Savoring: A New Model of Positive Experience
... One factor that may be particularly relevant in old age is savouring, which refers to a conscious and deliberate process of engaging, focussing on, and appreciating everyday positive experiences in order to create, sustain, or amplify positive emotions (Bryant et al. 2011;Bryant and Veroff 2017). Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST; Carstensen et al. 1999) posits that as people age and perceive their time as limited, they prioritise the present and seek emotionally meaningful experiences. ...
... According to Bryant and Veroff (2017), savouring involves both trait-like and state-like aspects. On one hand, individuals vary in their general tendency to savour positive experiences, which can be measured as a stable between-person disposition. ...
... Furthermore, the process of savouring can occur across three different time frames: one can savour by recalling past positive events, focussing on positive events in the presence, or anticipating and looking forward to upcoming positive events (Bryant and Veroff 2017). Regardless of the temporal dimension of the savouring strategy, the positive emotions felt during savouring are immediate and present (Bryant et al. 2011). ...
Objective
This study investigated savouring as a moderator of affect reactivity to daily events among older adults.
Method
A sample of 108 individuals aged 65–92 years (M = 73.11, SD = 5.92; 58% women) completed daily diary questionnaires over 14 days, reporting on daily stressors, positive events, savouring, and positive and negative affect.
Results
Multilevel models showed that on days when a stressor was experienced, negative affect was higher when daily savouring (within‐person) was low, but this association was not observed when daily savouring was high. Additionally, on days with positive events, negative affect was lower when trait savouring (between‐person) was high, but this effect was not found when trait savouring was low.
Discussion
The findings highlight the importance of savouring as a key factor in managing emotional responses to daily experiences among older adults. Specifically, deliberately engaging with positive experiences might buffer daily negative emotional responses.
... Furthermore, teacher joy may also be considered as involving a process of 'savoring,' a concept in positive psychology that refers to the intentional and mindful act of enjoying, appreciating, and enhancing a positive experience or eliciting a positive thought, sensation, or emotion related to an experience (Bryant & Veroff, 2007;Jose et al., 2012). In addition, I theorise that much like other positive experiences of teachers, such as thriving (Beltman et al., 2011;Chen et al., 2022) and stress resilience (Chen, 2022;Gu & Day, 2007), teacher joy is a fundamental aspect of professional work that can ignite, inspire, and sustain teachers' commitment to teaching. ...
... This finding aligns with that of previous research (e.g., Karjalainen et al., 2019;Little & Karaolis, 2024). The sources of joy may also reflect the teachers' experience of 'savoring' (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). This concept may be described as one's intentional effort to enjoy a particular positive experience (Bryant & Veroff, 2007;Jose et al., 2012). ...
... The sources of joy may also reflect the teachers' experience of 'savoring' (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). This concept may be described as one's intentional effort to enjoy a particular positive experience (Bryant & Veroff, 2007;Jose et al., 2012). Furthermore, as one teacher articulated, 'the grass is greener where you water it,' suggesting that teacher joy can be experienced and flourish in the areas where teachers place their priorities. ...
While teacher stress has been widely researched, teacher joy (aligning with the principles of positive psychology) is relatively understudied. To contribute insights, this interview-based qualitative study investigated this research question: How do early childhood teachers make meaning of their experiences with teacher stress and teacher joy? Data collection involved interviewing 12 early childhood teachers (ages 27–47 years, M = 34 years) who were teaching children (in preschool to 2nd grade) in a northeastern state of the United States. Each interview was conducted individually and virtually via Zoom for an average of 75 minutes. Thematic analysis of the data identified four salient themes: (1) teacher stress as a contemplative factor in teacher mobility, (2) teacher joy coexisting with teacher stress and sustaining teaching commitment, (3) teacher joy derived from building relationships with children, and (4) teacher joy derived from witnessing children’s learning growth. The first two themes demonstrate stress and joy as defining aspects of teaching experiences. The last two themes reveal two essential sources of teacher joy. They align with the perspective of ‘the grass is greener where you water it,’ expressed by one teacher and resonated with all others.
... To gain insight into the restorative potential of natural environments, we used multisource data combining participants' self-reports and external ratings of the naturalness of a participant's environment based on smartphone pictures. In Study 2, we theorized that employees' recovery and well-being would be boosted by a nature-savoring intervention (e.g., searching for esthetic stimuli within nature; Bryant & Veroff, 2017;Ulrich, 1983) and tested these assumptions in an RCT. Savoring refers to the act of appreciating the positive aspects of the moment, which has been shown to elicit positive experiences (Bryant & Veroff, 2017, p. 2). ...
... Nature-Savoring Intervention. We developed a naturesavoring intervention that combines spending time in nature (Bowler et al., 2010;McMahan & Estes, 2015;Twohig-Bennett & Jones, 2018) and savoring (Bryant & Veroff, 2017;Carr et al., 2021) as two promising restorative elements. The nature-savoring intervention was presented as self-training, for which NIG participants received an online booklet with five 15-min exercises. ...
... It could also provide insight into the potential interactive nature of nature experience and savoring. According to Bryant and Veroff (2017), savoring may enhance positive experiences, implying a moderating role of savoring in the relationship between nature experience and outcomes. Similarly to Study 1, this moderating effect could be mediated by perceived attractiveness, such that individuals tend to perceive their natural environment as more attractive during savoring as they focus on esthetic stimuli of their environment (Ulrich, 1983). ...
Recovery from work is important for promoting employees’ well-being but little is known about which environments are most conducive for recovery. This article examines the relationship between recovery and experiencing nature and, thus, provides a link between recovery research and environmental psychology. In two studies, we drew on the Effort-Recovery Model and proposed that contact with nature is associated with employees’ recovery experiences and affective well-being. In Study 1, we theorized that appraising nature as aesthetic is an underlying mechanism in the relationship between being in nature and recovery. Using an experience sampling approach with multisource data from self-reports and smartphone photos (N = 50, measurements = 411), we found that being in nature was indirectly related to recovery experiences (i.e., relaxation, detachment) and affective well-being (i.e., positive activation, serenity, low fatigue) via perceived attractiveness. In Study 2, we theorized that appreciative contact with nature (i.e., nature savoring) is linked to enhanced recovery and well-being. Using a randomized controlled trial (N = 66), we found that a nature-savoring intervention, compared to a waiting-list control group, had beneficial effects on recovery experiences and positive affective states. Overall, our results suggest that contact with nature is a prototypical setting for employees’ recovery, and we discuss theoretical and practical implications of this finding for occupational health psychology
... To gain insight into the restorative potential of natural environments, we used multisource data combining participants' self-reports and external ratings of the naturalness of a participant's environment based on smartphone pictures. In Study 2, we theorized that employees' recovery and wellbeing would be boosted by a nature-savoring intervention (e.g., searching for aesthetic stimuli within nature; Bryant & Veroff, 2017;Ulrich, 1983) and tested these assumptions in an RCT. Savoring refers to the act of appreciating the positive aspects of the moment, which has been shown to elicit positive experiences (Bryant & Veroff, 2017, p. 2). ...
... Nature-Savoring Intervention. We developed a nature-savoring intervention that combines spending time in nature (Bowler et al., 2010;McMahan & Estes, 2015;Twohig-Bennett & Jones, 2018) and savoring (Bryant & Veroff, 2017;Carr et al., 2021) as two promising restorative elements. The nature-savoring intervention was presented and 37 held a university degree. ...
... It could also provide insight into the potential interactive nature of nature experience and savoring. According to Bryant and Veroff (2017), savoring may enhance positive experiences, implying a moderating role of savoring in the relationship between nature experience and outcomes. Similarly to Study 1, this moderating effect could be mediated by perceived attractiveness, such that individuals tend to perceive their natural environment as more attractive during savoring as they focus on aesthetic appraisal of their environment (Ulrich, 1983). ...
Recovery from work is important for promoting employees’ well-being but little is known about which environments are most conducive for recovery. This article examines the relationship between recovery and experiencing nature and, thus, provides a link between recovery research and environmental psychology. In two studies, we drew on the effort-recovery model and proposed that contact with nature is associated with employees’ recovery experiences and affective well-being. In Study 1, we theorized that appraising nature as esthetic is an underlying mechanism in the relationship between being in nature and recovery. Using an experience sampling approach with multisource data from self-reports and smartphone photos (N = 50, measurements = 411), we found that being in nature was indirectly related to recovery experiences (i.e., relaxation, detachment) and affective well-being (i.e., positive activation, serenity, low fatigue) via perceived attractiveness. In Study 2, we theorized that appreciative contact with nature (i.e., nature savoring) is linked to enhanced recovery and well-being. Using a randomized controlled trial (N = 66), we found that a nature-savoring intervention, compared to a waiting-list control group, had beneficial effects on recovery experiences and positive affective states. Overall, our results suggest that contact with nature is a prototypical setting for employees’ recovery, and we discuss theoretical and practical implications of this finding for occupational health psychology.
