Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being

2018 ◽  
pp. 20-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Charles Watkins ◽  
Trese McLaughlin ◽  
Jhenifa P. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Subjective Well Being

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.

Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being

2021 ◽  
pp. 1737-1759
Author(s):  
Philip Charles Watkins ◽  
Trese McLaughlin ◽  
Jhenifa P. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Subjective Well Being

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.

Facebook and Subjective Well-Being Among College Students: A Systematic Review

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Loprinzi ◽  
Emily Frith
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Innovative Strategies ◽  
Facebook Use ◽  
Pubmed Search ◽  
The Impact

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.

scholarly journals Source of funding and results of studies of health effects of mobile phone use: systematic review of experimental studies

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1005-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Huss ◽  
Matthias Egger ◽  
Kerstin Hug ◽  
Karin Huwiler-Müntener ◽  
Martin Röösli
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Telecommunications Industry ◽  
Outcome Data ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Radiofrequency Radiation ◽  
Methodologic Quality ◽  
Health Related

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.

scholarly journals Causal Effects of Well-Being on Health: It's Complicated

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Marie Rohrer ◽  
Richard E. Lucas
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Causal Effects ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
Cast Doubt ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Main Effects

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.

Experimental research in the field of subjective well-being

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maitta Spronken ◽  
Rob Holland ◽  
Bernd Figner ◽  
Ap Dijksterhuis
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Research ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Experimental Control ◽  
The Past ◽  
Correlational Research ◽  
Lab Experiments ◽  
Experimental Approaches

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.

scholarly journals Tears Trigger the Intention to Offer Social Support: A Systematic Investigation of the Interpersonal Effects of Emotional Crying Across 41 Countries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janis Zickfeld ◽  
Niels van de Ven ◽  
Olivia Pich ◽  
Thomas W. Schubert ◽  
Jana Berkessel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Empathic Concern ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Moderating Variables ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Interpersonal Effects ◽  
Limited Generalizability

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.

Personality Correlates of the Five-Factor Model for a Sample of Business Owners/Managers: Associations with Scores on Self-Monitoring, Type a Behavior, Locus of Control, and Subjective Well-Being

1997 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 255-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley A. Morrison
Keyword(s):  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Type A ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Type A Behavior ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Activity Survey

Bivariate relationships were examined between scores on the Five-Factor Model of personality and four personality dimensions including Self-monitoring, Locus of Control, Type A Behavior, and Subjective Well-being Data were collected from 307 franchise business owner/managers from four different industries. Scores for Self-monitoring were positively related to those on Extraversion; Self-monitoring was the only personality measure significantly correlated with scores on Openness to Experience. Scores for Type A Behavior, measured by the Jenkins Activity Survey, were negatively correlated with Agreeableness and positively correlated with those for Extraversion. Somewhat surprisingly, the score for Type A Behavior had a relatively low correlation with the score for Conscientiousness. Scores for Subjective Well-being and Locus of Control were most strongly correlated with the positive pole of Neuroticism (Emotional Stability), Conscientiousness, and Extraversion. Possible explanations for the observed relationships are discussed.

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