Cherie Levy Dianne A Vella-Brodrick

School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, Monash

University

SAVOURING (BRYANT, 2003)

MINDFULNESS (BUDDHISM)

The capacity to enjoy moments in

life

Enhance the quality of consciousness through directed attention and

awareness on the present moment

SWB •Involves a cognitive (SWLS) component and an affective (PANAS) component (Diener, 1984)•“Architecture of Sustainable Change”: 40% of the variance of happiness is attributable to intentional activity (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon & Schkade, 2005)

Savouring vs. Coping Not inherent in the experience, it may need to

be harvested Reminiscent, In the Moment and Anticipatory

Savouring Savouring could be related to SWB through

Fredrickson’s Broaden-and-Build Theory (Isen 1987; Fredrickson, 1998)

Savouring and SWB (Bryant, 2003) Positively correlated with present happiness, intensity

& frequency of happiness and affect intensity Negatively correlated with frequency of unhappy and

neutral affect and social anhedoniaNB: highest correlations for these findings always

reflected the In the Moment savouring subscale

2,500 year old Buddhist teaching of freeing oneself from distracting thoughts by focussing on the present moment

Two key elements: Awareness and an attitude of acceptance (Bishop et al, 2004)

Mindfulness as a therapeutic tool (Bar; 2003; Kabat-Zinn, 1990; 2003)

Mindfulness and SWB (Brown & Ryan, 2003) Positively correlated with positive affect and life

satisfaction Inversely correlated with negative affect

CONCEPTUAL SIMILARITY INTERACTIVE RELATIONSHIP?

BOTH CONCENTRATE ON THE PRESENT MOMENT BASE LEVEL OF MINDFULNESS ALLOWS FOR

GREATER SAVOURING GREATER SWB

Savouring Focus on positive

feelings (PA)

Mindfulness Focus on acceptance of all

feelings (good and bad) Focus on decreased

emotional reactivity (Decrease NA)

Extend on previous research Explore predictive relationships of savouring and mindfulness

on SWB Broader population sample (adults + students) and meditators

and non-meditators Explore whether levels of mindfulness enhance the ability to

savour Explore how each construct predicts each dimension of SWB.

HypothesesHypothesesHypothesesHypotheses• Savouring and mindfulness will be

significant predictors of SWB• In the Moment savouring will be the best

predictor of SWB in comparison to anticipatory and reminiscent savouring

147 participants completed either web-based or hardcopy questionnaire kits

Recruited from public offices, health centres, 1st year participant pool at Monash and Buddhist centres and online groups

Sociodemographic (e.g. age, gender, marital status, income) and control variables (e.g. meditation frequency, duration and experience)

Measure Number of Items

Responses (Likert scales)

Reliability(α)

Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin (1985)

5 1 - “strongly disagree”7 - “strongly agree”

.87

Positive And Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)Watson, Clark & Tellegen (1988)

Positive Affect & Negative Affect

20 1 - “very slightly”5 – “extremely”

.88/ .86

Savouring Beliefs Inventory (SBI)Bryant (2003)

Anticipating, In the Moment, Reminiscing

24 1 - “strongly disagree”7 - “strongly agree

.89

Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS)Cardaciotto, Herbert, Forman, Moitra & Farrow (2008)

Acceptance & Awareness

20 1 - “never5 - ”very often”

.75/.82

Outcome Variables

Subjective Well-Being Dimensions (PANAS &

SWLS)

Positive Affect Negative Affect Satisfaction with Life

Step 1 Sociodemographic and control

variables

Age Income Marital Status Meditation Experience & Frequency

Step 2 Mindfulness (PHLMS)

Acceptance Present-moment Awareness

Step 3 Savouring (SBI) Anticipating In the momentReminiscing

Note.

Predictors (Model 1): Marital Status (SWL, PA), Meditation Frequency (SWL, NA), Meditation Experience (SWL), Age (PA, NA), Income (PA, NA)

Predictors (Model 2): Acceptance, Awareness

Predictors (Model 3): Anticipating, In the Moment, Reminiscinga Satisfaction with Life (Model 3): F(8,66) = 4.08, p < .001b Positive Affect (Model 3): F(8, 85) = 6.27, p < .001c Negative Affect (Model 2): F (5, 88) = 6.47, p < .001

Dependent Variable Predictor R2 Adj R2 R2 Change p

Satisfaction with Lifea Model 1 .10 .06 .10 .06Model 2 .19 .13 .09 .03Model 3 .33 .25 .15 .00

Positive Affectb Model 1 .10 .07 .10 .02Model 2 .21 .16 .10 .00Model 3 .37 .31 .16 .00

Negative Affectc Model 1 .08 .05 .08 .05Model 2 .27 .23 .19 .00Model 3 .33 .26 .06 .07

Variable B SE B β T P

Satisfaction with LifeMarital Status .99 1.21 .09 .81 .42Medit’n Frequency .50 .82 .08 .60 .55Medit’n Experience .06 .09 .08 .72 .48PHMLS Acceptance .14 .10 .16 1.39 .17PHLMS Awareness .05 .14 .05 .40 .69SBI Anticipating -.07 .12 -.08 -.60 .55

SBI In the Moment .32 .14 .37 2.35 .02SBI Reminiscing .09 .13 .12 .71 .48

Positive AffectAge .00 .06 .01 .07 .94Marital Status .83 1.13 .08 .73 .47Income .00 .00 .19 1.79 .08PHLMS Acceptance .12 .08 .15 1.44 .16PHLMS Awareness .15 .10 .14 1.55 .13SBI Anticipating -.11 .09 -.14 -1.17 .25

SBI In the Moment .25 .11 .31 2.29 .03SBI Reminiscing .17 .10 .24 1.77 .08

Negative AffectAge .03 .06 .07 .66 .51Meditation Frequency -.24 .63 -.04 -.38 .70Income .00 .00 .05 .45 .66

PHLMS Acceptance .40 .09 .48 4.65 .00PHLMS Awareness .17 .12 .14 1.44 .15

Mindfulness significantly predicted all dimensions of SWB, but particularly NA

Savouring significantly predicted SWL and PA, but not NA

ITM savouring was the best predictor of SWB compared to anticipatory and reminiscent savouring It was the single best predictor of both SWL

(37%) and PA (31%)

Mindfulness was not a precondition for savouring

Mindfulness is more instructive in NA than SWB generally Explore the predictive ability of mindfulness

for psychological well-being (PWB) Evidence for the usefulness of Acceptance &

Commitment Therapy (Eifert & Forsyth, 2005) in anxiety and pain disorders

Savouring is more useful as an intervention to enhance happiness

Use ESM for variables that are susceptible to change based on mood and recent experiences

Adopt a more present-moment focus Savouring and mindfulness function

independently and influence different dimensions of SWB

Happiness is best sought through savouring techniques

Mindfulness aids to decrease emotional reactivity

Need to explore the efficacy of mindfulness in predicting PWB