happy people

In seligman's study, happy people differed from unhappy people in the presence of a rich and fulfilling social life. The happiest participants present the least time alone and the most time socializing, and were rated highest on good relationships by themselves and their friends. Almost all members of the happy group have a romantic partner. Other studies show happy people have more casual and close friends, are more likely to be married, and are more involved in group activities Another thing happy people have in common is their altruism, happy people are more likely to demonstrate altruism. In a lab setting, participants who are made happy display more empathy and willingness to donate more money.

happiness enhancing strategies: visualizing best possible selves

Involves writing about yourself in the future, if everything turns out the way that you want it to. The person may pick different aspects of their lives at different times. Boosts happiness because -It can bring clarity to one's life goals (It can help us figure out what is most important for us to achieve and serves to reduce goal-conflict) -It can make one more optimistic King (2001) -Gave participants either the VBPS assignment or a control assignment, where they had to write about a neutral topic unrelated to themselves, they did so for 20 minutes on 4 consecutive days. -Writing about one's best possible self led to more positive moods than writing about the control topic. -Three weeks after writing about their best possible selves, those in the BPS condition also received higher scores on the SWLS

Day reconstruction method

Kahneman, Krueger, Schkade, Schwarz & Stone (2004) = Looks at how people spend their time and how they feel about the various activities and settings that they take part in -Participant has to fill out a diary and questionnaire detailing everything that they did the day before and how long they did it for. Also have to say where they were and who they interacted with in those episodes. -Participants rate positive and negative moods during each episode, using a scale from 0 to 6 -Positive ones are averaged to create a positive affect rating, and negative ones are similarly averaged to create a negative affect rating. Advantages over experience sampling: -poses less of a burden on the participant -doesn't disrupt their normal activities as they are doing them, while still being a relatively "on-line" measure. -Samples a larger sequence of events because they are taking into account everything the person did throughout the day, not just some fleeting moments -Shows high degree of similarity to findings using moment to moment ESM Results -The five most positive activities: Sex, socializing, relaxing, praying or meditating, and eating. Exercising and watching TV were not that far behind -Low on the list: Taking care of their children. Ranks just above the least enjoyable activities of working, housework, and commuting. Children also don't rank highest as interaction partners in terms of generating positive emotions -The results of this "on-line" measure goes against what people say when global measures of life satisfaction are used. -When people are asked to list the things that have made them happiest in life, they often say their kids. We get different answers about what makes people happy, depending on whether we get them to remember back over a long period of time or whether we are sampling from concrete experiences close to when they are occurring. Therefore, it is best to use multiple measures of subjective wellbeing.

Subjective wellbeing components

Life satisfaction = cognitive judgement Positive affect = frequency and intensity of positive emotions Negative affect = frequency and intensity of negative emotions Life situation factor, positive affect factor, and negative affect factor all correlate strongly with one common dimension but only moderately with one another SWB has been expanded by some beyond the three components previously discussed, to include qualities and life activities such as "flow experiences" and measures of meaning that incorporate things like religion Ryff argues that well being is more than happiness, and should be a source of resilience during adversity, reflect positive functioning, personal strengths, and mental health Ryff thinks well being is based on strengths, personal striving, and growth

marriage and happiness

Marriage is robustly related to happiness (40% of married people surveyed said they were very happy while only 24% of unmarried said they were) Living with a SO in individualistic cultures is associated with more happiness but in collectivistic is associated with less People in unhappy marriages are less happy than those who are unmarried or divorced It is possible that marriage does not cause happiness, but that people who are already happy are likely to get married, or that a third variable causes both happiness and marriage

momentary vs. enduring happiness

Momentary happiness can be increased easily, the challenge is raising the enduring level of happiness (which cannot be accomplished by increasing the number of momentary bursts of happiness)

positive psychology and mental illness

Most psychologists have focused on therapy, but therapy is usually too late By acting when the individual is still doing well, preventive interventions would save a lot of people a lot of pain

impact of emotions on resources

Negative and positive emotions can contribute to a variety of physical, psychological and social changes that can either compromise or improve our health Positive emotions may contribute to increased immune functioning, buffer or offset detrimental effects of stress, and contribute to the development and maintenance of quality relationships

objective physical health and happiness

Objective health is barely related to happiness, what matters is our subjective perception of how happy we are. Even severely ill cancer patients differ only slightly on global life satisfaction from healthy people. When disabling illness is severe and long lasting, happiness and life satisfaction do decline, though not as much as one would expect

happy people and painful events/negative affect

On good morning american, the cast member with the highest positive emotion score, was able to hold his hand in ice water far longer than everyone else Positive emotions can also undo negative ones. Frederickson purposefully induced anxiety, which caused an increase in heart rate of participants. Then she induced contentment, amusement, neutral emotion, or sadness in participants, and those in the contentment and amusement conditions had a significantly larger decrease in heart rate, while the sadness condition led to a greater increase