... ion of proactive and futureoriented coping strategies indicates a sense of optimism, agency, and resilience, which may reduce the likelihood of developing aversive attitudes towards positive emotions. Furthermore, a sense of meaning in life is positively related to the ability to savour positive experiences and feelings (F. B. Bryant & Smith, 2015;F. B. Bryant & Veroff, 2007). This involves maximising and expanding the potential pleasures and benefits of good experiences. Individuals who lack a well-integrated and constructive sense of meaning in life may experience confusion about positive experiences, which may lead them to downplay or actively avoid such events. This pattern can be explained by an overarc ...
... Finally, F. B. Bryant and Veroff (2007) argue that savouring positive emotions depends to some extent on freedom from esteem needs. Unless a person feels valued and respected by others, savouring positive emotions cannot readily and easily occur. ...
... When one's good experiences are viewed as insignificant or incomprehensible, it becomes more difficult to enjoy them (F. B. Bryant & Veroff, 2007). Thus, various manifestations of experiential avoidance (e.g., aversion to happiness) are to some extent consequences of a lack of meaning. ...
Objective
Previous research has found a negative association between aversion to happiness and various aspects of mental well-being. In the present study, we hypothesised that aversion to happiness (as measured by the fear of happiness scale) would mediate the association between psychological distress and three predictors: Meaning in life, self-esteem, and perfectionism. We included five dimensions of perfectionism separately, and a composite of the five dimensions to measure overall perfectionism.
Method
We used a sample of 317 individuals from Turkey (mean age = 27.31) to test our hypotheses. We employed both ordinary least square regression analysis and path analysis to examine the mediation hypotheses.
Results
The results of mediation analyses showed that aversion to happiness was a significant mediator of the associations between psychological distress and self-esteem, meaning in life, the five aspects of perfectionism, and overall perfectionism. In a path model with meaning in life, self-esteem, and overall perfectionism, aversion to happiness was found to significantly mediate only the effects of meaning in life and perfectionism.
Conclusions
These results highlight the importance of meaning in life, self-esteem, and perfectionism as predictors of aversion to happiness and the role of aversion to happiness as a mediator for the links between these predictors and mental well-being.
... In addition, studies have confirmed that inspiration through action can affect imagination (Hsu et al., 2013;Hsu et al., 2014). Savoring is defined as the ability to direct one's attention to positive experiences and change one's thoughts and behaviors in order to augment and prolong positive emotions (Bryant et al., 2011;Bryant & Veroff, 2007). The enhancement of positive emotions may be achieved by reminiscing, enjoying the here and now, or looking forward to the good time ahead (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). ...
... Savoring is defined as the ability to direct one's attention to positive experiences and change one's thoughts and behaviors in order to augment and prolong positive emotions (Bryant et al., 2011;Bryant & Veroff, 2007). The enhancement of positive emotions may be achieved by reminiscing, enjoying the here and now, or looking forward to the good time ahead (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). Although studies on the effect of savoring on creativity stimulation have yielded some results (Lee et al., 2016;Lingke & Chang, 2019), the literature on how savoring affects teachers' instructional design imagination through the perspective of positive psychology is lacking. ...
... Savoring as a concet is valued in positive psychology. It refers to people's ability to pay attention to, fully enjoy and extend positive experience and the processes based on this ability (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). It is also a person's capability to attend to the positive experiences in their lives and change their thoughts and behaviors by enhancing and prolonging positive emotions (Bryant et al., 2011;Bryant & Veroff, 2007). ...
This research attempted to explore, based on the broaden–and–build theory of positive emotions, the relationships among high school teachers’ savoring and instructional design imagination, and to verify the mediating effects of resilience and inspiration through action on the aforementioned relationships. Data were collected from 497 high school teachers in Taiwan. PLS-SEM was used to validate the research hypotheses. The results show that: (a) Savoring positively influences instructional design imagination; (b) Resilience has a complementary mediation effect on the relationship between savoring and instructional design imagination; (c) Inspiration through action has a complementary mediation effect on the relationship between savoring and instructional design imagination. Accordingly, this study bears important theoretical and practical implications for the professional development of teachers’ instructional design imagination.
... It has been proposed as a regulatory process which influences the relationship between positive events and an individual's positive emotional reactions to these events (Jose et al., 2012). The term "savouring" was coined with a view of capturing the active process by which individuals perceive and experience enjoyment, and references an ongoing interplay between a person and their environment (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). Savouring may be classified as a positive psychology construct, as it pertains to processes that aim to regulate, intensify and strengthen positive emotions and experiences (Cullen et al., 2024). ...
... Bryant and Veroff highlight that an ability to be mindful, use focal attention and engage in meta-awareness is necessary to actively attempt to amplify positive emotions associated with positive experiences, events and memories. They describe the process of savouring as including a series of cognitive and regulatory responses where one first notices and attends to something positive, and subsequently responds cognitively or behaviourally to this stimulus, experiencing positive emotional reactions as a consequence (Bryant & Veroff, 2007. ...
... Examples of savouring strategies proposed by Bryant and Veroff (2007) include sharing positive experiences with others, positive memory building, sensory-perceptual sharpening (focusing attention on specific positive stimuli and blocking out distractions), behavioural expression (laughing or showing affect), counting blessings, engaging in positive imagination or fantasizing (e.g., attaining goals, imagining one's "Best Possible Self"), reminiscing about past positive events and engaging in activeconstructive communication with others (Schueller, 2010). Research has highlighted that the potential benefits of savouring include the enhancement of psychological well-being and a decrease in experiencing negative affective states, most notably within depressive psychopathology (Ford et al., 2017;Hurley & Kwon, 2012). ...
A narrative systematic review evaluating the evidence base of savouring interventions was conducted. Savouring interventions were defined as interventions in which participants were instructed to engage in processes to regulate, intensify or strengthen positive emotions and experiences, whether they be past, present or future focused. Relevant studies were identified via PsycINFO, Pubmed, CINAHL, Scopus, Google Scholar and through a manual search of the literature. Only studies which adopted a randomised controlled design and evaluated the efficacy of savouring interventions in adult clinical populations were included in the review. Of the 1,054 articles identified through searches, nine studies were included in the final systematic review. Data were extracted from these nine studies involving over 900 participants from mental and physical health clinical populations from seven countries. Four different type of savouring interventions are described: life review, reminiscence, Three-Good-Things and one multicomponent savouring intervention. These specific interventions promoted some positive changes amongst participants, such as increasing levels of well-being and reducing levels of depression and anxiety. Both individuals with mental and physical health difficulties appeared to benefit. However, when comparing the results of these interventions against outcomes gained by participants in no intervention or active control groups, the efficacy of these interventions appears relatively weak. The low quality of included studies and the disparity of the format, delivery mode and methodological characteristics of studies may limit the generalisability of these findings. However, results from this systematic review do highlight the therapeutic potential of savouring interventions amongst clinical samples.
... As such, creation framing can make consumers become mentally immersed in a metaphorical story about the product's origin and creative intentfurther enriching their interpretive engagement. This interpretive mindset enables higher-order processing such as savoring-a reflective appreciation of meaning and experience (Bryant and Veroff 2007). In the context of AI-created products, savoring involves contemplating the intentionality and creative depth behind the output, which enhances emotional engagement and perceived value. ...
... Highlights the role of information presentation, but not the framing of AI as "creator" versus "generator" Bryant and Veroff (2007) Introduced the concept of "savoring" in enhancing positive experiences Savoring enhances emotional engagement and perceived value Supports the psychological mechanism explaining how creation framing increases WTP Elgammal et al. (2017) Explored AI's role in art creation through "Creative Adversarial Networks" (CAN) ...
This study explores how the framing of AI‐generated visuals as “creation” versus “generation” influences consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP). We propose that the framing of a visual as “created” by AI, as opposed to “generated” by AI, enhances consumers’ WTP due to increased perceptions of product value. We further examine the psychological mechanisms underlying this effect, suggesting that savoring—the enjoyment of contemplating the product's deeper meaning—mediates the relationship between creation framing and WTP. Additionally, we investigate two key moderators: the concreteness of the visual and the level of human‐AI collaboration. Specifically, we find that the effect of creation framing is attenuated when the visual style of the imagery is concrete rather than abstract, and that high human‐AI collaboration level in product development mitigates the positive impact of creation framing. This study contributes to understanding how language framing in AI marketing influence consumer behavior, offering implications for marketers seeking to optimize consumer engagement with AI‐generated products.
... In her book Sonja also highlighted that spending time with the closest person can be one of effective strategies to manage stress. According to a study by Bryant and Veroff (2007), individuals who engaged in savoring activities experienced lower levels of stress and greater overall life satisfaction. By actively savoring positive moments, individuals can create a buffer against the negative effects of stress and cultivate a more positive emotional state. ...
