DOCSLIB.ORG

Social Connection and Well-Being During COVID-19

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Social Connection and Well-Being During COVID-19 Chapter 6 Social Connection and Well-Being during COVID-19 Karynna Okabe-Miyamoto & Sonja Lyubomirsky University of California, Riverside World Happiness Report 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted life shifted due to the pandemic is especially important worldwide. Globally, governments have attempted given its unknown trajectory. Indeed, although to slow the spread of the disease by promoting vaccines are being distributed globally, it is “social distancing” guidelines, including staying at unclear when daily life will revert to pre-pandemic least 6 feet (2 meters) away from anyone outside times, given the persistence of spikes in cases one’s household.1 Early in the implementation of worldwide. Furthermore, published literature social distancing, the World Health Organization reviews about past pandemics have revealed that (WHO) announced that the term “physical quarantining or separating those who may be distancing” better captured the essence of the infected to minimize the spread of a disease leads guidelines, such that people should remain to long-lasting negative psychological effects—a physically but not socially distant from others.2 finding that is important to keep in mind as the The same recommendation was independently pandemic continues.7 Accordingly, the goal of this decided by the (World Happiness Report Editors) chapter is to advance understanding of how the on the same day, at the March 20 virtual launch of COVID-19 pandemic has impacted overall well- World Happiness Report (WHR) 2020. Although being and social connection across the globe by the term “social distancing” continues to be reviewing relevant research published in 2020. widely used (including within peer-reviewed journals), because the topic of this chapter is about maintaining connections while distancing, Psychological well-being we adopt the WHO and WHR recommendation during COVID-19 to use “physical distancing.” The negative psychological impact of COVID-19 Physical separation curtails the spread of the has been observed across the world. In a virus, yet the practice of physical distancing U.S. study examining people’s experiences inherently limits people’s in-person social from January 2020 (N = 1,010) to June 2020 interactions, which may narrow their sense of (N = 3,020), reports of happiness and life social connection.3 The reduction in the physical satisfaction saw one of the largest declines during availability of social connections is concerning, as the pandemic, along with mental and physical over a century of research has proven how crucial health, together with more modest declines in social connection is for well-being.4 Aware of the meaning in life and overall flourishing.8 In a study potential negative consequences to well-being that followed about 2,000 respondents in the U.K. posed by COVID-19 and its sequelae, researchers from June 2019 to June 2020, researchers found in the social, behavioral, and clinical sciences have that positive emotions (i.e., happy, energetic, published urgent calls for action to mitigate the inspired, optimistic, and content) became less disease’s potential harms.5 One noteworthy and prevalent and some negative emotions (i.e., sad, particularly relevant potential harm discussed by stressed, scared, frustrated) worsened during the these researchers is the possible increase in social initial outbreak in March, but most eventually isolation and strife in intimate relationships, which recovered to pre-pandemic levels during the can be exacerbated by the many sources of stress lockdown in May.9 Interestingly, other negative (social, financial, health, etc.) associated with emotional states actually declined (i.e., loneliness, the pandemic. However, it is important to note apathy) or remained stable (i.e., boredom) during that physical distancing—which permits social the month of the outbreak but began rising as interaction with housemates, digital interactions the lockdown progressed. with the outside world, and is imposed on entire Although the negative psychological impact of regions, not solitary individuals—is not the same the COVID-19 pandemic is readily apparent, some as social isolation.6 people are doing surprisingly well. In France, As such, COVID-19 has imposed a myriad of researchers surveyed participants three times consequences for health and well-being globally. between April 1 and May 6, 2020, and found that Understanding how and why well-being has these respondents, especially those who had low 133 World Happiness Report 2021 exposure to the disease, reported increases in Protective factors for positive well-being health and well-being during the quarantine, Psychological Characteristics. First, a number of regardless of income level.10 