KENNON M. SHELDON and SONJA LYUBOMIRSKY ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE GAINS IN HAPPINESS: CHANGE YOUR ACTIONS, NOT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES
نویسندگان
چکیده
Although attaining happiness is a nearly universal goal, surprisingly little research has focused on how happiness can be increased and then sustained. Three studies test predictions of a model (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005) positing that sustainable happiness is possible through intentional activity changes, more so than through circumstantial changes. Study 1 shows that less hedonic adaptation is reported in response to activity changes than to circumstantial changes. Study 2 tests a dynamic process model, showing that while both positive activity changes and positive circumstantial changes predict rank-order increases in subjective well-being from Time 1 to Time 2, only activity changes predict maintained gains at Time 3. Study 3 replicates the Study 2 findings and extends them to psychological well-being (Ryff and Keyes, 1995). Implications for positive psychology and ‘‘the pursuit of happiness’’ are discussed.
منابع مشابه
Achieving Sustainable Happiness 1 Achieving Sustainable New Happiness: Prospects, Practices, and Prescriptions
متن کامل
Persistent pursuit of need-satisfying goals leads to increased happiness: A 6-month experimental longitudinal study
University-based community members (N = 181) participated in a four-wave, 6-month longitudinal experiment designed to increase treatment participants’ happiness levels. Participants were randomly assigned to set goals either to improve their life circumstances (comparison condition) or to increase their feelings of autonomy, competence, or relatedness in life (treatment conditions). We hypothes...
متن کاملPursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change
The pursuit of happiness is an important goal for many people. However, surprisingly little scientific research has focused on the question of how happiness can be increased and then sustained, probably because of pessimism engendered by the concepts of genetic determinism and hedonic adaptation. Nevertheless, emerging sources of optimism exist regarding the possibility of permanent increases i...
متن کاملThe Promise of Sustainable Happiness Julia
Reference: Boehm, J. K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (in press). The promise of sustainable happiness. In S. J. Lopez (Ed.), Handbook of positive psychology (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. The Promise of Sustainable Happiness Julia K. Boehm and Sonja Lyubomirsky Department of Psychology University of California, Riverside Abstract From ancient history to recent times, philosophers, writers, sel...
متن کاملThe challenge of staying happier: testing the Hedonic Adaptation Prevention model.
The happiness that comes from a particular success or change in fortune abates with time. The Hedonic Adaptation Prevention (HAP) model specifies two routes by which the well-being gains derived from a positive life change are eroded--the first involving bottom-up processes (i.e., declining positive emotions generated by the positive change) and the second involving top-down processes (i.e., in...
متن کاملThe Promise of Sustainable Happiness
From ancient history to recent times, philosophers, writers, self-help gurus, and now scientists have taken up the challenge of how to foster greater happiness. This chapter discusses why some people are happier than others, focusing on the distinctive ways that happy and unhappy individuals construe themselves and others, respond to social comparisons, make decisions, and self-reflect. We sugg...
متن کامل