... Likewise, savoring life's joys directly contributes to experiencing enjoyment and contentment, because it allows. According to Bryant and Veroff (2007) when individuals engage in savoring, they amplify positive emotions and prolong the experience of joy, happiness and gratitude. By being fully present, paying attention to the details and relishing the positive aspects of an experience. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened human’s awareness on immaterial elements such as work-life balance and self-care. Consequently, designing for well-being has gained significant research interest. This paper explores constructing a design method to serve as a guide for designers aiming to create solutions with a sustainable impact on happiness. This research method is Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) to investigate the connection between positive design and positive psychology. By connecting positive design with positive psychology, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of human strengths and virtues that contribute to happiness, resilience and fulfillment, providing a rich theoretical framework to draw upon. First, the study conducts an extensive literature review, critically analyzing existing literature on positive design to study the concept of design for happiness. The research also examines positive design to understand the concept of the how of happiness. From here, key components that play major role in human happiness are identified. Then, conceptual mapping techniques are used to visually illustrate the relationship between these paradigms and supporting research studies are also identified to strengthen patterns, relationships and themes within design for happiness and the how of happiness. Additionally, expert interviews were conducted to validate the findings of the conceptual mapping process. Drawing on insights from the conceptual mapping, the research has produced a theoretical based design tool to help designers create solutions that align with the concept of design for happiness from positive design literature and the “how of happiness” from postive psyhology literature. This tool, named the Integrated Happiness Matrix, serves as a valuable resource during the empathize and ideation stages of the design thinking process. The matrix incorporates key elements of design for happiness and adopts interview questions inspired by the strategies outlined in the “how of happiness” literature. This matrix facilitates the gathering of multiple user contributions. Designers can utilize it to guide interviews during the empathize stage and combine user responses to spark creative ideas, thereby fostering creativity and embracing diverse perspectives. Overall, the design matrix offers a structured approach to gather insights and generate innovative ideas, focusing on the factors that contribute to people's happiness. Theoretical implications of this research include the bridging of design theory and positive psychology, thereby offering a comprehensive framework for designing with a focus on enhancing happiness. From a practical standpoint, the integrated happiness matrix serves as a valuable tool for designers by guiding them through the empathize and ideation stages of the design thinking process. Through the adoption of this approach, designers have the potential to positively influence users' well-being and contribute to overall life satisfaction by creating products and experiences that prioritize happiness and well-being.
... This cognitive ability is underpinned by a shared neural network between episodic memory, the conscious recollection of past episodes, and the simulation of future episodes [65,73]. MTT is crucial for mental wellbeing [62,74], and is demonstrated by the concept of savoring [14] in psychology. When practicing savoring, individuals attend, appreciate, and enhance positive experiences from their past, present, and future. ...
... Extensive research demonstrates that people can exert a large degree of control over their mental wellbeing and happiness [35,50,51,61]. One such way is through savoring [14], coined by Bryant and Vernoff, defined as the capacity of individuals to attend, appreciate, and enhance positive experiences, and shown to drive depression levels lower and increase happiness [42]. Bryant [13] further designed the Savoring Beliefs Inventory (SBI) to measure an individual's beliefs of their own capacity to savor and was validated in extensive studies [2,44]. ...
People inherently use experiences of their past while imagining their future, a capability that plays a crucial role in mental health. Resonance is an AI-powered journaling tool designed to augment this ability by offering AI-generated, action-oriented suggestions for future activities based on the user's own past memories. Suggestions are offered when a new memory is logged and are followed by a prompt for the user to imagine carrying out the suggestion. In a two-week randomized controlled study (N=55), we found that using Resonance significantly improved mental health outcomes, reducing the users' PHQ8 scores, a measure of current depression, and increasing their daily positive affect, particularly when they would likely act on the suggestion. Notably, the effectiveness of the suggestions was higher when they were personal, novel, and referenced the user's logged memories. Finally, through open-ended feedback, we discuss the factors that encouraged or hindered the use of the tool.
... Positive mindset practices, such as savoring, gratitude, and compassion, have demonstrated independent associations with more positive wellbeing. Increased savoring of positive experiences has been demonstrated to improve subjective wellbeing [74], including increasing happiness [75] and life satisfaction [76]. Gratitude has been shown to be positively associated with subjective wellbeing [77,78], as has loving kindness and compassion [79]. ...
... Additional mental, physical, relational or spiritual benefits of each practice should also be considered in relation to the individual's other areas of opportunity to improve their wellbeing and fully flourish. Most positivity programs should include mindfulness practices demonstrated to support generalized mindset improvement, such as savoring, gratitude [74], or guided meditation [81], especially for individuals with broader deficits in their overall feelings about the positive experiences in their life. Coming to understand the root sources of mindset negativity, such as intense chronic stress, a reaction to recent or ongoing events, past difficult or traumatic experiences, or strong personality traits, it is important to consider whether the individual should be referred to a professional mental health practitioner to evaluate whether they qualify for clinical diagnosis and more intensive therapy. ...
The WellBalance Institute’s Wellbeing Balance and Lived Experiences (WBAL) Model and Assessment is a novel, validated comprehensive tool for measuring positive wellbeing. The assessment measures positive experiences and positive feelings across various activation and arousal levels. Compared to other wellbeing assessments, PERMA+ and WBA-24, the WBAL Assessment demonstrated convergent validity, measuring a similar concept of subjective wellbeing, and also divergent validity as a different construct of wellbeing that measures experiences demonstrated to enhance wellbeing, thereby extending the application utility of these “gold standard” assessments of subjective wellbeing. Findings from a U.S.-based cohort highlight the significance of meaningful connections and purposeful contributions for enhancing wellbeing, and the impact on wellbeing of situational factors such as relationships, parenting and employment, which have a substantially larger effect on wellbeing than age, gender, or income. These findings suggest tangible ways to enhance the wellbeing of subgroups of people with similar life circumstances. By identifying key modifiable sources of wellbeing alongside a spectrum of related positive feelings, the WBAL Assessment enables tailoring of individualized interventions to each person’s unique wellbeing profile.
... For example, high, low, or no emotional reactivity to negative events (e.g., strong within-person association of daily stress and affect) is thought to be maladaptive when frequent and repeated (Koffer et al., 2019), with evidence that its accumulation can lead to physical and mental health problems across the lifespan Chiang et al., 2018;Piazza et al., 2013;Rush et al., 2024). On the other hand, conceptual accounts from the realm of positive psychology, such as the broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 2001) and the savoring hypothesis (Bryant & Veroff, 2007), indicate that emotional reactivity to positive events has the potential to be adaptive, with evidence that its accumulation can lead to positive outcomes, such as better overall mental health and higher levels of trait report affective well-being and life satisfaction (Catalino & Fredrickson, 2011;Fredrickson & Joiner, 2002;Grosse Rueschkamp et al., 2020). Critically, there is evidence that emotional reactivity to positive events is compromised in adults with disrupted emotional development in early life (e.g., Bylsma et al., 2008). ...
... These findings are therefore relevant to childhood trauma and developmental psychopathology research, as they imply that those with a history of ACEs might be impacted not only by the accumulation of (negative) emotional reactions to negative daily events but potentially also to positive events (Hoppen & Chalder, 2018). More broadly, findings might be of interest to positive psychology and lifespan developmental researchers by providing initial evidence that emotional reactivity to positive events is potentially compromised in those with a history of disrupted emotional development (e.g., Bryant & Veroff, 2007;Fredrickson, 2001). ...
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have lasting impact on everyday emotional experiences in adulthood, with extant evidence linking ACEs to elevated emotional reactivity. However, findings are typically based on reactivity to negative daily events (i.e., stressors) and its moderation by cumulative ACEs (where individual adversities are summed into a total score), which overlooks adversity-specific associations and reactivity to other types of daily events. We therefore examine cumulative and individual ACEs as moderators of emotional reactivity to positive and negative daily events. Data were drawn from the National Study of Daily Experiences 2 (NSDE-II), collected 2004–2009, whereupon middle-aged and older adults (N = 1,994; Mage = 58.61; range = 35–86; 57% female) reported daily events and affect on eight consecutive evenings. Multilevel models were used to estimate the moderating role of ACEs for within-person associations between positive/negative events and affect. We found that cumulative ACEs and a number of individual adversities (specifically those characterized by abuse but not by neglect or household challenge/dysfunction) were associated with emotional reactivity to positive and negative daily events. That is, cumulative and abuse-based ACEs were associated with increased negative affect and/or decreased positive affect on days with a negative event and on days with a positive event. Our findings add to literature on the long-lasting and pervasive influence of early life experiences on everyday emotional experiences in adulthood. We discuss differences in reactivity to positive versus negative daily events and in cumulative versus adversity-specific associations as well as their theoretical and methodological implications.
... Although not originally grounded in a positive psychology model, we recognized art therapy's capacity to foster resilience through a strengths-based approach (Wilkinson & Chilton, 2018). Thus, we introduced brief positive psychology exercises, including 'savoring' (Bryant & Veroff, 2017) check-ins and mindfulness practices to amplify positive experiences. ...
... Other confluence of factors, including asynchronicity, predictable structure, flexibility, and group interactivity, collectively contributed to creating a safe space with mutual support. Additionally, the savoring ritual in each session may have primed participants to exhibit attentiveness and gratitude toward each other (Bryant & Veroff, 2017), thus, enhancing their overall positive interactions. While creativity has been linked to increased resilience (Fiori et al., 2022), Tang et al. (2021) found that its positive impact on well-being is diminished among those with stronger individualistic views. ...