Other research found psychological characteristics, such as extraversion, no change in life satisfaction from before to grit, gratitude, and resilience, have been shown during the pandemic. In a sample of adults mostly to be protective factors for well-being during from the U.S. and U.K. (N = 336), respondents COVID-19. reported no changes to their life satisfaction from Personality. Some researchers have investigated mid-February to late May 2020.11 the role that personality may play in protecting people’s well-being during the pandemic. A Protective factors and risk factors snowball sampling study that included 516 U.S. adults who responded to a survey between April for positive and negative well-being and June 2020 demonstrated that extraversion In light of the growing research on the pandemic, was negatively associated with distancing, while particular patterns have emerged about who is conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism faring better or worse. Here we outline several were positively related to distancing.12 However, protective factors and risk factors for positive as distancing behavior increased, extraversion and negative well-being during COVID-19 (see was related to more positive affect, less negative Figure 6.1). affect, and greater life satisfaction. This pattern Figure 6.1: Psychological well-being during COVID-19 PROTECTIVE FACTORS RISK FACTORS Positive psychological characteristics: Intolerance for uncertainty Gratitude, resilience, grit, flow Pre-existing mental health conditions: Personality: Extraversion Clinical diagnosis of depression, anxiety, & others Psychological Quality of relationships Engaging in distancing Connectedness, positivity resonance Quality of relationships: Loneliness, poor social support, abuse Quantity of relationships: Larger social networks Types of relationships: Social Parent, child Prosocial behavior Social media use Social media use Daily activities: Online news sources: Physical activity, time outdoors Consulting more sources, more time spent consulting sources Time Use Demographic factors: Demographic factors: Older age Disease risk factors, occupation type Vulnerable groups: Financial insecurity, food insecurity, Circumstantial lower SES 134 World Happiness Report 2021 of results may be accounted for by extraverts satisfaction, while increases in loneliness were engaging in relatively more online social activities, associated with decreases in life satisfaction.16 such as virtual chatting. Thus, having an extraverted Furthermore, a survey of 1,059 participants in personality appears to serve as a unique protective the U.S. (in April and May 2020 for community- factor for individuals’ well-being during COVID-19. dwelling adults and in March and April 2020 for Positive Psychological Characteristics. Research undergraduates) found that positivity resonance, also suggests that several positive psychological or shared feelings of positivity and caring for characteristics may protect well-being, broadly another, explained the relationship between trait defined, during the pandemic. For example, in a resilience and better mental health during the cross-sectional study of 878 community-dwelling pandemic.17 Similarly, researchers have found that older adults (60 to 80 years old) in Spain surveyed higher levels of relatedness (i.e., connectedness) three weeks after lockdown instructions, the three during COVID-19 were associated with greater variables that showed significant associations well-being.18 The same research team conducted a with personal growth and purpose in life were single-timepoint intervention study of 215 MTurk gratitude, resilience, and good family functioning.13 workers, aimed at increasing psychological needs. Accordingly, although older adults are at a higher In this study, the sense of relatedness mediated risk for contracting COVID-19, those with psycho- the relationship between the psychological needs logical resources appear to be buffered from intervention (i.e., asking participants to provide declines in personal growth or purpose in life, instances when they felt a sense of autonomy, regardless of whether they are “young-old” competence, and relatedness during the pandemic) (60 to 70) or “old-old” (71 to 80). and mental well-being. Similarly, a study following 86 undergraduates Quantity of Social Relationships. In addition from before their university’s campus closure to the quality of one’s social relationships, the (January 27 to March 10, 2020) to the end of the number of relationships people have access to semester (April 30 to May 20, 2020) found that during COVID-19 has also been related to well- gratitude and grit were associated with greater being. In a study of 902 Austrians surveyed once well-being, while grit was also associated with in late April 2020, researchers
Load more

Recommended publications
  • How Do Simple Positive Activities Increase Well-Being?
