Authenticity, meaning in life, and life satisfaction: A multicomponent investigation of relationships at the trait and state levels.

Objective: The present study sought to examine: (1) how the components of authenticity (i.e., authentic living, self-alienation, accepting external influence) relate to one another at between- and within-person levels of analysis; (2) how the authenticity facets relate to meaning in life (i.

Well-Being Science for Teaching and the General Public.

Research on well-being has exploded in recent years to more than 55,000 relevant publications annually, making it difficult for psychologists-including key communicators such as textbook authors-to stay current with this field. Moreover, well-being is a daily concern among policymakers and members of the general public. Well-being science is relevant to the lives of students-illustrating the diverse methods used in the behavioral sciences, presenting highly replicated findings, and demonstrating the diversity of individuals and cultures.

Physical activity interventions, chronic pain, and subjective well-being among persons with spinal cord injury: a systematic scoping review.

Study Design: Scoping review of experimental and quasi-experimental studies.

Objective: To systematically synthesize research testing the effects of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) interventions on chronic pain and subjective well-being (SWB) among adults with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Methods: Literature searches were conducted using multiple databases (Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, Medline, PsychINFO and SPORTDiscus) to identify studies involving persons with SCI that measured and reported the effects of LTPA interventions on both chronic pain and at least one measure of SWB (e.

Does Happiness Improve Health? Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Happier people are healthier, but does becoming happier lead to better health? In the current study, we deployed a comprehensive, 3-month positive psychological intervention as an experimental tool to examine the effects of increasing subjective well-being on physical health in a nonclinical population. In a 6-month randomized controlled trial with 155 community adults, we found effects of treatment on self-reported physical health-the number of days in the previous month that participants felt healthy or sick, as assessed by questions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Questionnaire. In a subsample of 100 participants, we also found evidence that improvements in subjective well-being over the course of the program predicted subsequent decreases in the number of sick days.

ENHANCE: Evidence for the efficacy of a comprehensive intervention program to promote subjective well-being.

Building from the growing empirical science of happiness, or subjective well-being (SWB), we have developed a 12-week comprehensive intervention program-Enduring Happiness and Continued Self-Enhancement (ENHANCE)-to increase SWB and enable a thorough examination of the mechanistic processes of program content and administrative structure for SWB change over time. In a randomized controlled trial, participants (N = 155; 55 using the in-person format, 100 online format) were randomly assigned to participate in ENHANCE or to a waitlist control condition. All participants completed assessments of SWB, including non-self-report measures, and process variables at baseline, posttest, and follow-up (3 months).

ENHANCE: Design and rationale of a randomized controlled trial for promoting enduring happiness & well-being.

Individuals who are higher in subjective well-being not only feel happier, they are more likely have fulfilling relationships, increased work performance and income, better physical health, and longer lives. Over the past several decades, the science of subjective well-being has produced insights into these benefits of happiness, and-recognizing their importance-has begun to examine the factors that lead to greater well-being, from cultivating strong relationships to pursuing meaningful goals. However, studies to date have typically focused on improving subjective well-being by intervening with singular constructs, using primarily college student populations, and were short-term in nature.

The role of social relationships and culture in the cognitive representation of emotions.

There are individual and cultural differences in how memories of our emotions are cognitively represented. This article examines the cognitive representation of emotions in different cultures, as a result of emotional (in)consistency in different cultures. Using a continuous semantic priming task, we showed in two studies that individuals who were less emotionally consistent across relationships have stronger associations of their emotions within those relationships.

What constitutes a good life? Cultural differences in the role of positive and negative affect in subjective well-being.

East Asians and Asian Americans report lower levels of subjective well-being than Europeans and European Americans. Three studies found support for the hypothesis that such differences may be due to the psychological meanings Eastern and Western cultures attach to positive and negative affect. Study 1 demonstrated that the desire to repeat a recent vacation was significantly predicted by recalled positive affect-but not recalled negative affect-for European Americans, whereas Asian Americans considered both positive and negative affect.

Counterfactual thinking and the first instinct fallacy.

Most people believe that they should avoid changing their answer when taking multiple-choice tests. Virtually all research on this topic, however, has suggested that this strategy is ill-founded: Most answer changes are from incorrect to correct, and people who change their answers usually improve their test scores. Why do people believe in this strategy if the data so strongly refute it? The authors argue that the belief is in part a product of counterfactual thinking.

What to do on spring break? The role of predicted, on-line, and remembered experience in future choice.

When individuals choose future activities on the basis of their past experiences, what guides those choices? The present study compared students' predicted, on-line, and remembered spring-break experiences, as well as the influence of these factors on students' desire to take a similar vacation in the future. Predicted and remembered experiences were both more positive-and, paradoxically, more negative-than on-line experiences. Of key importance, path analyses revealed that remembered experience, but neither on-line nor anticipated experience, directly predicted the desire to repeat the experience.

Wanting, having, and satisfaction: examining the role of desire discrepancies in satisfaction with income.

In 3 studies, the authors tested the predictors of income satisfaction, examining whether discrepanc between the things people have and the things they desire predict satisfaction. Study 1 manipulated the desirability of items that can be purchased with participants' income, and showed that their satisfaction with that income depended on the desirability of these items. Study 2 demonstrated that whether people's income enabled them to purchase the things they desired influenced their satisfaction with income.