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Myers Lecture:
TeachingSubjective Well-Being
Ed DienerSmiley Distinguished Professor of PsychologyUniversity of Illinois
Meeting: Association for Psychological Science, Chicago, Illinois, May 22-24, 2008
My Gratitude To
Carol and David Myers!
Happiness
• Question of the ages: What is the good life?
One answer – Happiness
Science is starting to provide answers:• What is happiness?• Is it good to possess?• What cuases it?
Exciting, Important Scientific Area!
• Possibly the most important thing you can teach students about their lives
• Involves material from all of psychology – cognitive, bio, clinical, developmental, et cetera
• Great for class discussions:There is existing science, but also
many unanswered questions
Educational Levels
• High School
• Undergrad modules– 1 to 5 lectures for larger courses -- Intro,
social, developmental, cognitive, etc.
• Focused undergraduate course– SWB, adjustment, positive psychology
• Graduate seminar
Resources
Ed Diener websitehttp://www.psych.uiuc.edu/~ediener/
E. Diener & R. Biswas-DienerHappiness book 2008
• Wiley/Blackwell
(Sept., 2008)
Interesting Studies!
• There are lots of fun studies– Nun study– Colonoscopy & memory
And
• There are lots of open research questions– E.G., When is happiness beneficial?
Major Happiness Topics
1. History of the field
2. Defining, measuring, methods
3. Psychological processes
4. National accounts of SWB
5. Benefits of happiness
6. Causes of happiness
Is Happiness Desirable?
Flaubert’s Error
To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.
Gustave Flaubert
Dalai Lama
“Stupid
Happiness”
2. Benefits of Positive SWB
Social relationships
Work and income
Health & longevity
Societal benefits
• Causal direction?– Longitudinal, lab experiments, quasi-
experiments
Social Benefits
Happy people more likely to have:
Self-confidence, leadership
More friends
Warmth, sociability
Work Success
A. Higher supervisor ratings
B. Organizational citizenship Example: Helping others on the
job
C. Higher income
College Entry Cheerfulness, and Income 19 years later
Diener, Nickerson, Lucas, & Sandvik (2002)
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
Mean
Not CheerfulMost Cheerful
Example Student Discussion:
Why might happy people earn more than unhappy people?
Health & Longevity The Nun Study
Dr. Snowdon with Sisters Agnes and Gertrude
Longevity: The Nun Study Danner, Snowden, & Friesen, U Kentucky
1. Nuns autobiographies at age 22
Expression of positive emotions
2. Happy and less happy nuns living in same life circumstances through lifespan
How long do they live?
Longevity in The Nun Study
Survival Rate at Age: 85 93
Most Cheerful Quartile 79% 52%
Least Cheerful 54% 18%
Danner, Snowdon, & Friesen
Psychologists
Happy live about 5 years longer
(Sarah Pressman)
Societal Benefits of Happiness
• Volunteering
• Pro-peace attitudes
• Cooperative attitudes
Optimal Happiness
(Oishi, Diener, & Lucas, 2007)
Sometimes “8’s” achieve more
Some “negative” emotions are
functional and appropriate
Example Student Discussion
When is it better not to be too happy? When are negative emotions beneficial?
3. Some Causes of Happiness?
1. Social relationships
2. Temperament/adaptation
3. Money
4. Society & Culture
5. Positive thinking styles
1. Strong Social
Relationships
Every single one of the happiest people we studied have good social relationships
GIVING social support: People who help others live longer and are
happier!
2. Temperament – A strong influence on people’s moods
Temperament“Identical” (Monozygotic) Twins
Ed’s Daughters: Clinical Psychologist and Developmental Psychologist
Inborn Temperament
• Identical twins reared apart are much more similar in happiness than fraternal twins reared together
• Heritability – 20 to 50 percent of individual differences in happiness
Daily moods of a 20-year old
Unemployment
5.8
6
6.2
6.4
6.6
6.8
7
7.2
Past Prior Yr. Fired 1 Yr. 3 Yrs.
Example Student Discussion
When can you change your level of happiness? When is inborn temperament dominant?
3. Money
-1.7
-1.5
-1.3
-1.1
-0.9
-0.7
-0.5
-0.3
-0.1
0.1
0.3
0.5
0.7
0.9
1.1
1.3
1.5
1.7
-1.6 -1.4 -1.2 -1 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6
Lg income (midpoint of each category, standardized)
Sta
nd
ard
ized
un
its
of
SW
B
Ladder
Domain
PA
No NA
But Caveats About Money!
• Declining marginal utility
• Toxicity of materialism
Example Student Discussion
How much money is enough for happiness?
Can you have too much?