    Current Directions in Psychological Science How Do Simple Positive Activities Increase XX(X) 1 –6 © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permission: Well-Being? sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0963721412469809 http://cdps.sagepub.com Sonja Lyubomirsky and Kristin Layous University of California, Riverside Abstract Theory and research suggest that people can increase their happiness through simple intentional positive activities, such as expressing gratitude or practicing kindness. Investigators have recently begun to study the optimal conditions under which positive activities increase happiness and the mechanisms by which these effects work. According to our positive-activity model, features of positive activities (e.g., their dosage and variety), features of persons (e.g., their motivation and effort), and person-activity fit moderate the effect of positive activities on well-being. Furthermore, the model posits four mediating variables: positive emotions, positive thoughts, positive behaviors, and need satisfaction. Empirical evidence supporting the model and future directions are discussed. Keywords happiness, subjective well-being, positive activities, positive interventions, self-improvement Happiness not only feels good, it is good. Happier people have has now been tested empirically. Experimenters have more stable marriages, stronger immune systems, higher prompted people to write letters expressing gratitude (Boehm, incomes, and more creative ideas than their less happy peers Lyubomirsky, & Sheldon, 2011; Lyubomirsky,
    [Show full text]
  • Pursuing Happiness: the Architecture of Sustainable Change
    Review of General Psychology Copyright 2005 by the Educational Publishing Foundation 2005, Vol. 9, No. 2, 111–131 1089-2680/05/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111 Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change Sonja Lyubomirsky Kennon M. Sheldon University of California, Riverside University of Missouri—Columbia David Schkade University of California, San Diego The pursuit of happiness is an important goal for many people. However, surprisingly little scientific research has focused on the question of how happiness can be increased and then sustained, probably because of pessimism engendered by the concepts of genetic determinism and hedonic adaptation. Nevertheless, emerging sources of opti- mism exist regarding the possibility of permanent increases in happiness. Drawing on the past well-being literature, the authors propose that a person’s chronic happiness level is governed by 3 major factors: a genetically determined set point for happiness, happiness-relevant circumstantial factors, and happiness-relevant activities and prac- tices. The authors then consider adaptation and dynamic processes to show why the activity category offers the best opportunities for sustainably increasing happiness. Finally, existing research is discussed in support of the model, including 2 preliminary happiness-increasing interventions. The pursuit of happiness holds an honored such as “Are you happy?” and “Are you having position in American society, beginning with fun?” fit nearly every occasion (Markus & the Declaration of Independence, where it is Kitayama, 1994). Not surprisingly, the majority promised as a cherished right for all citizens. of U.S. residents rate personal happiness as very Today, the enduring U.S. obsession with how to important (Diener, Suh, Smith, & Shao, 1995; be happy can be observed in the row upon row Triandis, Bontempo, Leung, & Hui, 1990) and of popular psychology and self-help books in report thinking about happiness at least once any major bookstore and in the millions of every day (Freedman, 1978).
    [Show full text]
  • Interventions to Boost Happiness and Buttress Resilience 1 Running Head
    Interventions to Boost Happiness and Buttress Resilience 1 Running head: BOOSTING HAPPINESS AND BUTTRESSING RESILIENCE Boosting Happiness, Buttressing Resilience: Results from Cognitive and Behavioral Interventions Sonja Lyubomirsky and Matthew D. Della Porta University of California, Riverside REF: Lyubomirsky, S., & Della Porta, M. (in press). Boosting happiness, buttressing resilience: Results from cognitive and behavioral interventions. In J. W. Reich, A. J. Zautra, & J. Hall (Eds.), Handbook of adult resilience: Concepts, methods, and applications. New York: Guilford Press. Please address correspondence to: Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D. Department of Psychology University of California Riverside, CA 92521 Phone: 951-827-5041 Fax: 951-827-3985 Email: [email protected] Interventions to Boost Happiness and Buttress Resilience 2 Abstract This chapter first summarizes our sustainable happiness model (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005), which states that a person’s chronic happiness is determined by three factors: 1) a genetically determined happiness “set point,” 2) happiness-relevant circumstantial factors, and 3) happiness-relevant activities and practices. We then review a number of randomized controlled interventions in which participants are prompted to express gratitude, commit acts of kindness, practice optimistic thinking, or try other happiness-enhancing strategies. Testing hypotheses from our model, these studies address the question of whether intentional activities can effectively increase long-term happiness, as well
    [Show full text]
  • Margolis & Lyubomirsky, in Press
    Running head: MANIPULATING EXTRAVERTERD BEHAVIOR AND WELL-BEING 1 Experimental Manipulation of Extraverted and Introverted Behavior and Its Effects on Well-Being Seth Margolis Sonja Lyubomirsky University of California, Riverside in press, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General Author Note Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Seth Margolis at [email protected]. The results of this project were presented at the University of California Personality Conference (May 2016), the University of California Well-Being Conference (March 2017), the Models and Methods to Study Psychological Well-Being pre-conference at the Association of Psychological Science’s Annual Meeting (May 2017), and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Annual Convention (January 2017 and March 2018). MANIPULATING EXTRAVERTERD BEHAVIOR AND WELL-BEING 2 Abstract Research in personality psychology has remained predominantly correlational. For example, three decades of research demonstrate a robust cross-sectional relationship between extraversion and positive affect. A handful of studies, however, have examined this link experimentally, showing that extraversion boosts positive affect over short durations. If this is true, behaving in an extraverted manner should be a reliable method for increasing positive affect and, thus, suitable as a well-being-increasing practice. The current study instructed participants to engage in both extraverted and introverted behavior, each for 1 week. Participants increased in well- being when they were assigned to act extraverted and decreased in well-being when they were assigned to act introverted. These findings suggest that changing behavior associated with personality is possible and can impact well-being. More broadly, this study adds to a growing body of research on the potential of experimental methods in personality psychology.
