Subjective Well-Being and Adjustment

Transcription

1 Subjective Well-Being and Adjustment LP 10b happiness 1 Subjective well-being is the scientific term for how people evaluate their lives in terms of their happiness and life satisfaction. It is important to keep mind that when evaluating well-being, the person giving the evaluation is the person, not a third party. This can be advantageous because no one but you has access to how you feel. The disadvantage is that you might not be correct in assessing your feelings, or may not be aware of how you feel. Are Rich People Happier? Subjective reports of happiness increase, but once you have enough money to buy life s necessities, happiness remains level. Those who suddenly come into a lot of money (e.g. lottery or inheritance) experience a short-term surge in happiness, and then returns to pre-money levels of happiness. Individuals who strive the most for wealth tend to have lower subjective well-being than those who do not strive for wealth. This finding is especially true for those who seek money to gain power or show off rather than support the families. Instead, people who strive for intimacy, personal growth, and contribution to the community report a higher level of subjective well-being.

2 What factors are related to Happiness? LP 10b happiness 2 Researchers have found that happy people tend to: Have higher self-esteem Be optimistic Extraverted Perceive personal control over their world around them (see Hardiness and Internal Locus of Control). In addition, those that are happier, Have good social relationships. They have one or more close friend and have a successful marriage Are good citizens at work, they help others more, and skip work less Have work and leisure that engage their skills Have a meaningful religious faith that embodies purpose, and social support Sleep well and engage in regular exercise Are mentally healthy and cope effectively with stressful situations Have high levels of creativity, self-esteem (in individualistic cultures), optimism, extraversion, agreeableness and self control Be liked and altruistic.

3 LP 10b happiness 3 However, happiness seems not much related to other factors such as: Age Gender (women are more often depressed, but also more joyful) Income levels Educational levels Parenthood (having children or not) Physical attractiveness (slightly related) There is no single key to happiness. On the average, most people are slightly happy and everyone has their ups and downs. Nobody is happy all the time, not even the happiest people.

4 Adjustment Strategies For Happiness and Life Satisfaction LP 10b happiness 4 1. develop a plan for improving your subjective well-being. 2. Recognize that no single factor by itself produces a happy person multiple factors are at work. 3. Develop good social relationships. Good relationships consistently show up in profiles of very happy people. We need one or more good friend, and we need people who care about us and about whom we care deeply. 4. Learn how to cope effectively with stress. Do not make a big deal out of trivial hassles. Look at stressful circumstances as challenges to be faced and problems to be solved. Throughout this book, we present many specific suggestions for coping with stress. Work toward goals and make a habit of noticing the positive things in your life instead of dwelling on the negatives. Do not wait to be happy until you attain a goal. Enjoy the processes of growth and adjustment 5. Involve yourself in activities that you enjoy and value, such as work. People are usually at their best when they engage in things they value and find interesting and this involvement translates into being a happier person. 6. Develop purposefulness and incorporate spirituality into your life. Many individuals who rate themselves as very happy find meaning in their life and say that they have spiritual or religious interests.

5 LP 10b happiness 5 What factors are related to happiness? From Psychology, 2 nd edition, by David G. Myers, he summarizes the research on the factors that are related and unrelated to happiness (page 399). Identify the items that you think are related and unrelated to happiness. We will see what the scientific research indicates who is in general happier. Who is happier? Health: Do people with severe and disabling medical conditions less bad health, neither, good happy? health, Money (Is there a difference in happiness between those who have a lot More money, neither, less of money compared to those who have less money?) money, Intelligence (Is there a difference in happiness between those who have High IQ, neither, low IQ, a greater IQ score than those who have a smaller IQ score?) Satisfying relationship (Is there a difference in happiness between Satisfying, neither, those who have a more satisfying relationship compared to those who unsatisfying, have a less satisfying relationship?) Having a meaningful spiritual commitment or religious faith (Is there a difference in happiness between those who have a meaningful spiritual Committed, neither, less commitment and those who have a less meaningful spiritual meaningful, commitment?) Being socially outgoing (Is there a difference in happiness between Social outgoing, neither, less those who are more socially outgoing compared to those who are less socially outgoing, socially outgoing?) Being employed (Is there a difference in happiness between those who Unemployed, neither, have a job compared to those who don t?) employed, Educational level (Is there a difference in happiness between those who More formal education, have more formal education compared to those who have less formal neither, less formal education?) education, Self-esteem (Is there a difference in happiness between those with a High, neither, low, high self-esteem compared to those with a lower self-esteem?) Sleeping well (Is there a difference in happiness between those who Sleeping well, neither, not have adequate amounts of sleep compared to those who do not?) sleeping well, Amount of exercise (Is there a difference in happiness between those Exercising, neither, less who get more exercise compared to those who get less exercise?) exercising, Age (Is there a difference in happiness between the old and young?) Older, neither, younger, Race (Is there a difference in happiness between different ethnic Related / unrelated groups?) Gender (Is there a difference in happiness between men and women?) Men, neither, women, Parenthood (Is there a difference in happiness between those who have Parents, neither, nonparents, children compared to those who do not?) Attractiveness (Is there a difference in happiness between those who Attractive, neither, less are considered attractive compared to those who are considered less attractive, attractive?) Self-serving bias (Is there a difference in happiness between those who have a more accurate perception of reality compared to those who have a less accurate perception of reality?) Committing this bias, neither, not committing this bias,

6 LP 10b happiness 6 Applying Psychological Science Being Happy Guidelines from Psychological Research Spend time with other people and work to develop close relationships Look for ways to be helpful to others and reach out to the less fortunate Seek meaning and challenge in work Set meaningful personal goals and make progress toward them Make time for enjoyable activities Nurture physical well-being Be open to new experiences Cultivate optimism and count your blessings How do you imagine yourself fulfilling these recommendations? What would hinder your pursuit of these recommendations? What would facilitate your pursuit of these recommendations? What choices do we make early in life that can affect these?