4. Society Influences our Happiness!
The individual bias in individualistic societies – happiness is within you only
National SWB: 0 – 10 Scale
Life Evaluation Ladder
Denmark 8.0
Switzerland 7.5
Canada 7.4
United States 7.2
Togo 3.2
Sierra Leone3.6
Zimbabwe 3.8
West Bank 4.7
94 % of Danes are Above
97 % of Togolese
Ladder of Life Scores
109876543210
Perc
ent of R
espondents
50
40
30
20
10
0
DENMARK
TOGO
5. Cognition:Positive Mental Outlook
• The habit of seeing the glass
half-full• Seeing opportunities, not
threats• Generally trusting and liking
oneself and others
Cognition: AIM Model
• Attention
• Interpretation
• Memory
Basic Cognition: AIM Model
• Attention– Gorilla basketball study (Simon)
• Interpretation– “They saw a game”
• Memory– Remembering vacation (Wirtz)– Remembering partner (Oishi)
Positive Cognition: AIM Model
• Attention– Seeing the positive & beauty
• Interpretation– Not putting a negative spin on
too many things
• Memory– Savoring rather than ruminating
Example Student Discussion
When is happiness caused by your outlook and when is it due to what is objectively happening to you? When is each important?
Student Exercise
Complete the Positive and Negative Thinking Scales (appendix), and score and discuss
Discussion: When and why is positive thinking beneficial?
Conclusion: True Wealth-- Psychological Wealth
• Material sufficiency
• Values, meaning and purpose
• Loving social relationships
• Spirituality
• Physical & mental health
• Happiness and life satisfaction
Conclusions
• You and your students can have a lot of fun with this topic!
• It can help students live a better life!
• You can review many psychological concepts to understand well-being
Appendix: Resources
Ancillary Materials
Potential “Textbooks”• Diener and Biswas-Diener: Happiness– Unlocking the
mysteries of psychological wealth
• Sonja Lyubomirsky: The how of happiness
• Tal Ben-Shahar: The question of happiness
• Daniel Gilbert: Stumbling on happiness
• David Myers: The pursuit of happiness
• Richard Eckersley: Well & good
• Michael Argyle: The psychology of happiness
General Scholarly Sources
• Kahneman, Diener, & SchwarzWell-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology
• Strack, Argyle, & SchwarzSubjective well-being
• Eid & LarsenThe science of subjective well-being
• Snyder & LopezHandbook of positive psychology
Some Names for SWB Research Searches
• Ruut Veenhoven• Daniel Gilbert• Daniel Kahneman• Robert Emmons• Shige Oishi• Ron Inglehart• Eunkuk Suh• Richard Lucas
• Ulrich Schimmack• Laura King• Frank Fujita• Robert Biswas-Diener• Sonja Lyubomirsky• Norman Bradburn• David Myers• Bruno Frey
Websites
• Ruut Veenhoven: World Database of Happinesshttp://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/
• Positive Organization Scholarship– University of Michiganhttp://www.bus.umich.edu/Positive/
Sonja Lyubomirsky websitehttp://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~sonja/papers.html
• Martin Seligman websitehttp://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx
Examples of Fun Studies!
• The nun study (happiness and longevity)• Dunn et al. (buying for others better than buying
for oneself)• Vohs et al. (priming money effects)• Biswas-Diener (slums of Calcutta)• Studies of lottery winners• Studies using physiological measures of SWB• Jeanne Tsai (what emotions are best)• Biswas-Diener (Maasai, Amish, Inuit)
1. History Topics
• Greek philosophers
• Thinkers and religious leaders
• Utilitarians
• Early research – personality; sociology
• 1980-2000
• Current research
History References
• Diener & Kesebir, In pursuit of happiness: Empirical answers to philosophical questions, Perspectives on Psychological Science (2008)
• Ruut Veenhoven (1984) Conditions of happiness
• Wladyslaw Tatarkiewicz, Analysis of happiness
• Darrin McMahon, A history of happiness
Benefitsof Happiness, Resources
• Lyubomirsky, Diener, & King (2005)
• Oishi, Diener, & Lucas (2007)
• Pressman & Cohen (2005)
• Diener and Biswas-Diener (2008)
Happiness: Unlocking the mysteries of psychological wealth
Causes References
• Diener, E. Psychological Bulletin 1984• Diener et al., Psychological Bulletin, 1999• Seligman, Authentic Happiness• Bruni & Porta, Handbook on the economics of happiness• Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a new science• Veenhoven, Conditions of happiness• Furnham & Argyle, The psychology of money• Frey & Stutzer, Happiness and economics: How the
eonomy and institutions affect human well-being• Frey & Stutzer, Economics and psychology: A promising
new cross-disciplinary field
Processes References
• Alan Parducci (1995) Happiness, pleasure, and judgment– Range-frequency theory
• Robert Emmons & McCullough (2004) The psychology of gratitude
• David Lykken (1999) Happiness: What studies on twins show us about nature, nurture, and the happiness set point
• Diener, Lucas, & Scollon (2006)– Adaptation; limits of “hedonic treadmill”
Defining, Measuring, Methods
• Defining– Evaluations of one’s life– Types:
• Positive affect• Life satisfaction• Domain satisfactions• Low negative affect• Meaning, purpose, trust, optimism?