Optimism

Optimistic people tend to interpret their troubles as transient, controllable, and specific to one situation Pessimistic people believe their troubles last forever, undermine everything they do, and are uncontrollable (up to eight times more likely to become depressed when bad events happen do worse at school, sports, and most jobs, have worse physical health and shorter lives worse interpersonal relations, and lose american presidential elections more) In mayo clinic study, optimists had 19% greater longevity, in terms of their expected life span, compared to that of pessimists Teaching ten year old children optimistic thinking and action cuts their rate of depression in half when they go through puberty Optimism is only one of two dozen strengths that bring about greater wellbeing (strengths george vaillant calls mature defenses, including altruism, the ability to postpone gratification, future mindedness, and humor) -Chosen because they are valued in almost every culture, in their own right (not just a means to other ends), and are malleable In Vaillant's study he found that the mature defenses were the best predictors of joy in living, high income, and being vigorous in old age (ex. Moving heavy things, walking 2 miles, etc). Joy in living, marital satisfaction, and subjective sense of physical health were predicted best by the mature defenses in middle age

Sources of errors in predicting feelings: Inadequate intuitive theories

People make predictions about future feelings based on theories they have about how people function (ex. Thinking behavior is influenced by the moon, that people become more conservative as they get older, that people need lots of variety in food, and that people are frail and easily damaged) We often ignore resilience (springing back from serious adversity, like abuse, war, or natural disasters) Masten (2007) = studied long-term effects of physical and sexual child abuse. 20 to 40% of victims showed few signs of behavioral or mental-health problems, and many don't don't appear damaged later in life. When we predict that some event will destroy us, we ignore our ability to cope, and eliminate negative feelings by adapting to the changes in our lives. This is also what causes people, including doctors, to assume that people falling prey to terrible illnesses will have a much lower quality of life than they actually do. We ignore our psychological immune system

Changing health status

People often assume that they will be more devastated than they end up being, which makes people less likely to get tested for important life threatening illnesses. Pearlman and Ulhmann (1988) = studied patients suffering from chronic illnesses -After having one of these for a while, patients rated their quality of life as only slightly worse than "good, no major complaints." -When physicians were asked to rate the quality of life of those patients, they rated it much lower than that (These misconceptions about people's ability to cope can negatively impact a doctors ability to give quality advice)

Global measures of life satisfaction

People reflect on their lives as a whole, and indicate how satisfied they are Diener's satisfaction with life scale -Use a scale from 1-7 5 statements to be rated ("In most ways my life is close to my ideal," "The conditions of my life are excellent," "I am satisfied with my life," "So far I have gotten the important things I want in life," "If I could live my life over, I would change very little") -Scores are added up and compared to a set of norms -Advantages: Allows people to think about the things that are important to them, and to decide how much to weight them in reflecting on their lives as a whole AND it only takes about a minute to administer. Oxford happiness inventory (OHI) = developed by Hills and Argyle (2002). -Has 29 statements Rating scale of 1-6 -The R beside a question means that when you are calculating your score, you reverse code it -Higher numbers indicate a greater satisfaction with life. -There are no norms to compare a score to

studying affect

Positive and negative affect can be assessed by a multitude of measures, or even by facial and physiological measures (ex. Duchenne vs. non duchenne smile, duchenne w/ higher competence, affiliation with others, lower negative emotionality, and higher rates of marriage) issues with studying affect -Research suggests that positive and negative emotions might be somewhat independent. In the short term, positive and negative emotions show a strong inverse relationship, while in the long term, it is much more likely that one would report both positive and negative emotions -Frequency of affect is more important that intensity

