scholarly journals The Predictive Dynamics of Happiness and Well-Being

2021 ◽  
pp. 175407392110638
Author(s):  
Mark Miller ◽  
Erik Rietveld ◽  
Julian Kiverstein
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Predictive Processing ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Momentary Happiness ◽  
Error Dynamics

We offer an account of mental health and well-being using the predictive processing framework (PPF). According to this framework, the difference between mental health and psychopathology can be located in the goodness of the predictive model as a regulator of action. What is crucial for avoiding the rigid patterns of thinking, feeling and acting associated with psychopathology is the regulation of action based on the valence of affective states. In PPF, valence is modelled as error dynamics—the change in prediction errors over time . Our aim in this paper is to show how error dynamics can account for both momentary happiness and longer term well-being. What will emerge is a new neurocomputational framework for making sense of human flourishing.

Avoiding Psychiatric Disability Overdiagnosis, Part 1: General Disability and Occupational Disability—Going Beyond Medical Impairment Assessments

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-7
Author(s):  
Fabien Gagnon ◽  
Les Kertay
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Work Disability ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychiatric Disability ◽  
Disability Assessment ◽  
Health Work ◽  
Occupational Disability ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Mental Health Work

Abstract Claims of occupational psychiatric disability have increased considerably over the past 20 years. To avoid psychiatric disability overdiagnosis, it is important to improve the clinical assessment of mental health work disability. This article discusses general disability issues and their impact on individual well-being, social participation, and frequently associated poverty. It defines the difference between impairment assessment and disability assessment, explores three common disability models, and raises issues about psychiatric disability and its potential overdiagnosis.

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Mental Toughness, Job Loss, and Mental Health Issues During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dara Mojtahedi ◽  
Neil Dagnall ◽  
Andrew Denovan ◽  
Peter Clough ◽  
Sophie Hull ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental Toughness ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Negative Affective States ◽  
Mental Health Effects ◽  
The Relationship

Concerns toward public well-being and mental health are increasing considering the COVID-19 pandemic's global societal and individual impact. The present study builds on the current body of COVID-19 literature by examining the role of mental toughness (MT) in predicting negative affective states (depression, anxiety and stress) during the pandemic. The study also examined the effects of changes in employment on mental health and MT. Participants (N = 723) completed a battery of questionnaires including the Mental Toughness Questionnaire 48-item, The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale – 21 items. Participants reported relatively higher levels of depression, stress and anxiety in comparison to pre-COVID-19 samples from previous research, with respondents who had lost their jobs during the pandemic reporting higher levels of negative affective states. Despite this, mentally tough individuals appeared to report lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress. Moreover, moderation analyses identified some interaction between MT and employment status when predicting depression, anxiety and stress. Our findings suggest that MT may have some utility in reducing the adverse mental health effects of the pandemic on individuals, however, further longitudinal research is needed to support these implications.

scholarly journals Mood dynamics are associated with learning and not choice

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bastien Blain ◽  
Robb Rutledge
Keyword(s):  
Affective State ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Risky Choice ◽  
Adaptive Behaviour ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Environmental Statistics ◽  
Probability Prediction ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Choice Tasks

Updating predictions about which stimuli are associated with reward is an important aspect of adaptive behaviour believed to relate to prediction errors, the difference between experienced and predicted outcomes. Behavioural sensitivity to prediction errors flexibly adapts to environmental statistics. Prediction errors also influence affective states during risky choice tasks that do not require learning, but the relationship between emotions and adaptive behaviour is unknown. Here, using computational modelling we found that mood dynamics, like behaviour, are sensitive to learning-relevant model variables (i.e., probability prediction error). Unlike behaviour, mood dynamics are not sensitive to model variables that influence choice (i.e., expected value), and increasing volatility does not reduce how many trials influence affective state. Finally, depressive symptoms reduce overall mood more in volatile than stable environments. Our findings suggest that mood dynamics are selective for variables relevant to adaptive behaviour and suggest a greater role for mood in learning than choice.

scholarly journals Defining well-being in community development from the ground up: a case study of participant and practitioner perspectives

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Coburn ◽  
Sinéad Gormally
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Safety ◽  
Health Improvement ◽  
Advisory Group ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Briefing Paper ◽  
Safety Consideration ◽  
Development Practice