... "Savoring" means the ability to pay attention to, appreciate, and enhance positive experiences in one's life, which is the "magnifying glass" of positive experiences [2], and its structure includes savoring experience, savoring process, and savoring strategy (see Figure 1). Specifically, "savoring" is a comprehensive ability involving cognition and behavior, which requires individuals to take the focus of attention as a starting point, actively capture experience materials through external perception and internal introspection, and regulate the length and depth of positive experiences through four savoring processes: thanksgiving, basking, marveling, and luxuriating, so as to prolong and magnify positive emotions [3]. ...
... The scale was revised based on the more mature Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II (PGIS-II), and the authors used back-translation method and cognitive interviews to revise the original scale into a Chinese scale that conformed to the Chinese expression habits, and the reliability and validity of the revised scale was good. The dimensional structure of the scale is consistent with the English version, consisting of 16 items, with four dimensions: Planfulness (1, 3, 5, 10, 13), Readiness for Change (2,8,11,16), Intentional Behavior (4,7,9,15), and Using Resources (6,12,14). ...
Background: The issue of psychological crisis among college students is becoming increasingly prominent. "Savoring" can effectively increase the level of subjective well-being of college students and is an important protective factor against psychological crisis. However, its mechanism of action is still unclear and requires further exploration. Objective: To explore the mediating role of personal growth initiative in the relationship between "Savoring" and subjective well-being, and to provide reference for improving the mechanism of "Savoring" enhancing subjective well-being. Methods: The Savoring Brief Inventory (SBI), The Chinese Version of Personal Growth Initiative Scale-Ⅱ (C-PGIS- Ⅱ) and General Subjective Well-being Scale (GWB) were used to investigate 200 college students in China, and the mediating effect model was constructed and tested to explore the role of personal growth initiative in the process of "Savoring" in improving college students' subjective well-being. Results: There was significant correlation between personal growth initiative and its four dimensions, "Savoring (anticipating)" and subjective well-being (P < 0.01); The level of "Savoring (anticipating)" had significant positive effects on subjective well-being and personal growth initiative (β=0.167, p < 0.05; β=0.537, p < 0.001), and at the same time, personal growth initiative has a significant positive effect on subjective well-being, with a standardized coefficient of 0.316 (p < 0.001). Conclusion: In the perspective of "Anticipating", Personal growth initiative plays a partial mediating role between the level of "Savoring" and subjective well-being of college students, in which the direct effect is 0.167, and the indirect effect size is 0.17, with the latter accounting for 50.4% of the total effect size.
... The field of positive psychology has flourished over the past several years and research on positive psychological constructs, including savoring, has proliferated (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). Trait savoring is the general ability to attend to and enhance one's positive experiences (Bryant, 2003). ...
... Savoring the moment is facilitated by being aware of the present, noticing positive events, and amplifying positive emotions (Hurley & Kwon, 2012). Expressions of savoring may be behavioral (e.g., cheering or applauding), interpersonal (e.g., describing a positive experience to someone else), or cognitive (e.g., intentionally taking a moment to commit a beautiful view or important moment to memory) (Bryant & Veroff, 2007), and different types of savoring are differentially associated with positive outcomes (Geiger et al., 2017;Quoidbach et al., 2010). ...
Well-being in older adults is an important concern as the aging population grows, as is identifying modifiable factors that contribute to well-being over time. The ability to savor the moment (i.e., to notice and upregulate one’s emotional response to positive events) has been linked to greater well-being; however, few studies have examined these relationships longitudinally or in older adults. The current study examined inter- and intra-individual associations between trait savoring ability, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms in older adults. 4491 older adults (Mage = 82.10, SD = 6.23) completed at least two out of four annual surveys. Multilevel modeling was employed to account for within- and between-person differences in associations between savoring and well-being, as well as the role of savoring in moderating trajectories of well-being over time. Covariates included age, gender, health, and stress. Savoring ability was associated with greater well-being, both within- and between-individuals. Individuals with higher savoring ability experienced attenuated declines in well-being over time. Savoring, or noticing and amplifying positive experiences, is a malleable ability that is associated with improved well-being, both on average and within-person. Higher trait savoring ability may also protect against declines in well-being associated with greater age. We discuss implications for savoring interventions in older adults.
... Ni siquiera el concepto de savouring (Bryant y Veroff, 2007) expresa correctamente el enunciado de la multimencionada frase anónima en razón de que está vinculado con los aspectos que agradan de una realidad que en sí misma aporta gozo (Bryant 1989), no de una realidad pasiva (que en esencia no implica gozo) y que la persona transforma en un gozo activo. La frase marca la diferencia de la interacción activa entre las capacidades personales y un hecho neutro. ...
... Tal diferencia revela el tipo de muestra y la población para la que ha sido creado cada instrumento. Mientras que savoring es empleado con la población general (Bryant y Veroff, 2007), gaudibilidad sería un constructo operativizado para personas en las que incidir en el pasado no es lo más importante o conveniente. ...
La capacidad para gestionar y mantener la experiencia hedónica de disfrute ha sido denominada gaudibilidad por Padrós (2002). Para su evaluación, su autor elaboró la Escala de Gaudibilidad, que ha sido empleada en diversas poblaciones clínicas y aportado resultados interesantes acerca del funcionamiento de las estrategias de mantenimiento y elongación del disfrute; sin embargo, él propio autor recomendó una revisión de este instrumento por las limitaciones psicométricas de que adolecía. Así, el presente estudio da cuenta de un análisis factorial exploratorio y confirmatorio del instrumento en una muestra de 476 estudiantes de psicología. Se comprueba su validez convergente y divergente y se analiza su funcionamiento como mediador del efecto del estrés percibido sobre la satisfacción con la vida. Los resultados sugieren que de este modo la escala pasaría de tener un solo factor a ser una escala de veinte reactivos concuatro factores relacionados y catorce ítems. Recibido: 22/08/2023Aceptado: 29/01/2024
... Many empirical studies have also confirmed that savoring can enhance positive emotions (Doorley & Kashdan, 2021;Salces-Cubero et al., 2019). Savoring is the ability to focus on positive experiences and change one's thoughts and behaviors to enhance and prolong positive emotions (Bryant, 2021;Bryant & Veroff, 2007). However, although savoring has been proven to enhance resilience, its explanatory power is still insufficient (S. S. Lee et al., 2024;Salces-Cubero et al., 2019;B. ...
... Savoring beliefs is the ability of an individual to actively enhance positive emotions through the immersion, appreciation, and enjoyment of positive experiences. Positive energy will be generated when such positive emotions are continuously elicited and stimulated (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). Theoretical and empirical studies have found that positive emotions help enhance resilience (Cohn et al., 2009;Fredrickson, 2001;Hurley & Kwon, 2013;McMakin et al., 2011;Patterson & Kelleher, 2005;Salces-Cubero et al., 2019;J. ...
Plain language summary
Purpose: An empirical study explored the key factors (workplace savoring beliefs and perceived workplace hope scale) that drive principals’ workplace resilience and examined the relationships between the key factors and principals’ workplace resilience. Methods: The Principals’ Workplace Savoring Beliefs Scale, Perceived Workplace Hope Scale, and Workplace Resilience Scale were developed. A total of 302 principals from Taiwanese senior high schools completed the paper-based questionnaire. Conclusions: This study confirmed the positive impact of workplace savoring beliefs on workplace resilience. Furthermore, perceived workplace hope mediated the relationship between workplace savoring beliefs and workplace resilience. Implications: This finding has important implications for assisting principals in enhancing workplace resilience when facing school operations challenges. This study revealed that principals with good workplace savoring beliefs could strengthen their resilience when encountering setbacks in school operations through the mediation effect of perceived workplace hope. Limitations: First, about background variables, the differences in this study in perceived workplace hope and workplace resilience were higher among principals with a master’s or doctoral degree than those with a bachelor’s degree. Second, regarding research variables, this study focused on savoring beliefs, perceived hope, and resilience, while positive psychology includes many other variables. Third, as for the target population, this study was conducted on principals of senior high schools. Fourth, in terms of data processing, SPSS PROCESS Model 4 was used to examine the effectiveness of this study.
... Beyond well-being, resilience, self-regulation, and creative efficiency as potential mediators between ADHD symptoms and social functioning (Zábó et al., 2022), a fifth element may play a unique role in this relationship. Savoring, the ability and capacity to actively seek out, appreciate and hold onto positive experiences and pleasures (Bryant & Veroff, 2007;Bryan et al., 2022) is a prerequisite in the MPMHT framework (Zábó et al., 2022). Savoring is a key process within the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, which posits that positive emotions expand one's awareness and inspire a broader range of thoughts and actions. ...
... In addition to its direct association with well-being (eg, Bryant, 2003;Wood et al., 2003), savoring is further proposed as a moderator variable (Bryant & Veroff, 2007;Chadwick, 2012;Costa-Ramalho et al., 2015). That is, empirical research suggests that savoring acts as a moderating factor in various situations, from buffering the impact of traumatic experiences (Sytine et al., 2018) and moderating the link between negative emotions and suicidal behaviors (Klibert et al., 2019) to influencing the relationship between activity engagement and aspects of well-being, including life satisfaction, depression, loneliness, and sense of purpose (Smith et al., 2020). ...