    [Show full text]
  • References for Sonja Lyubomirsky's the How Of
    REFERENCES FOR SONJA LYUBOMIRSKY’S THE HOW OF HAPPINESS: A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO GETTING THE LIFE YOU WANT (Penguin Press, 2008) Foreword 1 Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803-855. 1 Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5-14. 1 Ivins, M. (2000, September 22). The manufactured public schools crisis. The Fort- Worth Star Telegram. Chapter 1: Is It Possible to Become Happier? 1 (1) Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55, 34-43. (2) Diener, E., Suh, E. K., Smith, H., & Shao, L. (1995). National differences in reported well-being: Why do they occur? Social Indicators Research, 34, 7-32. 1 Keyes, C. L. M. (2005). Mental illness and/or mental health? Investigating axioms of the complete state model of health. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 539-548. 1 This study was conducted by Martin Seligman, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and Jeff Levy. Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic Happiness. New York: Free Press. 1 (1) Wilson, T. D., & Gilbert, D. T. (2005). Affective forecasting: Knowing what to want. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 131-134. (2) Gilbert, T. D. (2006). Stumbling on happiness. New York: A. A. Knopf. 1 This quote is from Harvard University social psychologist Dan Gilbert. Goldberg, C. (2006, February 6). Too much of a good thing. Boston Globe, F1. 1 The stories of Neil, in this chapter, and Judith, in Chapter 2 (not their real names), are presented in the television documentary In Pursuit of Happiness (www.happycanadians.com), made by Canadian Television, with Sarah Spinks as producer, Jon Dore as host and me as expert.
    [Show full text]
  • The How, Why, What, When, and Who of Happiness
    CHAPTER 25 THE HOW, WHY, WHAT, WHEN, AND WHO OF HAPPINESS Mechanisms Underlying the Success of Positive Activity Interventions KRISTIN LAYOUS, & SONJA LYUBOMIRSKY ost people want to be happy (Diener, 2000) and they seek happiness in a variety of ways—through achieving greater income or more prestigious careers, living walk- ing distance to the ocean, or buying a shiny new car. Evidence suggests, however, that M changing one’s life circumstances (e.g., marital status, career, location, and income) is not the most fruitful path to greater well-being (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006a). Instead, simple cognitive and behavioral strategies that people can employ in their daily lives have been found to reliably improve happiness (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009), including its hallmark, positive emotions (Diener, Sandvik, & Pavot, 1991; Urry et al., 2004). Th ese strategies do not involve making major shift s to people’s current life situations and can be used by anyone, regardless of their genetic make-up. Although possessing the capacity to increase one’s own happiness may sound too good to be true, the development and understanding of happiness-boosting strate- gies have come a long way since Fordyce (1977, 1983) published his fi rst successful attempts at intentionally increasing happiness levels in his classrooms. Since that time, research has accu- mulated to convincingly suggest that a large portion of happiness may be under people’s control through the activities they choose and how they construe and respond to situations in their lives (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005). A common argument from skeptics is that people’s happiness levels are genetically deter- mined and cannot be substantively changed.