Abstract The concept of well-being is part of an inter-disciplinary agenda for health improvement and human flourishing, critiqued as a superficial ‘solution’ to structural inequality (Friedli, L. (2003) Mental Health Improvement ‘concepts and definitions’: briefing Paper for the National Advisory Group, Scottish Executive, Edinburgh; White, S. C. (2010) Analysing wellbeing: a framework for development practice, Development in Practice, 20 (2), 158–172). This article discusses an evaluation of three health promoting community projects, over a two-year period. The study identifies important features for understanding well-being at grassroots, community and practice levels. Local people had viable and holistic perceptions of well-being that helped them reflect on their current contexts. Practitioners tended to have a more limited conceptualization by associating wellbeing with mental health or community safety. Consideration of findings identified five conditions of wellbeing for community development practice: creating a sense of community; strong volunteering ethos; networking and partnership working; positive language; enhanced relationships. Applying these findings in practice helped to create a new reflective grid, incorporating seven elements of well-being. Participants found this grid easy to use and affirming in facilitating reflection on their personal well-being. This was also beneficial for community practitioners, who were not clinically qualified, to facilitate reflective learning at grassroots level. Analysis of this research enables a conclusion to be drawn to suggest that well-being is a valuable construct in unifying community development.

More than Welfare: The Experiences of Employed and Unemployed Ontario Basic Income Recipients

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ferdosi ◽  
Tom McDowell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Self ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Pilot Site ◽  
Housing Stability ◽  
Policy Tool ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Use Of Health Services

AbstractThis article explores the experiences of employed and unemployed Ontario Basic Income recipients in the Hamilton and Brantford pilot site. Integrating data from surveys and interviews, the self-reported outcomes of both groups are summarized. These outcomes pertain to employment, physical health, mental health, use of health services, food security, housing stability, financial well-being and social activities. The article highlights the difference in the degree of improvements between recipients who were working before and during the pilot versus those who were not employed at both times. Its broad conclusion is that both groups reported significant benefits, but it was recipients who were continuously employed that reported the greatest improvements. This suggests that basic income could be an important policy tool to improve the lives of low-income and precarious workers in Ontario and perhaps elsewhere.

scholarly journals Change in Mental Health Symptoms During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Appraisals and Daily Life Experiences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Brose ◽  
Elisabeth Sophie Blanke ◽  
Florian Schmiedek ◽  
Andrea C. Kramer ◽  
Andrea Schmidt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Present Moment ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Post Test

Intro: When confronted with major threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic, people often experience (temporary) decline in well-being. The central purpose of this study was to identify mechanisms underlying stability and change of well-being in times of threat like the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined change in mental health symptoms and its relationships with appraisals of the pandemic and daily life experiences during the pandemic, including affective states, stress, and mindfulness. Methods: We conducted a study across 3.5 weeks, including pretest, posttest, and a diary phase in-between. In this report, we worked with a sample of 460 adults, pre- and post-test information, as well as a total of 7189 observations from the diary phase. Results: Results showed that less fortunate change in mental health symptoms across three weeks was predicted by more negative affect and less mindfulness, specifically less attention to the present moment, in daily life. Furthermore, less fortunate change in mental health symptoms was correlated with change towards less fortunate appraisals of the appraisals. Finally, we showed that more general views of the pandemic (i.e., appraisals) were interrelated to experiences in daily life, with more negative appraisals of the pandemic predicting more negative affect and stressor occurrence as well as less mindfulness.Discussion: These findings speak to the dynamic nature of well-being and appraisals in times of threat, and they show how experiences in daily life matter for change in well-being

scholarly journals Momentary subjective well-being depends on learning and not reward

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bastien Blain ◽  
Robb B Rutledge
Keyword(s):  
Prediction Error ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Adaptive Behaviour ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Reward Prediction Error ◽  
Reward Prediction ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Momentary Happiness

Subjective well-being or happiness is often associated with wealth. Recent studies suggest that momentary happiness is associated with reward prediction error, the difference between experienced and predicted reward, a key component of adaptive behaviour. We tested subjects in a reinforcement learning task in which reward size and probability were uncorrelated, allowing us to dissociate between the contributions of reward and learning to happiness. Using computational modelling, we found convergent evidence across stable and volatile learning tasks that happiness, like behaviour, is sensitive to learning-relevant variables (i.e. probability prediction error). Unlike behaviour, happiness is not sensitive to learning-irrelevant variables (i.e. reward prediction error). Increasing volatility reduces how many past trials influence behaviour but not happiness. Finally, depressive symptoms reduce happiness more in volatile than stable environments. Our results suggest that how we learn about our world may be more important for how we feel than the rewards we actually receive.

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