The purpose of this study was to assess the association between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and rejection sensitivity in college students, and whether it is mediated or moderated by elements of mental well-being. Using a cross-sectional design, the study examined 304 Hungarian college students who responded online to a set of questionnaires that included the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale, The Mental Health Test, and the Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire. Path analysis indicated that well-being, creative/executive proficiency, self-regulation, and resilience partially mediated the relationship between ADHD symptoms and rejection sensitivity, while savoring moderated this link. The model explained up to 50% of the total variance in rejection sensitivity scores. Findings suggest that university students with ADHD symptoms may particularly benefit from acquiring savoring skills to enhance their mental well-being and lower sensitivity to rejection. As such, the results carry significant implications for counseling psychologists, educators, and mental health professionals working in the higher education sector.
... As noted in the positive subjective experiences/examples of memories theme, many participants in this study drew upon anecdotes from their lived experiences to generate positive feelings and cultivate self-confidence, which is a clear representation of how LGBTQIA + individuals work within Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi's (2000) first pillar to flourish. This process of recalling, reliving, and relishing positive subjective experiences is a unique cognitive-affective regulation strategy termed savoring (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). To date, few studies offer pathways by which LGBTQIA + individuals regulate positive subjective experiences to support flourishing efforts in LGBTQIA + communities. ...
This paper employs a thematic analysis guided by the principles of empowerment methods to define and describe strengths within LGBTQIA + communities. It also investigates how the Three-Pillar Model and its extensions capture culturally bound expressions of strengths. Semi-structured interviews (N = 25) were conducted with LGBTQIA + adults residing in medically underserved areas. Codebook thematic analysis, or medium Q thematic analysis, resulted in five themes representing identity-based strengths (inclusive growth/learning, zest/hope, love/empathy, justice/fairness, courage/bravery), three themes reflecting positive subjective experiences with adaptability (stress-related growth, resilience, coping resources), four secondary subjective experience themes (kinship, general support, self-acceptance processes, general positive subjective experiences), and two inductive themes (pride, meaning in life). While some relational and adaptation strength themes overlapped with concepts underlying the Three-Pillar Model and complimentary work, culturally salient expressions of strength, such as pride and kinship, were highlighted in our model. Results characterize the interconnected pathways through which strength resources promote well-being and identify key mechanisms (pride, savoring) supporting identity affirmation.
... Focusing on positive emotions is an important and often overlooked port of entry for attachment-based interventions, as enhancing positive emotions may be an effective tool for promoting healthy relationships (Nelson-Coffey et al., 2021;Seligman, 2011). Bryant describes savoring as an active process of enjoying, attending to, and prolonging the pleasure associated with positive experiences (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). Savoring is associated with promising mental health benefits (e.g., Craske et al., 2019;Smith & Hollinger-Smith, 2015). ...
Parental attachment is a robust predictor of parents’ emotion regulation and parent-child interaction quality. However, little is known about how attachment representations influence parents’ ability to engage in savoring, the process of attending to and prolonging positive emotional experiences. This study examined the association between maternal attachment and two aspects of savoring quality in the context of a large randomized controlled trial. Mothers ( N = 147) of toddlers (aged 18–27 months) participated in this longitudinal study. Prior to being randomized to a Personal Savoring (PS) or Relational Savoring (RS) condition (delivered four times over a 4-week period), participants completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised questionnaire (ECR-R). Savoring quality was coded from transcripts of the savoring sessions and two indices of savoring quality were derived, positivity and specificity. AAI secure attachment predicted higher savoring quality (higher positivity and specificity), whereas AAI dismissing attachment predicted lower savoring quality (specifically, lower positivity but not specificity). Neither ECR-R avoidance nor ECR-R anxiety was associated with savoring quality. These results suggest that narrative assessments, such as the AAI, can reveal attachment dynamics that may be not captured by self-report measures in relation to savoring quality. AAI dismissing attachment is associated with lower positivity during savoring, highlighting the need for interventions that specifically address the emotional distancing characteristic of dismissing attachment. Additionally, the link between AAI secure attachment and specificity suggests that enhancing specificity could be an effective intervention target to promote positive outcomes in savoring practices.
... Those who train and keep themselves mentally fit with exercises such as Positive Introduction, Gratitude Journal, Gratitude Letter & Visit, One Door Close, and One Door Open cultivate positive emotions and increase their well-being. Those who complete exercises such as Satisficing versus Maximising (Schwartz et al. 2002) or Savoring (Bryant and Veroff 2006) in addition to those listed above learn "to deliberately slow down and enjoy experiences they would normally hurry through (e.g., eating a meal). When the experience is over, clients reflect and write down what they did, and how they felt differently compared to when they rushed through it" (ibid., 32). ...
Positive Psychology (PP) and the closely related Positive Psychotherapy (PPT) are established in various countries. This article is dedicated to the central principles and axioms, concepts, findings, and ambitions of PP and PPT. This is done with critical intent. It is argued that focussing on the so-called “positive” has more than just theoretical and methodological deficits. PP and PPT are also deconstructed as an ideological and missionary worldview that propagates a “new human being.” PP and PPT are currently among the strongest drivers of scientifically guided and animated self-optimisation in several institutions.
Keywords: Positive Psychology/Psychotherapy, self-optimisation, psycho
prothetics, happiness, strength finder, PERMA, psychological ideology/mission.
... The posttrip/recollection phase of a holiday trip (Clawson and Knetsch 1966) involves savoring the holiday experience (Bryant and Veroff 2007), but such recollections are deemed somewhat unreliable (Braun-LaTour, Grinley, and Loftus 2006;Kemp, Burt, and Furneaux 2008). Although the memories in itself are real, they are not an accurate summary of the actual experiences; much "reconstruction" is taking place (Kemp, Burt, and Furneaux 2008). ...
How happy are tourists during a day of their holiday and what makes them happy? These questions were addressed in a study of 466 international tourists in the Netherlands. While on vacation, tourists are generally high on hedonic level of affect, with positive affect exceeding negative affect almost fourfold. Affect balance is higher than generally observed in everyday life, whereas tourists’ life satisfaction is not significantly different compared with life satisfaction in their everyday life. Vacationers’ socioeconomic backgrounds and life satisfaction only partially explain their affective state of the day. Most of the variance is explained by factors associated with the holiday trip itself. During a holiday, holiday stress and attitude toward the travel party are the most important determinants of daily affect balance. These findings imply that on the whole, the tourism industry is doing a good job. The industry could probably do better with more research on experiences during the holiday.
... Engaging in an emotion regulation strategy that is mutually exclusive to dampening is one avenue. Savoring re ects the tendency to attend to, focus on, recall and anticipate positive moods and events [91]. Savoring is an effective way to amplify positive affect in the short-term [92], and increases happiness over time, in day to day living [93] and lowers depressive symptoms over time [94]. ...
Background Child maltreatment exerts lasting effects on emotion regulation, which in turn accounts for adult’s risk for psychopathology such as depression. Child maltreatment is associated with impairments in reward sensitivity (responding to positive stimuli in-the-moment) as well as chronic anhedonia, lack of positive moods and pleasure to environmental stimuli. To date though, emotion regulation strategies that account for these deficits in positive moods and responses is limited. We examined the role of positive rumination and dampening of positive affect, both voluntary emotion regulation strategies. We hypothesized that alterations in positive rumination and dampening would explain the association between women’s history of child maltreatment and risk for current depressive symptoms. Given that child maltreatment also impairs emotion regulation of negative affect, we also explored the unique effects of positive affective strategies after controlling for dysphoric rumination. Methods Undergraduate women ( n = 122) completed surveys on child maltreatment, depressive symptoms, and their tendency to dampen or engage in positive rumination in response to positive affect, reflecting cross-sectional data. The PROCESS macro, model 4 was run in SPSS to examine the extent to which emotion regulation strategies accounted for the association between child maltreatment history and current depressive symptoms. Results Child maltreatment history was associated with a higher tendency to dampen positive affect but was not linked with positive rumination. Dampening partially explained the link between child maltreatment and women’s current depressive symptoms. Dampening continued to account for unique variance in the association between child maltreatment and depressive symptoms (β = 0.13) after including rumination in the model. Conclusions Results suggests that emotion suppression strategies among child maltreatment survivors may also extend to positive affect, and specificity in regulation strategies are altered. Currently dysphoric women with a history of child maltreatment tend to dampen their positive moods and reactions to events, which has immediate treatment implications for this population. Future, longitudinal research is warranted to clarify the role of alterations in positive emotion regulations strategies in understanding how child maltreatment fosters risk for psychopathology such as depression.
