Meditating for the Planet: Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Sustainable Consumption Behaviors

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (9) ◽  
pp. 1012-1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja M. Geiger ◽  
Daniel Fischer ◽  
Ulf Schrader ◽  
Paul Grossman
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Student Sample ◽  
Consumption Behavior ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Attitude Behavior ◽  
Material Values

Recent research suggests that mindfulness may foster sustainable consumption behavior through the reduction of the so-called attitude–behavior gap, or by weakening material values while increasing subjective well-being. The current controlled longitudinal study tested these propositions by employing a sustainability-adapted mindfulness-based intervention (sMBI) to two different samples ( n = 60 university students; n = 71 employees). Although the intervention successfully enhanced mindful experiences in both samples, we found no evidence for neither direct effects on sustainable consumption behavior or related attitudes, nor for the reduction of the attitude–behavior gap. However, the intervention led to greater well-being in the student sample and suggested a decline of materialistic value orientations in both samples. The results blunt previous claims about potential causal effects of mindfulness practice on sustainable consumption behavior. Nevertheless, they indicate that the sMBI affects behavior-distal variables, such as material values and well-being, which in turn could influence consumption behavior in the long run.

scholarly journals Validation of the Italian Versions of the Flourishing Scale and of the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience

SAGE Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824401668229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Giuntoli ◽  
Francesco Ceccarini ◽  
Claudio Sica ◽  
Corrado Caudek
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Negative Experience ◽  
Student Sample ◽  
Cognitive Component ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Healthy Control

Researchers are divided between those who consider well-being as a single global construct and those who maintain the need to keep the hedonic and eudaimonic components of well-being separate. Diener et al. proposed two separate scales for measuring well-being: the Flourishing Scale (FS) for eudaimonic well-being and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) for hedonic well-being. The aim of this article is to validate the Italian versions of the FS and SPANE, and to provide support for the usefulness of distinct measures of well-being components. In Study 1, we examined an Italian undergraduate student sample ( n = 684), whereas in Study 2 we considered two samples of unemployed ( n = 282) and healthy control individuals ( n = 426). Through multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, we demonstrated that the Italian FS and SPANE obtained strict measurement invariance across administration methods (paper-and-pencil and Internet) and strong measurement invariance across different groups (unemployed individuals seeking work and a healthy control group). In our data, we found a superior fit for a two-factor model over a one-factor model of well-being, which suggests the utility of separate measures of well-being components. Concurrent validity was verified with other well-being, depression, and anxiety measures. Furthermore, we showed that flourishing is more strongly related to the cognitive component of subjective well-being than hedonic affect. In summary, the Italian FS and SPANE are reliable and valid instruments, and may be beneficial in their applications in future Italian studies on well-being.

scholarly journals Social capital, economic growth and well-being

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Sarracino
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Comparisons ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

In the long run economic growth does not improve people's well-being. Traditional theories – adaptation and social comparisons – explain this evidence, but they don't explain what shapes the trend of subjective well-being and its differences across countries. Recent research identified in social capital a plausible candidate to explain the trends of well-being. This dissertation adopts various econometric techniques to explore the relationship over time among social capital, economic growth and subjective well-being. The main conclusion is that social capital is a good predictor of the trend of subjective well-being, both within and across countries. Hence, policies for well-being should aim at preserving and enhancing social capital for the quality of the social environment matters.

scholarly journals From Data to Causes I: Building A General Cross-Lagged Panel Model (GCLM)

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 651-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Zyphur ◽  
Paul D. Allison ◽  
Louis Tay ◽  
Manuel C. Voelkle ◽  
Kristopher J. Preacher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Causal Inference ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
National Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Panel Model ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Run

This is the first paper in a series of two that synthesizes, compares, and extends methods for causal inference with longitudinal panel data in a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework. Starting with a cross-lagged approach, this paper builds a general cross-lagged panel model (GCLM) with parameters to account for stable factors while increasing the range of dynamic processes that can be modeled. We illustrate the GCLM by examining the relationship between national income and subjective well-being (SWB), showing how to examine hypotheses about short-run (via Granger-Sims tests) versus long-run effects (via impulse responses). When controlling for stable factors, we find no short-run or long-run effects among these variables, showing national SWB to be relatively stable, whereas income is less so. Our second paper addresses the differences between the GCLM and other methods. Online Supplementary Materials offer an Excel file automating GCLM input for Mplus (with an example also for Lavaan in R) and analyses using additional data sets and all program input/output. We also offer an introductory GCLM presentation at https://youtu.be/tHnnaRNPbXs . We conclude with a discussion of issues surrounding causal inference.

Work value orientations and worker well-being in the new economy

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 736-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey Shevchuk ◽  
Denis Strebkov ◽  
Shannon N. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Work Values ◽  
Job Demands ◽  
New Economy ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Work Value

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to integrate work values research with the Job Demands–Resources model to assess the role that work value orientations play in self-employed workers’ subjective well-being. Design/methodology/approach The paper analyzes unique data on freelancers participating in an online labor market (n=9,984). Findings Intrinsic work values are associated with greater subjective well-being, whereas extrinsic work values are associated with lower subjective well-being. Consistent with the buffer hypothesis, intrinsic work value orientation reduces the negative effect of working hours on worker’s well-being, and extrinsic orientation enhances the negative effect. Originality/value This paper calls into question the importance of working conditions relative to worker values when assessing the role that job demands and resources play in the new economy. As work becomes more demanding and employment relations more flexible, personal resources such as work value orientations may become increasingly important for worker’s well-being.

scholarly journals Achieving Escape Velocity: Neighborhood and School Interventions to Reduce Persistent Inequality

2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland G Fryer ◽  
Lawrence F Katz
Keyword(s):  
Teen Pregnancy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Risky Behaviors ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
School Interventions ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Sources Of Variation ◽  
Persistent Inequality

This paper reviews the evidence on the efficacy of neighborhood and school interventions in improving the long-run outcomes of children growing up in poor families. We focus on studies exploiting exogenous sources of variation in neighborhoods and schools and which examine at least medium-term outcomes. Higher-quality neighborhoods improve family safety, adult subjective well-being and health, and girls' mental health. But they have no detectable impact on youth human capital, labor market outcomes, or risky behaviors. In contrast, higher-quality schools can improve children's academic achievement and can have longer-term positive impacts of increasing educational attainment and earnings and reducing incarceration and teen pregnancy.

scholarly journals Adaptation and Loss Aversion in the Relationship Between GDP and Subjective Well-Being

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti Hovi ◽  
Jani-Petri Laamanen
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Loss Aversion ◽  
National Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Run ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

Abstract We examine the roles of macro-level adaptation — including social comparison effects becoming more important over time — and macroeconomic loss aversion in the time-series relationship between national income and subjective well-being. Models allowing for these phenomena are applied to cross-country panel data. We find evidence for macroeconomic loss aversion that becomes more important over time: the effects of economic growth become small and statistically insignificant in the long run, whereas the effects of contractions are large and long-lasting. The results are consistent with the Easterlin paradox and point to it being explained by macro-level adaptation to economic growth. Our results highlight the importance of allowing for both dynamics to distinguish long-run from short-run effects and asymmetries to recognize the important effects of contractions. Failing to do the former leads to a misleading impression of the long-run relationship between economic growth and well-being.

Greening up because of god: The relations among religion, sustainable consumption and subjective well-being

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 655-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Minton ◽  
Hu Jeffrey Xie ◽  
Eda Gurel-Atay ◽  
Lynn R. Kahle
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being
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