Religion

Religious people are somewhat happier and more satisfied with life Religions instills hope for the future and create meaning in live Iyengar found that the more fundamentalist the religion, the more optimistic it's followers are, and that the increase in optimism is entirely accounted for by greater hope

Age and happiness

Research shows that life satisfaction goes up slightly with age, pleasant affect declines slightly, and negative affect does not change. What does change is the intensity of emotions, young people experience more extremely positive and extremely negative emotions than older people

Predicting feelings towards objects/experiences

Simonson (1990) = Students were required to choose a snack (e.g., chips, cookies, candy, etc) to have on three consecutive classes from 6 choices. -Students chose substantially more variety in the simultaneous condition than in the consecutive choice condition (many even expressed regret at opting to change snacks in second and third weeks) -Explained by diversification bias (the assumptions that we will desire more variety in things than we actually do, this is true over a short period of time, not long period of time) -We know this bias was at work in simultaneous choice condition because they expressed regret about switching

problems with life satisfaction measures

Social desirability effect = people may feel pressured to report they are happier and more satisfied with their lives than they actually are The way that someone responds could be affected by their present mood. How can these problems be dealt with? -Ask people to fill out the questionnaires multiple times on different days -Ask others who know the person to rate their happiness Distortions in memory Duration of an emotion or situation is not related to retrospective evaluations of that period in time, instead such evaluations follow the "peak end rule" (predicted by the peak emotional intensity during an experience, not the duration) -People's evaluations are influenced by intensity and how the experience ends and less influenced by how long the experience lasts -These biases -> use of experience sampling method to access moment to moment emotions and events in people's day to day lives (less susceptible to distortions that are problematic in global measures)

hedonic adaptation

We adjust to changing positive and negative circumstances and quickly resume our previous level of happiness. It is a reduction in the intensity of positive or negative feelings resulting from being exposed to the same stimuli over time evidence of adaptation -Brickman , Coates and Janoff-Bulman (1978) showed that recent lottery winners were not much happier than they were before they won the lottery and a year later they aren't happier at all hedonic treadmill = If people adapt to improving circumstances to the point of being affectively neutral, the improvements yield no real benefits. This means that to increase their positive experiences people constantly have to be pursuing additional gains Intentional activities are less likely to lead to adaptation because people often take steps to prevent it from happening. It is more difficult to take for granted the consequences that result from on-going, intentional activities. Our strategies for enhancing happiness have to take into account that people can adapt to new situations, and begin to take them for granted, otherwise thew will stop producing sustainable happiness.

Psychological immune system

We underestimate how quickly our feelings are going to change in part because we underestimate our ability to change them (which can make rational planning of action becomes extremely difficult) Studies have shown that people typically overestimate how long they will be unhappy following negative events people forget that they possess a psychological immune system which shelters them from the worst effects of their misfortune. -People often fail to consider that the emotional impact of painful circumstances may be buffered by other, more positive events -People don't realize they are extraordinarily skilled at construing what happens to them in a positive light (synthetic happiness) there is such a thing as too much choice, people believe choice is going to be good for them, when in fact it's not always people's lack of faith in their own resiliency leads them to incorrectly expect that intense negative emotions will always last longer than less intense emotions. people's psychological immune systems kick in when distress reaches a critical threshold. -In one study, an insult from an interaction partner indeed led participants to feel more intensely negative than did an insult from a stranger -But those intense feelings abated more quickly than the less intense negativity caused by the stranger's insult. If people understood this, they might sometimes choose higher levels of distress knowing it might be ameliorated more quickly than less intense distress Or we might choose to be in situations where there is no possibility for escape, knowing that we'll ultimately be likely to be happier with our choices."

wealth and happiness

Wealth has a low correlation with happiness level.wealthy people are only slightly happier (though people in very poor nations report much lower happiness) Overall national purchasing power and average life satisfaction go strongly in the same general direction. But, once the gross national product exceeds $8,000 per person the correlation disappears and added wealth brings no further satisfaction (and there are plenty of exceptions to the wealth satisfaction association) In very poor nations being rich predicts greater well-being, but in wealthier nations increases in wealth have negligible effects on happiness The overall life satisfaction of Calcutta's poor is low, but their satisfaction is high in the domains of morality, family, friends, and food. But, in California, the homeless have extremely low overall satisfaction and their satisfaction in mores other domains is low as well How important money is to you, more than money itself, influences your happiness