Defining, Measuring, Methods
• Measurement methods– Self-report
• Validity & reliability
– Informant report– Experience sampling– Biological– Facial, vocal, expression– Coding verbal material
Sandvik, Seidlitz & Diener, 1993
Defining, Measuring, Methods
• Methods– Cross-sectional surveys– Longitudinal surveys (panels)– Natural experiments & quasi-experiments
• Lottery studies• Negative income tax• Disasters
– Lab experiments• E.g., moods and emotions
National Accounts of Well-being -- References
• Diener & Seligman (2004)Beyond money: Toward an economy of well-
being, Psych Science in the Public Interest
• Diener, Lucas, Schimmack, & Helliwell (2009) Accounts of well-being for policy
• Diener – Guidelines
• Diener – American Psychologist
• Diener Broad Theory and Review Articles on Well-Being
• Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542-575.• Diener, E., Lucas, R., & Scollon, C. N. (2006). Beyond the hedonic treadmill: Revising
the adaptation theory of well-being. American Psychologist, 61, 305-314.• Diener, E., Sandvik, E., & Pavot, W. (1991). Happiness is the frequency, not the
intensity, of positive versus negative affect. In F. Strack, M. Argyle, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Subjective well-being: An interdisciplinary perspective (pp. 119-139). New York: Pergamon.
• Diener, E., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Beyond money: Toward an economy of well-being. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5, 1-31.
• Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276-302.
• Diener, E., & Tov, W. (in press). Culture and subjective well-being. In S. Kitayama & D. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of cultural psychology. New York: Guilford.
• Kahneman, D., Diener, E., & Schwarz, N. (Eds.). (1999). Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology. New York: Sage.
• Larsen, R. J., & Diener, E. (1987). Affect intensity as an individual difference characteristic: A review. Journal of Research in Personality, 21, 1-39.
• Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803-855.
• Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the Satisfaction with Life Scale. • Psychological Assessment, 5, 164-172.
• Selected Diener Empirical Articles on Well-Being
• Biswas-Diener, R., & Diener, E. (2006). The subjective well-being of the homeless, and lessons for happiness. Social Indicators Research, 76, 185-205.
• Diener, E., & Diener, C. (1996). Most people are happy. Psychological Science, 7, 181-185.• Diener, E., & Diener, M. (1995). Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 653-663.• Diener, E., & Emmons, R. A. (1985). The independence of positive and negative affect. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 1105-1117.• Eid, M., & Diener, E. (2001). Norms for experiencing emotions in different cultures: Inter- and
intranational differences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 869-885.• Lucas, R. E., Clark, A. E., Georgellis, Y., & Diener, E. (2003). Reexamining adaptation and the
set point model of happiness: Reactions to changes in marital status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 527-539.
• Oishi, S., & Diener, E. (2001). Re-examining the general positivity model of subjective well-being: The discrepancy between specific and global domain satisfaction. Journal of Personality, 69, 641-666.
• Sandvik, E., Diener, E., & Seidlitz, L. (1993). Subjective well-being: The convergence and stability of self-report and non-self-report measures. Journal of Personality, 61, 317-342.
• Schimmack, U., Diener, E., & Oishi, S. (2002). Life-satisfaction is a momentary judgment and a stable personality characteristic: The use of chronically accessible and stable sources. Journal of Personality, 70, 345-384.
• Wirtz, D., Kruger, J., Scollon, C. N., & Diener, E. (2003). What to do on spring break? The role of predicted, on-line, and remembered experience in future choice. Psychological Science, 14, 520-524.
Additional References
• Magen, Z. (1998) Exploring adolescent happiness
• Frisch, Michael• Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi
(Eds.)(2006) A life worth living• Peterson & Seligman (2004) Character
strengths and virtues• Dalai Lam & Howard Cutler, 1998, The art
of happiness
Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al.)
Below are five statements that you may agree or disagree with. Using the 1 - 7 scale below indicate your agreement with each item by placing the appropriate number on the line preceding that item. Please be open and honest in your responding.
7 - Strongly agree6 - Agree5 - Slightly agree4 - Neither agree nor disagree3 - Slightly disagree2 - Disagree1 - Strongly disagree
_____ In most ways my life is close to my ideal._____ The conditions of my life are excellent._____ I am satisfied with my life._____ So far I have gotten the important things I want in life_____ If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.
