Further Evaluation of the Tripartite Structure of Subjective Well-Being: Evidence From Longitudinal and Experimental Studies

2015 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha J. Metler ◽  
Michael A. Busseri
2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Loprinzi ◽  
Emily Frith

This systematic review evaluates various theoretical underpinnings, which may contribute to abetter understanding of the effects of Facebook use on subjective well-being among college students. Theauthor conducted a PubMed search of experimental studies conducted within a young adult population.Eligible participant data was delimited to undergraduate or graduate students, who were required to becurrent Facebook users. Six studies were chosen for the review. The findings suggest that Facebook usagemay be positively associated with subjective well-being via several theoretical mechanisms founded in socialpsychology. These findings provide preliminary evidence that Facebook may offer its users unique opportu-nities to tailor their online self-presentation to assuage the impact of negative psychosocial stimuli presentedin real-world environments. Innovative strategies should be conceived to assess the possible relationshipbetween Facebook use and enhanced subjective well-being.


2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1005-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Huss ◽  
Matthias Egger ◽  
Kerstin Hug ◽  
Karin Huwiler-Müntener ◽  
Martin Röösli

There is concern regarding the possible health effects of cellular telephone use. We conducted a systematic review of studies of controlled exposure to radiofrequency radiation with health-related outcomes (electroencephalogram, cognitive or cardiovascular function, hormone levels, symptoms, and subjective well-being). We searched Embase, Medline, and a specialist database in February 2005 and scrutinized reference lists from relevant publications. Data on the source of funding, study design, methodologic quality, and other study characteristics were extracted. The primary outcome was the reporting of at least one statistically significant association between the exposure and a health-related outcome. Data were analyzed using logistic regression models. Of 59 studies, 12 (20%) were funded exclusively by the telecommunications industry, 11 (19%) were funded by public agencies or charities, 14 (24%) had mixed funding (including industry), and in 22 (37%) the source of funding was not reported. Studies funded exclusively by industry reported the largest number of outcomes, but were least likely to report a statistically significant result. The interpretation of results from studies of health effects of radiofrequency radiation should take sponsorship into account.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Marie Rohrer ◽  
Richard E. Lucas

In positive psychology and well-being research, subjective well-being is frequently considered a cause of desirable outcomes, such as health. We discuss major conceptual complications that cast doubt on such claims. Well-being and health share a multitude of common causes, and neither cross-sectional, longitudinal, nor experimental studies can identify the effects of interest without strong assumptions that may be deemed implausible. We conclude that the field should rise to the causal inference challenge posed by understanding the main effects of well-being before moving on to more sophisticated claims concerning underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maitta Spronken ◽  
Rob Holland ◽  
Bernd Figner ◽  
Ap Dijksterhuis

Over the past years, there has been a surge in research on subjective well-being. Most of this research relies on correlational methods. As correlational research has important limitations, the field of subjective well-being is in need for more experimental approaches. While longitudinal experimental studies provide maximum ecological validity, field and (especially) lab experiments provide more experimental control. However, investigating subjective well-being experimentally poses several challenges. First, the question arises whether happiness and satisfaction can be measured in brief experiments. Second, experiments may undermine people’s basic need for autonomy. Third, the conclusions of experiments on subjective well-being may not always extend beyond the experimental context. We discuss potential solutions for these challenges, accompanied by a few examples of successful experiments that may inspire future experimental research in the field of subjective well-being.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janis Zickfeld ◽  
Niels van de Ven ◽  
Olivia Pich ◽  
Thomas W. Schubert ◽  
Jana Berkessel ◽  
...  

Tearful crying is a ubiquitous and likely uniquely human phenomenon. The persistence of this behavior throughout adulthood has fascinated and puzzled many researchers. Scholars have argued that emotional tears serve an attachment function: Tears are thought to act as a social glue by triggering social support intentions. Initial experimental studies supported this proposition across several methodologies, but these were typically conducted almost exclusively on participants from North America and Europe, resulting in limited generalizability. The present research examined the tears-social support intentions effect and possible mediating and moderating variables in a fully pre-registered study across 7,007 participants (24,886 ratings) and 41 countries spanning all populated continents. Each participant was presented with four pictures out of 100 possible targets with or without tears digitally added. We confirmed our main prediction, with an overall effect size of d = .49 [.43, .55] for the intention to support tearful individuals. This effect was mediated by perceiving the crying target as warmer and more helpless, feeling more connected, as well as feeling more empathic concern for the crier, but not by an increase in personal distress. The effect was moderated by the situational valence, identifying the target as part of one’s group, and trait empathic concern. A neutral situation, high trait empathic concern, and low identification increased the effect. We observed a high amount of heterogeneity across countries that was, via split-half validation, best explained by country-level GDP per capita and subjective well-being with stronger effect sizes for countries scoring high on these measures.


Author(s):  
Philip Charles Watkins ◽  
Trese McLaughlin ◽  
Jhenifa P. Parker

In this chapter we review the good of gratitude and recommend various methods for cultivating this human strength. First, we show how gratitude is indeed good. We show how gratitude is important to flourishing and happiness. Gratitude is strongly correlated with various measures of well-being, and experimental studies suggest that gratitude actually causes increases in happiness. If gratitude is good, then it behooves us to investigate how the disposition of gratitude can be enhanced. We suggest that grateful responding can be enhanced by training in noticing the good in one's life, and by encouraging interpretations and appraisals that have been found to promote gratitude. We then present a discussion of unresolved issues in the science of gratitude. This is followed by a discussion of who might benefit most from gratitude. We conclude with a summary of the cultivation of gratitude. Research strongly supports the idea that the cultivation of gratitude should result in a harvest of happiness, but cultivating gratitude is not likely to be an easy process.


Author(s):  
Philip Charles Watkins ◽  
Trese McLaughlin ◽  
Jhenifa P. Parker

In this chapter we review the good of gratitude and recommend various methods for cultivating this human strength. First, we show how gratitude is indeed good. We show how gratitude is important to flourishing and happiness. Gratitude is strongly correlated with various measures of well-being, and experimental studies suggest that gratitude actually causes increases in happiness. If gratitude is good, then it behooves us to investigate how the disposition of gratitude can be enhanced. We suggest that grateful responding can be enhanced by training in noticing the good in one's life, and by encouraging interpretations and appraisals that have been found to promote gratitude. We then present a discussion of unresolved issues in the science of gratitude. This is followed by a discussion of who might benefit most from gratitude. We conclude with a summary of the cultivation of gratitude. Research strongly supports the idea that the cultivation of gratitude should result in a harvest of happiness, but cultivating gratitude is not likely to be an easy process.


GeroPsych ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lia Oberhauser ◽  
Andreas B. Neubauer ◽  
Eva-Marie Kessler

Abstract. Conflict avoidance increases across the adult lifespan. This cross-sectional study looks at conflict avoidance as part of a mechanism to regulate belongingness needs ( Sheldon, 2011 ). We assumed that older adults perceive more threats to their belongingness when they contemplate their future, and that they preventively react with avoidance coping. We set up a model predicting conflict avoidance that included perceptions of future nonbelonging, termed anticipated loneliness, and other predictors including sociodemographics, indicators of subjective well-being and perceived social support (N = 331, aged 40–87). Anticipated loneliness predicted conflict avoidance above all other predictors and partially mediated the age-association of conflict avoidance. Results suggest that belongingness regulation accounts may deepen our understanding of conflict avoidance in the second half of life.


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