    [Show full text]
  • Toward a Durable Happiness
    Path:K:/GWD-LOPEZ-08-0210/Application/GWD-LOPEZ-08-0210-002_V4.3d Date: 4th June 2008 Time: 20:56 User ID: ibrahimm BlackLining Enabled Page Number: 21 CHAPTER 2 Toward a Durable Happiness Jaime L. Kurtz and Sonja Lyubomirsky When trying to envision a happy day, or a happy life, what images come to mind? For some people, it might be sharing a meal with good friends and family members while laughing together, telling stories, and feeling loved. For others, happiness may come from accomplishing an im- portant goal and basking in the glory of a job well done. And for others still, happiness may be the byproduct of doing good deeds, helping others, and believing that the world is a better place because of it. Although people may vary a good deal in what they think will make them happy, an over- whelming majority of U.S. residents place ‘‘finding happiness’’ very high on their list of major life goals (Diener, Suh, Smith, & Shao, 1995). How exactly do you ‘‘find happiness?’’ This question has been posed for thousands of years, and although many self-help books have attempted to offer answers, their authors have often based their conclusions, however well meaning, on their own personal, idiosyncratic experiences. Only recently has scientific evidence emerged to suggest a possible path to lasting happiness that is effective for the majority of people. By scientific, we mean that researchers have conducted rigorous experiments to determine whether par- ticular strategies for increasing happiness actually work. The present chapter reviews this evidence and provides practical suggestions that you can use to create long-term, or sustainable, changes in your level of well-being.
    [Show full text]
  • Positive Activities As Protective Factors Against Mental Health Conditions
    Journal of Abnormal Psychology © 2014 American Psychological Association 2014, Vol. 123, No. 1, 3–12 0021-843X/14/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0034709 Positive Activities as Protective Factors Against Mental Health Conditions Kristin Layous, Joseph Chancellor, and Sonja Lyubomirsky University of California, Riverside Applying Nolen-Hoeksema and Watkins’s (2011) transdiagnostic risk factor heuristic to our work on positive activities (i.e., practices that characterize naturally happy people, like expressing gratitude and practicing generosity), we propose that such activities may serve as protective factors that mitigate proximal risk factors both directly and by intervening with the mechanisms that give rise to them. First, we discuss theoretical and empirical support for the importance of well-being and the mechanisms that explain how positive activities promote well-being (by boosting positive emotions, positive thoughts, positive behaviors, and need satisfaction; Lyubomirsky & Layous, 2013). Second, we outline examples of how positive activities can mitigate two particular proximal risk factors (rumination and loneliness) and counteract environmental triggers (i.e., moderators) that might amplify them (e.g., through adaptive coping). Third, we argue that positive activities can be taught to youth to instill positive patterns of emotions, thoughts, and behaviors that may serve as protective factors over the course of their lifetimes. Lastly, we propose that certain positive activities might be particularly well-suited to certain individuals
    [Show full text]
  • Cognitive Outlooks and Well-Being
    Cognitive Outlooks and Well-Being By Seth Margolis & Sonja Lyubomirsky, University of California, Riverside Citation: Margolis, S., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2018). Cognitive outlooks and well-being. In E. Diener, S. Oishi, & L. Tay (Eds.), Handbook of Well-Being. Noba Scholar Handbook series: Subjective well- being. Salt Lake City, UT: DEF publishers. DOI:nobascholar.com Abstract: The top-down approach to well-being focuses on how people attend to and construe information in their lives and how these processes affect their well-being. In this chapter, we review evidence that attention and construal, broadly conceived, influence well-being. We then discuss specific types of attention and construal (i.e., cognitive outlooks) that affect well- being. Such cognitive outlooks include gratitude, self-esteem, optimism, locus of control/autonomy, competence, connectedness, attributional style, and ruminative style. For each cognitive outlook, we review research that demonstrates an association between the cognitive outlook and well-being. We then discuss evidence for causal effects and theoretical accounts of these effects. We conclude with a brief discussion of questions that future research can explore. Keywords: Cognitive outlooks, Well-being, Attention, Construal, Top-down approach Research on the correlates and causes of well-being has yielded two approaches (Diener, 1984). The bottom-up approach emphasizes the role of the objective environment on well-being. Specifically, the bottom-up approach seeks to explain variance in well-being levels by examining the moment-by-moment situations people face. For example, exploring the impact of daily hassles and uplifts on life satisfaction (Lavee & Ben-Ari, 2008) fits squarely under the umbrella of the bottom-up approach to well-being.