Measuring your AIMNegative Thinking_____ I quickly notice the mistakes made by others_____ I often see the faults in other people_____ I see my community as a place full of problems_____ When I think of myself, I think of many shortcomings_____ When somebody does something for me, I usually wonder if they have an ulterior
motive
_____ When good things happen, I wonder if they will soon turn sour_____ When good things happen, I wonder if they might have been even
better_____ When I see others prosper, it makes me feel bad about myself_____ I frequently compare myself to others_____ I think frequently about opportunities that I missed_____ I regret many things from my past_____ When I think of the past, for some reason bad things stand out_____ When something bad happens, I ruminate on it for a long time_____ Most people will take advantage of you if you give them the slightest chance
Positive Thinking_____ I see much beauty around me_____ I see the good in most people_____ I believe in the good qualities of other people_____ I think of myself as a person with many strengths_____ When something bad happens, I often see a “silver lining,” something good in the
bad event_____ I sometimes think about how fortunate I have been in life_____ When I think of the past, the happy times are most salient to me_____ I savor memories of pleasant past times_____ When I see others prosper, even strangers, I am happy for them_____ I notice the little good things others do_____ I know the world has problems, but it seems like a wonderful place anyway_____ I see many opportunities in the world_____ I am optimistic about the future
Ed Diener is the Joseph R. Smiley Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois. He received his doctorate at the University of Washington in 1974, and has been a faculty member at the University of Illinois for the past 34 years. Dr. Diener was the president of both the International Society of Quality of Life Studies and the Society of Personality and Social Psychology. Currently he is the president of the International Positive Psychology Association. Diener was the editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, as well as the editor of Journal of Happiness Studies. He is the founding editor of Perspectives on Psychological Science. Diener has over 240 publications, with about 190 being in the area of the psychology of well-being.
Dr. Diener is a fellow of five professional societies. Professor Diener is listed as one of the most highly cited psychologists by the Institute of Scientific Information, with over 12,000 citations to his credit. He won the Distinguished Researcher Award from the International Society of Quality of Life Studies, the first Gallup Academic Leadership Award, and the Jack Block Award for Personality Psychology. Dr. Diener won several teaching awards, including the Oakley-Kundee Award for Undergraduate Teaching at the University of Illinois. With over 50 publications he is the most published author in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Professor Diener's research focuses on the measurement of well-being; temperament and personality influences on well-being; theories of well-being; income and well-being; and cultural influences on well-being. He has edited three recent books on subjective well-being, and a 2005 book on multi-method measurement in psychology. Diener just completed writing a popular book on happiness with his son, Robert Biswas-Diener (Happiness: Unlocking the mysteries of psychological wealth), and is authoring a book on policy uses of accounts of well-being with Richard Lucas, Ulrich Schimmack, and John Helliwell.
Myths
• There is an unmoving set-point for happiness• People over time adapt to everything• Money is not a significant correlate of happiness• A person’s happiness is 50 % genetic• Lottery winners are not happy• Those with spinal cord injuries have the same
average life satisfaction levels as others• Happiness is all within the person
ALL WITH A KERNEL OF TRUTH
Life Satisfaction and 100 Percent Disability (Lucas)
5.8
6
6.2
6.4
6.6
6.8
7
7.2
-2 Yrs. -1 Yr. 0 +1 Yr. +3 Yrs. +5 Yrs.
-2 Yrs.-1 Yr.0+1 Yr.+3 Yrs.+5 Yrs.
Culture
• Culture and levels of SWB
• Culture and causes of well-being– Self-esteem
• Culture and what is well-being– Pride
“Spirituality”: Experiencing Broadening Positive Emotions
– which make life larger than just our own self-interests:
Gratitude
Love
Awe
Transcendance
Why happy are healthier?
• Stronger immune systems
• Better cardiovascular health
• Health behaviors (e.g., seatbelts)
• Fewer lifestyle diseases (e.g.
alcoholism)
• Younger genes (telomeres)
Low hunger, low corruption,
and longevity
Predicted Values R = .86
876543
Ladder
-- L
ife E
valu
ation
8
7
6
5
4
3
National Accounts of SWB
Measuring well-being for policy
Information beyond wealth
Robert Kennedy, 1968Too much and for too long, we seemed to have
surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross Nation Product . . . counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts the destruction of the redwoods. Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.
Cultural Influences Levels of Happiness
Pleasant Emotions—Enjoyment etc.
High Low
Honduras Pakistan
Panama Bangladesh
Costa Rica Palestine
Puerto Rico Tajikistan