2. The extent of happiness
⢠What percent of US adults consider
themselves happy most or all of the
time?
⢠80% happy most of the time.
⢠80% consider themselves optimists.
⢠How accurate do you think these
statistics are?
3. Some people are skeptical
⢠Pessimists are better judges of
reality.
⢠Donât look at the world through rose
colored glasses.
⢠Must be willing to keep an open
mind.
⢠Nurture optimism in ourselves and
others.
4. Elements of subjective well-being
⢠1. Happiness:
⢠--an emotional state.
⢠--how you feel about yourself and
the world.
⢠2. Satisfaction with Life:
⢠--more global judgment about your
acceptance with your life.
⢠--more of a cognitive assessment.
5. How happy are we?
⢠Time magazine poll (12/2004)
⢠âWould you say that so far you have lived
⢠--the best possible life you could have.
⢠--a very good life
⢠--a good life
⢠--a fair life
⢠--a poor life
6. How happy are we? Results.
⢠Time magazine poll (12/2004)
⢠âWould you say that so far you have lived
⢠--the best possible life. 13%
⢠--a very good life 37%
⢠--a good life 33%
⢠--a fair life 15%
⢠--a poor life 2%
⢠Good + very good + best possible = 83%
7. Last element of SWB
⢠3. Emotional stability:
⢠--low level of neuroticism.
⢠--lack of serious personality flaws.
⢠Neurosis: âpoor ability to adapt to one's
environment, an inability to change one's
life patterns, and the inability to develop a
richer, more complex, more satisfying
personality." (Boeree, 2002)
8. How do we measure SWB?
⢠Most widely
used scale
developed by
Ed Diener
⢠âDr. Happinessâ
10. ⢠Not at all Moderately Absolutely
true true true
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1. In most ways my life is close to my ideal.
2. The conditions of my life are excellent.
3. I am satisfied with my life
11. ⢠Not at all Moderately Absolutely
true true true
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. So far I have gotten the important things I want
in life.
5. If I could live my life over, I would change
almost nothing.
13. Can we trust self report?
⢠Is person telling the truth
⢠Or giving socially acceptable answer?
⢠Diener found high correlation between
self report and reports of family and
friends of subject.
⢠Joe and Joeâs spouse and friends.
⢠Otherâs perceive same happieness.
⢠Also agreement with overt behavior of
subject (actions and expressions).
14. What do numbers represent?
⢠Not at all Moderately Absolutely
true true true
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Rank ordered scale (ordinal data) not
âreal numbersâ like height and weight (ratio data).
But, after all, this is called subjective well-being.
Even IQ is really a subjective construct.
15. Is SWB stable over time?
⢠All have mood swings.
⢠Some days better than others.
⢠Get good or bad news.
⢠Solution: Event sampling.
⢠Csikszentmihalyi gave subjects pagers.
⢠When pager beeps, have to enter mood
and activity into a journal or mini
computer.
⢠SWB small changes but quite stable.
16. Changes in SWB
⢠Life crisis will cause a dip.
⢠Celebration will cause a rise.
⢠But SWB quite consistent.
⢠A few long term studies.
17. Aging with Grace
⢠David Snowdon
⢠Longitudinal study
⢠Essays written when take
their vows.
⢠Those who expressed
positive themes had high
SWB at advanced age.
⢠Low level of Alzheimerâs.
18. Yearbook pictures
⢠Harker and Kettner (2001)
⢠Compared college
yearbook photos with
SWB 30 years later.
⢠Looking for Duchenne
smile.
⢠Duchenne did first studies
on facial expressions
(1862) in France.
20. Varieties of smile
⢠Duchenne vs. Pan
American smiles
⢠Correlates of Duchenne
smile
⢠Greater enjoyment
⢠Broad smile that you
can read in the eyes.
⢠Seen in lower photo.
21. Smiles and SWB
⢠Women with Duchenne smiles in college
yearbook photos.
⢠30 years later:
⢠Had happier marriages
⢠Felt less stress
⢠Had higher SWB scores.
⢠Conclusion SWB stable over time.
⢠Related to psychological wellness.
22. Psychological components of SWB
⢠Ed Diener and David Myers
⢠1. High self esteem
⢠Most important predictor of SWB
⢠Western cultures value individual
achievement and success
⢠Eastern cultures value group success.
⢠Self esteem tied to group membership.
23. Psychological components #2
⢠2. Sense of perceived control.
⢠Belief some measure of control over life
events (in cases where possible).
⢠Rutter: Locus of Control
⢠Internal locus best.
⢠Newer term: personal control: belief that
you can effect outcomes.
24. Not always in control
⢠Some occasions may turn over control.
⢠Example: higher power in AA.
⢠Relinquish perceived control.
⢠Hurricane, floods, acts of God.
⢠Events outside your control.
⢠Wisdom to know when to depend on
this belief.
25. Psychological components #3
⢠3. Extroversion
⢠Higher SWB in people who are
interested in things outside themselves.
⢠Extroverts generally have higher SWB.
⢠Seek and enjoy company of others.
⢠Doesnât mean that all introverts are
unhappy.
⢠Introverts prefer join a few close friends.
26. Psychological components #4
⢠Optimism
⢠âa tendency to expect the best possible
outcome; to dwell on the most hopeful
aspect of a situation.â
⢠Look to the future with hope and
positive expectations.
⢠Optimistic explanatory style
27. Explanatory style example
⢠Professor doesnât return my phone call
about writing a recommendation.
⢠Negative:
⢠professor hates me; he is ignoring me.
⢠Positive:
⢠out of town, will respond when he
returns.
⢠Make another call in a week.
28. Psychological components #5
⢠5. Positive social relationships
⢠High correlations of SWB with
satisfaction with family and friends.
⢠Social support and emotional intimacy.
⢠Important for physical and
psychological health.
⢠Strongest external source of SWB.
⢠Social contact better predictor than
wealth, education or career.
29. Importance of family
⢠Rare person who,
as his life draws
to a close, wishes
he had spent
more time with at
work.
30. Psychological components #6
⢠6. Sense of meaning and purpose.
⢠Defined as spirituality by some.
⢠Doesnât have to be religious.
⢠Belief that your life is connected to a
greater good.
⢠Your life will make a difference.
31. Manâs search for meaning
⢠Viktor Frankl
⢠Concentration camp survivor.
⢠Belief that you can find a
purpose in life even in terrible
conditions.
⢠To give up hope is to give up
the will to live.