... Of the 1,012 initial articles, 8 were compatible with the study proposal and were therefore analyzed. Complementary authors such as Bryant and Veroff (2007), Pallasmaa (2015), Adli et al. (2017), Hollander and Sussman (2020), Olszewska-Guizzo (2023) among others, were of fundamental importance for understanding the theme. The aim is, therefore, to formulate evidence-based urban design proposals, taking into account the responsibility of urban planning professionals to design environments beyond technical regulations, capable of not only allowing, but providing significant, memorable and therapeutic experiences to tourists and elderly citizens, combining urban planning and tourist accessibility. ...
It's estimated that by 2100, the population aged 60 or over will reach 30% in the world, according to UN data from 2024. It's also expected that the vast majority of elderly people will live in urban environments, especially in low-and middle-income countries, such as Brazil, Africa and Asian countries. In this perspective, this study aims to investigate how NeuroUrbanism and Environmental Gerontology can contribute to the creation of accessible and therapeutic tourist environments for the elderly, proposing the concept of "savoring design" as an approach to improve the well-being of older tourists. As an exploratory method, an integrative literature review was adopted, covering research published between 2018 and 2024 on urban accessibility, healthy aging and tourism. The analysis revealed that urban environments designed based on the principles of NeuroUrbanism can reduce stress, improve safety and encourage social interactions among the elderly. Savoring design, inspired by Positive Psychology, was highlighted as an effective approach to promoting conscious appreciation of the environment through aesthetic landscapes, green areas, rest areas and accessible pathways, thus improving relaxation and quality of life for older adults during their tourism experiences. The results indicate that, in addition to meeting the physical needs of accessibility and safety, urban planning should integrate interventions that promote the emotional and cognitive well-being of older tourists. The conclusion suggests that accessible urban design, combined with strategies that promote well-being, is essential to ensure that tourist destinations are inclusive and welcoming.
... This shift towards a needs-based approach to product development reflects a growing recognition of the importance of sufficiency in today's competitive marketplace. Therefore, recent studies have highlighted the positive effects of minimalism on consumer happiness, as minimalism fosters increased self-awareness, enhanced retrospection, positive emotions, and sustainability benefits (Bryant and Veroff, 2017;Ivtzan and Lomas, 2016;Kang et al., 2021). Furthermore, minimalism supports the personal well-being (Kasser, 2009) and enhances quality-of-life, as evidenced by a recent study from China (Fu et al., 2023). ...
... Practical interventions could include activities that promote reflection on positive learning experiences, training in emotional regulation techniques, and creating opportunities for learners to savour their successes and enjoyable moments in L2 learning. Since one of the important operational defining components of savouring is that it entails not only recognising pleasure but also deliberately focusing on the experience of this emotional state (Bryant and Veroff 2007), intervention studies should focus on L2SB as mindful meta-awareness of positive feelings (Bryant 2021). Another aspect of L2SB, savouring as the management of positive experiences, should also be incorporated in the L2SB-based interventions by emphasising different savouring strategies that one can use to amplify or prolong enjoyment of positive events. ...
The current research aimed to revisit the association of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language boredom (FLB) by the incorporation of global and specific levels of the two constructs, relying on the moderating impact of L2 savoring beliefs (L2SB). To improve the precision and accuracy of these evaluations, we adopted innovative analytic techniques that specifically accommodate the simultaneous global-specific nature of the FLE, FLB, and L2SB in a sample of 388 English as foreign language (EFL) learners. Findings from exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) confirmed the bifactor ESEM solutions for FLE. Moreover, results from the main analyses revealed that: (1) learners’ global levels of FLB were significantly and negatively predicted by global levels of FLE as well as by their specific levels of personal FLE and teacher FLE; (2) specific levels of personal FLE were found to predict lower levels of global FLB and specific factors of FLB, that is, the lack of challenge and satisfaction (LCS) and the disengagement, monotony, and repetition (DMR); (3) specific levels of social enjoyment were found to predict lower levels of global FLB; (4) specific levels of teacher appreciation were found to predict lower levels of global FLB and specific facet of DMR. Additionally, moderation analysis supported the role of significant interactions between the global and specific elements of FLE and L2SB. In the discussion session, we shed light on these relationships according to related theories and literature.
... 54 Savouring will be assessed with the momentary savouring scale from the Savouring Beliefs Inventory. 55 ...
Introduction
Many individuals receiving outpatient physical therapy have musculoskeletal pain and up to one-third use prescription opioids. The impact of physical therapist-led mindfulness-based interventions integrated with evidence-based physical therapy (I-EPT) to manage patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain and long-term opioid treatment has not been elucidated. This project evaluates the feasibility of conducting a cluster randomised trial to test the effectiveness of I-EPT.
Methods and analysis
Study 1 aim: Refine and manualise the I-EPT treatment protocol. Our approach will use semistructured interviews of patients and physical therapists to refine an I-EPT training manual. Study 2 aim: Evaluate different intensities of physical therapist training programmes for the refined I-EPT treatment protocol. Physical therapists will be randomised 1:1:1 to high-intensity training (HighIT), low-IT (LowIT) training and no training arms. Following training, competency in the provision of I-EPT (LowIT and HighIT groups) will be assessed using standardised patient simulations. Study 3 aim: Evaluate the feasibility of the I-EPT intervention across domains of the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance implementation framework. The refined I-EPT treatment protocol will be tested in two different health systems with 90 patients managed by the randomised physical therapists. The coprimary endpoints for study 3 are the proportions of the Pain, Enjoyment of Life and General Activity Scale and the Timeline Followback for opioid use/dose collected at 12 weeks.
Ethics and dissemination
Ethics approval for the study was obtained from the University of Utah, University of Florida and Florida State University Institutional Review Boards. Informed consent is required for participant enrolment in all phases of this project. On completion, study data will be made available in compliance with NIH data sharing policies.
Trial registration number
NCT05875207.
Zusammenfassung
Dieser Beitrag in der Zeitschrift Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. (GIO) untersucht die Belastungen und Ressourcen von Schulleiter:innen in Österreich und legt dabei besonderen Fokus auf die systemischen Zusammenhänge, die ihre Arbeit beeinflussen. Die vorgestellten Studien sind in der Positiven Psychologie verortet: So beschäftigt sich die Job Demands-Resources-Theorie damit, wie bestimmte Arbeitsplatzmerkmale das Wohlbefinden von Beschäftigten fördern oder belasten. Im Rahmen eines explanativen, sequentiellen Mixed-Methods-Designs wurden zwischen 2022 und 2023 über 2000 österreichische Schulleiter:innen über einen Online-Fragebogen befragt. Den Ergebnissen zufolge können sich der Großteil der Annahmen bewähren, wonach insbesondere persönliche Ressourcen als auch die als belastend erlebte Wahrnehmung, wichtige Entscheidungen nicht beeinflussen zu können, einen inkrementellen Beitrag zur Vorhersage motivationaler als auch gesundheitsgefährdender Prozesse leisten. Um die Ursachen der artikulierten Belastungen besser zu verstehen, wurde im Anschluss eine Interviewstudie mit 24 Schulleiter:innen durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse aus dieser Studie verdeutlichen, dass die widersprüchlichen Anforderungen – zwischen Führung und geführt werden sowie zwischen pädagogischen Aufgaben und administrativen Pflichten – systemisch bedingt sind, was einfache Lösungen erschwert. Da Schulleiter:innen ihre Arbeit als erfüllend, aber gleichzeitig als belastend in der Kommunikation nach „oben“ und „unten“ erleben, werden abschließend in den schulischen Alltag integrierbare, positiv-psychologische Interventionsmöglichkeiten skizziert.
The present study explores the multifaceted nature of happiness and aims to shed light on the factors that contribute to individuals' experiences of happiness. Happiness is a subjective experience influenced by various internal and external sources. The research draws upon a comprehensive review of existing literature, including empirical studies, theoretical frameworks, and philosophical perspectives.
To understand further, the study used photo story method, a creative means to engage with the participants, allowing them to express themselves in a visual and in a narrative manner making them go through the process of being aware and identifying ‘what they think happiness is’. To fulfil this objective 20 college going students were reached out through purposive sampling technique. The data was collected by a standard questionnaire form followed by participants sharing photographs and getting interviewed.
Based on the semi-structured interview conducted to understand the data collected through the photo-story method to understand the lived experiences and understanding of happiness. The data sets were analysed using Braun & Clarke (2006) ‘Thematic Analysis’-a qualitative analytical method which involves generating patterns and themes. Following are the themes drawn out of the rich data collected, ‘Defining Happiness’, ‘Relationships and happiness’, ‘External sources of happiness’, ‘Internal Sources of Happiness’ and ‘Synonyms of happiness’. These themes are further elaborated by Subtheme as a way to explore the essence of each theme.
Sustainability in the agri‐food sector has been increasingly important with regard to the environment, health, and employment of local farmers. The purpose of this research is to analyze the impact of drivers and barriers on consumer behavior toward sustainable agri‐food products in India under the Behavioral Reasoning Theory (BRT). This study employs a mixed‐methods approach, integrating both exploratory and confirmatory strategies designed to understand the behavioral motivators and barriers in sustainable purchase decisions. The study concludes that environmental concern, health, and support for local farmers positively enhance consumer intention to purchase sustainable agri‐food products. Conversely, payment and limited accessibility serve as barriers in highly price‐sensitive markets like India. Environmental concern moderates the impact of supportive and negative agri‐food reasons by amplifying the positive influence while reducing the negative one. Addressing the barriers alongside the motivators will enable greater achievement of sustainable consumption. This makes well‐founded recommendations for businesses and public institutions in developing strategies to promote sustainable agri‐food products optimized for hesitant consumers. It also broadens the scope of BRT, portraying consumer decision‐making in a less‐considered light, and offers a practical approach to fostering green purchase intentions in developing nations.
