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Thinking About One's Subjective Well-Being: Average Trends and Individual Differences.

ABSTRACT: In two studies, participants reported what they had been thinking about while completing measures of subjective well-being (SWB). These thought reports were analyzed with respect to life domain, valence, and how strongly they were related to actual levels of SWB. Most people focused on their life circumstances (e.g., career) rather than on dispositional predictors (e.g., personality) of SWB. The domains mentioned most frequently (career, family, romantic life) were also the ones that were most strongly related to actual SWB, indicating that most of people think about things that actually contribute to their SWB. Some domains are predominantly mentioned in positive contexts (e.g., family) whereas others are predominantly mentioned in negative contexts (e.g., money). On average, people thought more about positive than about negative things, a result that is magnified for respondents high in extraversion or emotional stability. In sum, these findings provide insight into what people think contributes to their SWB; beliefs that may guide them as they make important decisions.

SUBMITTER: Luhmann M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4201388 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Thinking About One's Subjective Well-Being: Average Trends and Individual Differences.

Luhmann Maike M Hawkley Louise C LC Cacioppo John T JT

Journal of happiness studies 20140801 4

In two studies, participants reported what they had been thinking about while completing measures of subjective well-being (SWB). These thought reports were analyzed with respect to life domain, valence, and how strongly they were related to actual levels of SWB. Most people focused on their life circumstances (e.g., career) rather than on dispositional predictors (e.g., personality) of SWB. The domains mentioned most frequently (career, family, romantic life) were also the ones that were most s ...[more]

PMID: 25332682

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Project description:BackgroundOne important aspect of subjective judgments about one's well-being (i.e., subjective well-being: life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect) is that cultural features, such as, nationality seem to shape cognitive judgments about the "the ideal life." In this comparative study we examined differences in subjective well-being and psychological well-being between Italian and Swedish adolescents and tested if the relationship between the three constructs of subjective well-being (i.e., satisfaction with life, positive affect, and negative affect) and psychological well-being was moderated by the adolescents' nationality.MethodItalian (n = 255) and Swedish (n = 277) adolescents answered to the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule, and Ryff's Scales of Psychological Well-Being. Differences between samples were tested using a Multiple Analysis of Variance. We also conducted a multiple group analysis (Italy and Sweden) using Structural Equation Modelling to investigate the relationship between all three subjective well-being constructs and psychological well-being.ResultsItalian adolescents scored significantly higher in satisfaction with life than Swedish adolescents. Additionally, across countries, girls scored significantly higher in negative affect than boys. In both countries, all three constructs of subjective well-being were significantly associated to adolescents' psychological well-being. Nevertheless, while the effect of the relationship between affect and psychological well-being was almost the same across countries, life satisfaction was more strongly related to psychological well-being among Swedish adolescents.ConclusionsThe present study shows that there are larger variations between these two cultures in the cognitive construct of subjective well-being than in the affective construct. Accordingly, associations between the cognitive component, not the affective component, of subjective well-being and psychological well-being differ between countries as well.

Project description:Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings (SSAs) are subjective experiences characterised by a sudden sense of direct contact, union, or complete nondual merging (experience of oneness) with a perceived ultimate reality, the universe, "God," or the divine. These profound transformative experiences have scarcely been researched, despite extensive anecdotal evidence suggesting their potential to catalyse drastic, long-term, and often positive shifts in perception, world-view, and well-being. The aims of this study were to investigate the phenomenological variances of these experiences, including the potential differences between SSAs and Spontaneous Kundalini Awakenings (SKAs), a subset of awakening experiences that the authors postulate may produce a higher likelihood of both physical and negative effects; to explore how these experiences compare to other altered states of consciousness (ASCs), including those mediated by certain psychedelic substances; and understand their impact on well-being. Personality trait absorption and temporal lobe lability (TLL) were assessed as predictors of Spontaneous Spiritual and Kundalini Awakenings (SSA/SKAs). A mixed within and between-participants self-report survey design was adopted. A total of 152 participants reporting their most powerful SSA/SKAs completed questionnaires measuring nondual, kundalini, and mystical experience, as well as depth of ASC, and trait absorption and TLL. Spontaneous Kundalini Awakenings were found to be significantly more physical, but not significantly more negative than SSAs, and overall, both sets of experiences were perceived to be overwhelmingly more positive than negative, even in cases where the experience was initially challenging. The phenomenological distribution of SSA/SKAs was similar to other measured ASCs although greater in magnitude, and appeared most similar in distribution and in magnitude to drug-induced ASCs, particularly classic psychedelics DMT and psilocybin. Temporal lobe lability and trait absorption were found to predict the SSA/SKA experience. The limitations and implications of these findings are discussed.

Dataset Information

Thinking About One's Subjective Well-Being: Average Trends and Individual Differences.

Publications

Thinking About One's Subjective Well-Being: Average Trends and Individual Differences.

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