Broaden and build theory: building

When we are in positive moods, we tend to build important physical, intellectual and social resources and skills These resources can be more long-lasting than the transient positive emotional states that led to their acquisition and offer resilience Positive emotions may help build physical resources for fighting disease, psychological resources for fighting dress, and social resources that can help with both

Psychological well being

a description of SWB that delineates positive aspects of mental health, defining what markers express underlying mental health and wellbeing, incorporating both hedonic and eudaimonic views of happiness Emotional well being = defined by 3 component view of SWB -Positive affect -Negative affect -Life satisfaction Psychological and social dimension = define positive functioning Psychological -Self acceptance -Personal growth -Purpose in life -Environmental mastery -Autonomy -Positive relations with others Social -Social acceptance -Social actualization -Social contribution -Social coherence -Social integration Numerous studies have found these scales to be valid and internally reliable All three components are related, but each makes a separate contribution to SWB and all are negatively correlated with symptoms of mental illness

positive emotions

also had evolutionary benefit encourage people to discover novel lines of thought and action Broaden thought action tendencies Cause people to become more creative, flexible, and unusual Are not simple sensory pleasures, are more psychological in nature and depend on more than physical stimulation Positive and negative emotions are incompatible, so the presence of a positive emotion helps reduce negative emotions (as well as the physiological effects of said negative emotion, such as increased heart rate) Enhance resilience (resilient people use positive emotions to offset negative ones)

elevation

an emotion that is the opposite of moral disgust, the result ofs ewing another person do something extraordinarily positive

measures of subjective wellbeing

are generally reliable, coherent, and valid Internal reliability of life satisfaction scales is high Measures of SWB show moderate stability ,as do measures of positive and negative affect, across time and situations These measures are also sensitive to significant life events and changes Major life events have been shown to only change SWB for a few months, with the exception of loss of a spouse and marriage, which have longer term effects

Affective measures

assess the emotional/affective experiences Andrews and Withey (1976) Faces Measure = Asks a "life as a whole" question, the format for responding (selecting from smiley faces) turns it into an affective measure Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) = includes 20 positive and negative adjectives(10 of each) -Often done before and after an activity to see if it improved positive and negative affect. -A good activity is one that produces a high score on the positive items, and a low score on the negative ones

life circumstances

basic facts about people's lives and certain demographic factors The combination of these life circumstances only accounts for 10% of the variability in human happiness

negative emotions

evolved to get us to act in highly specific ways The actions are ones that would have worked best in the evolutionary environment Natural selection has likely favored the growth of negative emotions, because they play a dominant role in win-loss games (the more serious the outcome, the more intense and desperate the emotions) Lead to quick and decisive actions to deal with threats Narrow thought-action repertoire People pay more attention to negative emotions than positive ones, in part because of the knowledge that negative emotions can be harmful for our health

Broaden and build theory: broadening

experiencing positive emotions leads to an expansion of the thoughts and actions we are willing to consider. Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention. People see the bigger picture, adopting a broader perspective on a situation People in a positive state draw on a wider range of information when carrying out some activity. Generally they motivate us to be "playful" intellectually, physically, and socially

factors that predict a person's level of happiness

genetics, life circumstances, and intentional activities These vary in how much control people have over them and in terms of how much variability they account for

physical resources

health of body and its defenses against disease Negative emotions (both stress and depression) suppress immune system and positive emotions enhance it Positive events and laughter are associated with positive changes in the immune system Considerable evidence linking positive emotions with self reported reductions in illness symptoms, levels of pain, and better health Also evidence for enhanced immune system function and longevity However, there are also studies suggesting positive emotions could have a negative impact (for example,ignoring symptoms or having unrealistic expectations)

misery index

info about how many people are suffering from significant problems that diminish quality of life (poverty, severe mental illness, etc) National statistics often address this index, but in doing so ignore positive psychology and fail to fully answer the question of how people are doing National stats also fail to measure strengths, optimal functioning, and positive mental health (only look at the presence or absence of illness or negative functioning) Absence of mental illness does not equal presence of mental health

Colonoscopy experiment

patients were either given a normal colonoscopy or one with ane xtra minute added (during which the colonoscope was still). In the second condition, their total pain is longer, but the ending of the procedure us better. In this group, their memory of the episode is more positive and there are more willing to undergo the procedure again The sum total of our momentary feelings (hedonic happiness) is a flawed measure of how good or bad we judge an episode