Sexual pleasure is an integral component of sexual health, human rights, and overall wellbeing and can be a helpful lens for understanding the agency and freedom present at the individual, relational, and community level. Further, one's most pleasurable sexual experience can be a pivotal moment that allows for expanded understandings of pleasure and can change how one structures future sexual experiences. It is particularly important to study sexual pleasure among Black women, as much of the sex research on this population is focused on risk and disease and may reinforce harmful stereotypes. This study explored the most pleasurable sexual experiences (MPEs) of 25 Black women living in the Southern United States to understand the main characteristics present in pleasurable sex. Participants were between the ages of 27-44 (M = 29.7 years old). Participants completed semi-structured interviews about their MPEs and responses were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Six interconnected themes were developed: emotional intimacy, out of the ordinary experiences, physical intimacy, intentionality, open communication, and mindful presence. Orgasm was mentioned by only a small portion of study participants. Our findings show that Black women's MPEs are varied and multifaceted, and a deeper understanding of the characteristics present in these experiences provides important information in working toward sexual liberation.
Understanding how memories are retained over time provides deeper insight into what makes experiences impactful and memorable in the long term. This study examines how tourists recall past experiences and identifies key elements that contribute to the transformation of tourism experiences into long-term memory. Using a longitudinal approach, this research tracked memory traces from a group tour in London through self-reporting and in-depth interviews conducted at three intervals: onsite, three weeks post-trip, and three months post-trip. Grounded theory analysis identified five key characteristics that shape the dynamics of long-term recollection in tourism experiences. The findings advance theoretical understanding by demonstrating how memory recollection influences the perceived significance of experiences through the appreciation of experience value and emotional responses. This study contributes to broader discussions on the lasting impact of tourism experiences and provides insights for designing memorable experiences in destination marketing and tourism product conceptualization.
Objective
Caregivers’ positive affect benefits patients’ and their well-being. Savoring is one important emotion regulation strategy to manage positive affect. Limited information about patterns of savoring hinders the development of targeted interventions to promote cancer caregivers’ emotional well-being. The purpose of this study was to identify latent patterns of savoring and investigate influencing factors associated with the identified patterns among caregivers of people with advanced cancer.
Methods
Latent profile analysis was performed to identify savoring patterns based on savoring beliefs and strategies in 404 informal caregivers of patients with advanced cancer. Multinomial logistic regression analysis examined associated factors regarding different savoring profiles.
Results
Three latent profiles of savoring were identified. Individuals in high level of savoring (HS, 33.4%) showed the highest level of savoring and positive affect. Compared with HS, caregivers in low level of savoring (LS, 9.4%) and medium level of savoring (MS, 57.2%) showed lower savoring and lower positive affect. Active coping(βMS = -0.109, βLS = -0.252, p<0.001)was the strongest protecting factor for both MS and LS, while passive coping (β = 0.146, p = 0.008) was a risk factor for LS. Non-assistance from others (β = 0.677, p = 0.015) and unemployment (β = 1.287, p = 0.007)were the strongest risk factors for the MS and LS subgroup, respectively.
Conclusions
Caregivers’ savoring patterns appear to vary at different levels. Oncological professionals should pay attention to caregivers with passive coping, unemployment, and lack of assistance for designing targeted savoring training to promote emotional well-being.
The term affect is used in a multitude of ways in the wellbeing literature, and this chapter identifies three diverging clusters of definitions. One considers affect to be an umbrella term, a top-down concept under which moods, emotions, feelings, and other kinds of affect are taxonomically organized. A second group of definitions holds affect to be a bottom-up phenomenon. Here, affect is taken to be a fundamental or primitive building block, a “natural kind” that is present in all other concepts referred to as affective or emotional. On this view, an emotion is not a kind of affect but contains affect as one of its constituents. The third cluster of affect definitions uses affect as a synonym for other concepts, such as moods, emotions, or feelings.
The HTW uses affect as an umbrella term, and the chapter proceeds by surveying the major kinds of affect, such as temperament, mood, emotion, feeling, and evaluation. For emotions, three groups of theories are examined. They consider emotions to be basic, continuous, or constructed, respectively. Among the presented approaches, one of the basic theories, referred to as the communicative theory of emotions, appears to be the most promising. The theory offers a list of nine basic emotions, among which the “big four” of happiness, sadness, anger, and fear are the best exemplars. According to the communicative theory, basic emotions are psychological primitives and therefore cannot be separated into lower-level states that are not themselves emotions.
A feeling state is part of an emotion but is not limited to emotions. In contrast to emotions, feelings are always present in a conscious mind, and they reflect what it is like to have a subjective experience on a moment-to-moment basis. A feeling informs us if we are OK or in need of tending, and it comprises four components: valence (pleasure/displeasure) tells us how good a stimulus is; quality identifies the nature of what we are feeling; intensity accounts for the importance of the feeling; and duration tells us how long a feeling is lasting.
An evaluation is another kind of affect; it represents a valuation mechanism and is quite similar to a feeling in terms of functions. However, evaluations are not restricted to being consciously experienced and can be integrated into other mental processes, such as perception. A promising approach has been developed by Shizgal, and it suggests that a good-bad evaluation interacts with nonevaluative dimensions to generate a value judgment.
The last part of the paper provides an account of emotional happiness and emotional interest. Emotional happiness has many different meanings, but two major conceptualizations are easily identified. One associates happiness with active goal pursuits and with the execution of plans that are progressing well. The second conceptualization links happiness with low-effort activities and with goal achievement and the fulfillment of needs. The HTW refers to happiness in this latter sense as a harmony feeling. Emotional interest is related to learning and exploring unfamiliar territory. It often occurs when we are confronted with a challenge and when skills are developed. Interest therefore belongs to a category called “opportunity feelings.” Harmony feelings differ from opportunity feelings both functionally and phenomenologically. Hence, it is unfortunate that mainstream wellbeing research tends to collapse them both into the grab-bag notion of “positive affect.”
Background
This study aimed to determine the most significant indicators of positive well-being and understand differences in sources of well-being across different life situations, age groups, genders, and income levels, utilizing a novel measure of positive well-being, the Well-being Balance and Lived Experiences (WBAL) Assessment, which evaluates the frequency of various positive experiences and feelings across a range of activation and arousal levels that have previously been demonstrated to affect subjective well-being and human flourishing.
Methods
A sample of 496 evaluable subjects aged 20-69 and census-balanced for gender were recruited from a U.S. population panel. Differences in well-being and sources of well-being were analyzed across subgroups via MANOVA analysis followed by post-hoc ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD analyses using Cohen’s d to determine size and direction of effects between categorical subgroups.
Results
Life situations, including relationship, parenting and employment status, were shown to have a more significant effect on overall well-being than the demographic variables of age, gender and household income. Reported well-being improved significantly with life situations, including companionate relationships (d=0.38, p<0.001) and parenting (d=0.35, p<0.001), that provide greater opportunities for more frequent social connection (d’s=0.25, p<0.01 to 0.62, p<0.001) and purposeful contribution to others’ well-being (d’s=0.34 to 0.71, p<0.001), associated with increased feelings of significance (d’s=0.40 to 0.45, p<0.001) and efficacy (d’s=0.37 to 0.44, p<0.001). An age-related positivity effect was observed, with older adults reporting more frequent positive feelings than younger age groups (d=0.31, p<0.01). Measures of mindset positivity, variety of positive experiences and feelings, and frequency and range of positive feelings across arousal levels each corresponded closely with overall well-being.
Conclusion
Life situations, including relationship, parenting and employment status, had a more broad and significant effect on wellbeing than age, gender or income. Across life situations, purposeful contribution and social connection, with associated feelings of efficacy and significance were key drivers of differences in well-being. Mindset positivity and variety of positive experiences and feelings correspond closely with overall well-being. Findings from this study can help guide the design and implementation of intervention programs to improve well-being for individuals and targeted subgroups, demonstrating the utility of the WBAL Assessment to evaluate discrete modifiable sources of positive well-being.