    [Show full text]
  • Becoming Happier Takes Both a Will and a Proper Way: an Experimental Longitudinal Intervention to Boost Well-Being
    Emotion © 2011 American Psychological Association 2011, Vol. 11, No. 2, 391–402 1528-3542/11/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0022575 Becoming Happier Takes Both a Will and a Proper Way: An Experimental Longitudinal Intervention To Boost Well-Being Sonja Lyubomirsky, Rene Dickerhoof, and Kennon M. Sheldon Julia K. Boehm University of Missouri, Columbia University of California, Riverside An 8-month-long experimental study examined the immediate and longer term effects of regularly practicing two assigned positive activities (expressing optimism and gratitude) on well-being. More important, this intervention allowed us to explore the impact of two metafactors that are likely to influence the success of any positive activity: whether one self-selects into the study knowing that it is about increasing happiness and whether one invests effort into the activity over time. Our results indicate that initial self-selection makes a difference, but only in the two positive activity conditions, not the control, and that continued effort also makes a difference, but, again, only in the treatment conditions. We conclude that happiness interventions are more than just placebos, but that they are most successful when participants know about, endorse, and commit to the intervention. Keywords: happiness, intervention, gratitude, optimism, effort, motivation The pursuit of happiness and fulfillment is a goal shared by the two contextual or boundary conditions predicted by our model to majority of people in the West and, increasingly, around the world impact the efficacy of these activities—namely, (a) the intention to (Diener, 2000; Diener, Suh, Smith, & Shao, 1995). Historically use the intervention to become happier, as operationalized by a speaking, because of psychology’s prevailing focus on the allevi- self-selection factor, and (b) ongoing effort exerted toward the ation of psychopathology and weakness, relatively few studies activities specified by the intervention, as operationalized by ob- (e.g., see Boehm & Lyubomirsky, 2009; Lyubomirsky, 2008; jective ratings.
    [Show full text]
  • Benefits of Happiness 1 Running Head
    Benefits of Happiness 1 Running Head: Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success? Sonja Lyubomirsky Laura King Ed Diener University of California, University of Missouri, University of Illinois at Riverside Columbia Urbana-Champaign and The Gallup Organization In press, Psychological Bulletin Benefits of Happiness 2 Abstract Numerous studies show that happy individuals are successful across multiple life domains, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health. We suggest a conceptual model to account for these findings, arguing that the happiness-success link exists not only because success makes people happy, but because positive affect engenders success. Three classes of evidence – cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental – are documented to test our model. Relevant studies are described and their effect sizes combined meta-analytically. The results reveal that happiness is associated with and precedes numerous successful outcomes, as well as behaviors paralleling success. Further, the evidence suggests that positive affect – the hallmark of well-being – may be the cause of many of the desirable characteristics, resources, and successes correlated with happiness. Limitations, empirical issues, and, important future research questions are discussed. Benefits of Happiness 3 The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success? “A merry heart goes all the day, Your sad tires in a mile-a.” William Shakespeare “The joyfulness of a man prolongeth his days.” Sirach 30: 22 “The days that make us happy make us wise.” John Masefield Research on well-being consistently reveals that the characteristics and resources valued by society correlate with happiness. For example, marriage (Mastekaasa, 1994), a comfortable income (Diener & Biswas-Diener, 2002), superior mental health (Koivumaa-Honkanen et al., 2004), and a long life (Danner, Snowdon, & Friesen, 2001) all covary with reports of high happiness levels.
    [Show full text]
  • Boehm, JK, & Lyubomirsky, S
    1 Reference: Boehm, J. K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (in press). The promise of sustainable happiness. In S. J. Lopez (Ed.), Handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. The Promise of Sustainable Happiness Julia K. Boehm and Sonja Lyubomirsky Department of Psychology University of California, Riverside Abstract From ancient history to recent times, philosophers, writers, self-help gurus, and now scientists have taken up the challenge of how to foster greater happiness. This chapter discusses why some people are happier than others, focusing on the distinctive ways that happy and unhappy individuals construe themselves and others, respond to social comparisons, make decisions, and self-reflect. We suggest that, despite several barriers to increased well-being, less happy people can strive successfully to be happier by learning a variety of effortful strategies and practicing them with determination and commitment. The sustainable happiness model (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005) provides a theoretical framework for experimental intervention research on how to increase and maintain happiness. According to this model, three factors contribute to an individual’s chronic happiness level – 1) the set point, 2) life circumstances, and 3) intentional activities, or effortful acts that are naturally variable and episodic. Such activities, which include committing acts of kindness, expressing gratitude or optimism, and savoring joyful life events, represent the most promising route to sustaining enhanced happiness. We describe a half dozen randomized controlled interventions testing the efficacy of each of these activities in raising and maintaining well-being, as well as the mediators and moderators underlying their effects. Future researchers must endeavor not only to learn which particular practices make people happier, but how and why they do so.
    [Show full text]