Social resources

quantity and quality of relationships that provide support

Psychological resources

responses to stress and qualities that provide resilience Coping behaviors divided into problem focused coping (eliminating source of stress) and emotion focused coping (changing one's response to stress) Third possible form is proactive coping (preventing stress from happening in the first place) Positive emotions during stressful situations can help offset negative effects of stress and may bolster depleted psychological resources People experiencing positive affect tend to have more proactive coping styles, show more flexibility and creativity in problem solving, make people less defensive in response to criticism, and prevent people from ignoring or manipulating information that conflicts with their existing beliefs

Eudaimonic happiness

self realization (the expressions and fulfillment of one's potential, resulting from living in accordance with one's daimon, or true self) Happiness results from striving towards self actualization (talents, needs, and values directing the way we live our lives) Common in humanistic psychology approaches Results from experiences of personal expressiveness, that is, engaging in activities that fit and express our values and our conceptions of who we are There are more hedonic than eudaimonic activities Many eudaimonic activities can cause hedonic pleasure, however there were differences (hedonic = relaxed and content, eudaimonic = challenged and experiencing personal growth) Euddaimonic measures of SWB consider healthy and unhealthy happiness Hedonic measures of SWB look at if people are happy, eudaimonic look at why look at sources of happiness, incorporate psychological functioning and self realization, believe well being includes more than just happiness and satisfaction but also incorporates mental health and functioning, theory -> research hedonic looks at SWB, defines happiness in terms of a person's global assessment of positive/negative affect and life satisfaction, does not specify why someone is happy, allows people to judge for themselves what makes them happy and whether they are satisfied and happy based on their own criteria, research -> theory These two views are complimentary, not in conflict, and measures of hedonic and eudaimonic happiness show substantial correlations. Both perspectives combined provide a more complete picture

Happiness

subjective well being, a subjective phenomenon tied to objective conditions in a complex way An individuals own judgement about the quality of their life (objective measures describe facts of someone's life while subjective measures how they feel about those facts) Objective well-being = measured by external factors such as health, social status, and income important because -Individuals react to different circumstances very differently -Happiness and subjective wellbeing are important goals, independent of objective well being like personal wealth

happiness enhancing strategies: expressing gratitude

thanking others for the things they do for you and being grateful for the things that you have, instead of focusing on those things that you don't have. Works because it (1) encourages us to savor positive life experiences and situations, (2) is likely to stimulate moral behavior, and (3) is incompatible with the experience of many negative emotions Emmons and McCullough (2003) -They had people carry out an activity once a week, for 10 weeks, either writing five things they were grateful for, five hassles, or five events -Participants in the gratitude condition felt better about their lives as a whole and were more optimistic regarding their expectations for the upcoming week, reported fewer physical complaints, and also reported spending more time exercising.They didn't find a difference in the positive and negative affect measures in the study where the gratitude ratings were done once a week. They did find benefits, however, in another study when the participants were asked to do the gratitude task on a daily basis for two or three weeks -The timing of intentional activities is very important.

genetics

the biggest determinant of happiness is inherited MZ twins reared apart are more similar in happiness than DZ twins reared apart. The heritability quotient for subjective wellbeing is .50 Set point = determined by genetics, although our happiness may fluctuate over time, sometimes rising above that level, sometimes below it, we tend to return to a particular level of happiness Genetics determines a reaction range - an upper and lower boundary. Our genetically set happiness range will drag our happiness back down to its usual level after unusually good fortune, but will also pull it back up after misfortune Depression is almost always episodic In less than three months major events lose their impact on happiness (the exceptions being the death of a child or spouse and being a caregiver for someone with Alzheimer's)

Sources of errors in predicting feelings: differential salience

we focus on different information beforehand than when we are actually in the situation When actually there, other things become more salient The cognitive system that imagines futures can only consider a limited amount of information, so it is usually biased

Self determination theory (SDT)

wellbeing and happiness result from fulfillment of autonomy, competence, and relatedness Each of the SDT needs can be viewed as states and traits Trait measures of need fulfillment are positively correlated with well being and positive mood States that fulfilled needs were related to more positive mood