The present study seeks to validate Diener’s flourishing scale in the context of a sizable Hungarian sample and explore its informative characteristics across diverse score ranges to discern the levels of flourishing accurately captured by the instrument. A large cross-sectional sample (N = 1540) was used for the study. The analyses, including Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), established model fit and invariance across distinct groups (sex and education), validating the scale’s construct validity. Correlative validities were assessed by examining associations with Savoring and PERMA constructs, along with their subscales. Additionally, Item Response Theory (IRT) was used to explore the latent relationship between flourishing and its constituent items. The study strongly supported the one-dimensional model of flourishing by confirming its factor structure within the Hungarian context. Measurement invariance across gender and education was established, ensuring consistent measurement across diverse groups. The Flourishing Scale displayed robust validity, correlating significantly with Savoring and PERMA constructs (r =|0.39| to|0.71|). Nevertheless, the IRT analysis revealed limitations for scores above the mean, indicating higher standard errors and reduced precision in assessing flourishing levels, particularly for respondents with elevated scores. The Diener’s flourishing scale demonstrated robust fit and exhibited commendable reliability and validity within the extensive Hungarian sample under investigation. However, the IRT findings underscored the need for cautious interpretation when gauging higher levels of flourishing, as the scale’s precision may be somewhat compromised in this range.
Tourist sharing is a significant source of well-being, yet the mechanisms through which it influences their well-being remain unclear. In particular, material sharing, a crucial aspect of tourist sharing, has not received the attention it deserves. To address this, we conducted a comprehensive investigation involving a questionnaire survey and four experiments. Our findings reveal that the well-being effect of material sharing is relatively stronger than that of experiential sharing, with savoring mediating the relationship between tourist sharing and well-being. Sharing channels moderate this well-being effect, whereby material sharing (vs. experiential sharing) activates higher well-being when tourists use offline channels for sharing. However, when tourists use online channels for sharing, experiential sharing (vs. material sharing) activates higher well-being. This paper introduces material sharing into the tourist sharing framework, highlighting the critical role of savoring in the well-being effect of tourist sharing, with practical implications for enhancing tourist well-being during sharing activities.
Positive anticipatory experiences are key to daily well-being. However, the brain’s functional architecture underlying real-world positive anticipatory experiences and well-being remains unexplored. In the present study, we combined an ecological momentary assessment and resting-state functional neuroimaging to identify the neural predictors of real-world positive anticipatory experiences and explore their relationships with subjective well-being (SWB). With a model-based approach, we quantified participants’ accuracy in predicting positive events and the degree to which participants’ affective states were influenced by the positive anticipation. We found that individuals with higher accuracy in predicting upcoming positive events showed greater SWB, and this relationship was mediated by greater positive anticipatory feelings. Importantly, functional connectivity of the dorsal and ventral striatal-hippocampal networks significantly predicted the accuracy and positive anticipatory feelings, respectively. These functional networks were further predictive of SWB. Our findings provide novel and ecologically valid evidence that the interplay between neural systems for reward-processing and memory plays an important role in real-life positive anticipatory experiences and everyday SWB.
Across cultures, the relationship between humans and nature affects both the well-being of humans and the natural environment. While the concept of nature connectedness is recognized as an important topic in this regard, little is known about the psychological processes that establish and foster it. Positioned at the intersection of environmental psychology and outdoor studies, this article-based thesis adopts a critical realism perspective to explore how social relational emotions, such as kama muta (≈ being moved) and awe, are specifically significant to the process of connecting in and to nature.
Fear of happiness (FOH) refers to the subjective experience of negative affect (e.g., fear, anxiety, guilt, or discomfort) when experiencing or expressing happiness, which stems from the belief that happiness may lead to negative consequences. Over the past decade, empirical research exploring this phenomenon has proliferated across disciplines. This article provides a comprehensive synthesis of the rapidly growing empirical literature on FOH. It begins by examining the conceptual underpinnings of FOH, its psychometric assessment, and its grounding within the broader constructs of emotion perspectives and lay conceptions of happiness. Findings on the correlates of FOH are then summarized, including factors such as personality traits, relationship quality, perfectionism, and self-esteem. The review also examines the accumulating evidence linking fear of happiness to reduced mental well-being, depression, anxiety, and other clinical conditions. The relevance of FOH in clinical contexts is discussed along with potential therapeutic approaches and psychological interventions to mitigate maladaptive FOH. Crucially, the review underscores the indispensable role of cultural, contextual, and individual influences in shaping the manifestations and implications of FOH, emphasizing the need for a holistic perspective to avoid undue pathologization of FOH. By providing an integrative account of conceptual foundations, empirical findings, clinical relevance, and intervention strategies, this comprehensive review charts an empirically informed path toward a holistic and culturally responsive understanding of the phenomenon of FOH.
Erst die Lust, dann der Sinn.
Am Anfang ist der Appetit auf das Leben. Haben erst Mutter und Kind das grosse Drama der Geburt überstanden, dann erblickt das Kind, Leib an Leib mit der Mutter, erschöpft und erholt, das Licht der Welt und ist, wenn es gut geht, willkommen und geborgen. Im Kosmos kindlichen Empfindens spielenSchmecken und Riechen, Berühren, Klang und wohlige Wärme eine wichtige Rolle. Die Psychoanalyse spricht hier vom Lustprinzip. Es bestimmt die ersten Lebenserfahrungen des Kindes und bleibt in unendlichen Differenzierungen lebenslang wirksam.
Savoring moments can foster well-being. Older adults are theorized to prioritize emotional well-being in daily life, which directs their attention to positive aspects of life. In this study, with data collected from 2018 to 2021, 285 adults aged 25–85 completed an experience sampling procedure (six times a day for 10 days) where they reported their experienced emotions, whether they were savoring the moment, and how close they felt to their most recent social partner. They also completed a trait-level questionnaire on psychological well-being. Across the age range, individuals were more likely to savor moments when they were with close social partners. Older people were more likely than younger people to report savoring when experiencing high levels of positive affect. The tendency to savor was also tied to psychological well-being among individuals independent of their age. Findings highlight the relational aspect of savoring in daily contexts and suggest that savoring may contribute to well-being, helping to account for age advantages in well-being.
Bu araştırma bilişsel çarpıtmalar ve iyimserlik düzeyinin mutluluk korkusu ile ilişkisini belirlemek amacıyla yürütülmüştür. Araştırma verileri toplanırken Google Formlar üzerinden ölçek formatını içeren bir link oluşturulmuş ve çeşitli sosyal medya kanalları ile çalışmaya katılan kişilerin linki diğer kişilere ulaştırmaları sağlanarak veriler toplanmıştır. Araştırma 140 kadın 138 erkek olmak üzere 278 kişi ile yürütülmüştür. Araştırma verileri araştırmacılar tarafından oluşturulan Kişisel Bilgi Formu, İyimserlik Ölçeği, Bilişsel Çarpıtmalar (Düşünme Türleri) Ölçeği ve Mutluluk Korkusu Ölçeği kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Elde edilen veriler betimleyici istatistikler, bağımsız t testi ve regresyon analizi kullanılarak değerlendirilmiştir. Yapılan analiz neticesinde cinsiyet ve medeni durum ile mutluluk korkusu arasında anlamlı bir ilişki bulunamamıştır. Araştırmada düşünme türlerinden “felaketleştirme” ile mutluluk korkusu arasında pozitif yönlü ilişki olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Ayrıca çalışmamızda mutluluk korkusu ile iyimserlik düzeyi arasında negatif yönlü anlamlı bir ilişki olduğu bulgulanmıştır. Araştırma sonuçları, mutluluk korkusuna ilişkin gelecekte yürütülecek araştırmalarda potansiyel değişkenlerin belirlenmesi ve incelenmesinde bazı önemli çıkarımlar sunmaktadır.
الأهداف: هدفت الدراسة إلى قياس أثر برنامج إرشادي قائم على استراتيجيات التذوق النفسي في مستوى الرضا الزواجي. المنهجية: تكونت عينة الدراسة من (40) سيدة متزوجة من محافظة الأحساء جرى اختيارهن بطريقة مقصودة وهن اللاتي حصلن على أقل الدرجات على مقياس الرضا الزواجي، ثم قسّمن إلى مجموعتين متكافئتين تجريبية وأخرى ضابطة، عدد كل مجموعة (20) سيدة. استُخدِم مقياس الرضا الزواجي من إعداد جان (2016)، وبرنامج إرشادي قائم على استراتيجيات التذوق النفسي أُعِدَّ لأغراض هذه الدراسة. النتائج: توصلت الدراسة إلى عدم وجود فروق دالة إحصائيًا بين متوسطي درجات أفراد المجموعتين التجريبية والضابطة في القياس البعدي على مقياس الرضا الزواجي. كما تبين عدم وجود فروق دالة إحصائيًا بين درجات أفراد المجموعة التجريبية قبل وبعد تطبيق البرنامج على مقياس الرضا الزواجي. كذلك عدم وجود فروق دالة إحصائيًا تعزى إلى متغيري عدد سنوات الزواج وعدد الأطفال. الخلاصة: يتضح بأنه لا يوجد أثر للبرنامج الإرشادي في مستوى الرضا الزواجي، وهذا قد يعزى إلى عدة أسباب منها اقتصار تقديم البرنامج على الزوجات فقط وحاجة العلاقة الزوجية للعديد من المقومات التي تسهم في نجاحها. هناك ضرورة لمزيد من الدراسات لبحث علاقة التذوق النفسي بالرضا الزواجي وفق متغيرات ديموغرافية أخرى، وكذلك الاهتمام بتقديم برامج إرشادية موجهة لكلا الزوجين لتحقيق فائدة أكبر.
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