Myers Lecture: Teaching Subjective Well-Being Ed Diener Smiley Distinguished Professor of Psychology University 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 website E. Diener & R. Biswas-Diener Happiness 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)

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 Quartile79%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

Example Student Discussion When can you change your level of happiness? When is inborn temperament dominant?

3. Money

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 Denmark8.0 Switzerland7.5 Canada7.4 United States7.2 Togo3.2 Sierra Leone3.6 Zimbabwe3.8 West Bank4.7

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, & Schwarz Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology Strack, Argyle, & Schwarz Subjective well-being Eid & Larsen The science of subjective well-being Snyder & Lopez Handbook 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 Happiness Positive Organization Scholarship– University of Michigan Sonja Lyubomirsky website Martin Seligman website

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 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, Diener, E., Lucas, R., & Scollon, C. N. (2006). Beyond the hedonic treadmill: Revising the adaptation theory of well-being. American Psychologist, 61, 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 ). 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, Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 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, Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Psychological Assessment, 5,

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, Diener, E., & Diener, C. (1996). Most people are happy. Psychological Science, 7, Diener, E., & Diener, M. (1995). Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, Diener, E., & Emmons, R. A. (1985). The independence of positive and negative affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, Eid, M., & Diener, E. (2001). Norms for experiencing emotions in different cultures: Inter- and intranational differences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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,

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 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 agree 6 - Agree 5 - Slightly agree 4 - Neither agree nor disagree 3 - Slightly disagree 2 - Disagree 1 - 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 AIM Negative 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)

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)

National Accounts of SWB Measuring well-being for policy Information beyond wealth

Robert Kennedy, 1968 Too 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 HondurasPakistan PanamaBangladesh Costa RicaPalestine Puerto RicoTajikistan