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Valuing Time Over Money Is Associated With Greater Happiness
Abstract
How do the trade-offs that we make about two of our most valuable resources—time and money—shape happiness? While past research has documented the immediate consequences of thinking about time and money, research has not yet examined whether people’s general orientations to prioritize time over money are associated with greater happiness. In the current research, we develop the Resource Orientation Measure (ROM) to assess people’s stable preferences to prioritize time over money. Next, using data from students, adults recruited from the community, and a representative sample of employed Americans, we show that the ROM is associated with greater well-being. These findings could not be explained by materialism, material striving, current feelings of time or material affluence, or demographic characteristics such as income or marital status. Across six studies (N=4,690), we provide the first empirical evidence that prioritizing time over money is a stable preference related to greater subjective well-being.
... One line of research suggests the possibility that performance incentives will decrease the motivation to socialize by focusing people's attention on money. Focusing on money can promote self-sufficient behavior (Bianchi & Mohliver, 2016;Lea & Webley, 2006;Vohs, Mead, & Goode, 2006) and encourage people to work alone and socialize less (Hershfield, Mogilner, & Barnea, 2016;Whillans & Dunn, 2018;Whillans, Weidman, & Dunn, 2016). A recent conceptual review points to the possibility that reminders of money lead people to focus on maximizing economic gains and to spend less time with their loved ones (Vohs, 2015, see also: c.f. Caruso et al., 2017). ...
... Thus, exposure to performance incentives should decrease the amount of time that people spend with personal relationship partners like friends and family who are less instrumental for their focal goal. In support of this proposition, researchers have studied spending time with work ties versus personal ties as an explicit trade-off (e.g., Bianchi & Vohs, 2016;Hershfield, Mogilner, & Barnea, 2016;Whillans, Macchia, & Dunn, 2019;Whillans & Dunn, 2018;Whillans, Weidman, & Dunn, 2016). Following from this research, we examine the effect of performance incentives on the trade-offs that people make between these two relationship partners. ...
... Studies 1-3 examined the extent to which participants said they would prioritize their work ties. A remaining question is whether we would observe the same effect with a decision-making measure, which could be less subject to social desirability concerns (Girard & Cohn, 2016;Hur, Ruttan, & Shea, 2020;Whillans, Weidman, & Dunn, 2016). Thus, in Study 4, we asked participants to allocate the amount of time that they would spend interacting with other participants in preparation for an upcoming task. ...
Most working adults report spending very little time with friends and family. The current research explores the aspects of work that encourage employees to spend less time with personal ties. We show that incentive systems play a critical role in shaping how people allocate their time to different relationship partners. Across three experiments, one survey, and one large-scale archival data set (N = 77,302), exposure to performance incentives encouraged employees to spend more time with their work colleagues, even when it prevented them from spending time with their friends and family. This is because performance incentives led employees to perceive their work relationships as more instrumental. These findings suggest that incentive systems shape employees’ perceptions of and their interactions with critical relationship partners.
... Working too much increases financial resources, but also reduces the time that one can spend on other (enjoyable) activities, such as advanced education, hobbies, friends, and family. When balancing work and leisure, most people prioritize money over time, while choosing time over money is actually associated with more happiness (Hershfield, Mogilner, & Barnea, 2016;Mogilner, 2010;Whillans, Weidman, & Dunn, 2016). People who choose work over free time often experience regret later on, because they feel that they missed out on an opportunity to enjoy themselves. ...
... We were also interested in the effects of these time-money tradeoffs on well-being. Previous research found that both greedy people (Krekels & Pandelaere, 2015;Masui et al., 2018;, and people that prioritize money over time (Hershfield et al., 2016;Mogilner, 2010;Whillans et al., 2016), are less satisfied with life. This leads us to the prediction that greedier people prefer money over time, which negatively affects their satisfaction with their life. ...
... SD = 5.54). For the Resource Orientation Measure (ROM; Whillans et al., 2016), participants read about two people (one preferring money over time, and one preferring time over money) and indicate to what person they are most similar (54.0% indicated that they were more like the person who valued time over money). ...
Overearning is the tendency to forgo leisure and to earn more than one needs. Despite the important individual and societal consequences of overearning, little is known about who overearns and why. We examined the role of dispositional greed in explaining overearning. Study 1, an incentivized behavioral lab study (N = 153), found that greedy individuals showed overearning to a larger degree than less greedy individuals. A follow-up survey (N = 297) suggested that greedy people overearn more because they find the pursuit of wealth more important, not because they find the associated labor less aversive. Consistent with these findings, Study 2 (N = 472), finds that greedy people value money more than time, a pattern associated with lower well-being. Finally, Study 3, another incentivized behavioral lab study with two measurement moments (Ntime-1 = 185; Ntime-2 = 133), replicated and extended the findings of Study 1 to a longitudinal context. People do appear to learn from overearning in the past, as overearning was reduced from time 1 to time 2. However, even at time 2, overearning was observed and greedy individuals showed a larger degree of overearning. Implications for what we can do to prevent overearning and increase well-being are discussed.
... Yet, other factors such as time affluence also uniquely contribute to wellbeing (Mogilner, Whillans, & Norton, 2018). In nationally representative samples of employed Americans, people who prioritize time over money report greater life satisfaction, controlling for factors such as income, age, and marital status (Whillans, Weidman, & Dunn, 2016). People's leisure beliefs are especially important for wellbeing: Individuals who consider leisure wasteful are less happy than those who do not (Tonietto, Malkoc, Reczek, & Norton, 2019). ...
... This research question follows from an emerging literature documenting the happiness benefits of prioritizing time over money (Hershfield, Mogilner, & Barnea, 2016;Whillans & Dunn, 2018;Whillans et al., 2016). In one set of studies, thousands of respondents completed a single-item measure assessing whether they valued time or money (Whillans et al., 2016). ...
... This research question follows from an emerging literature documenting the happiness benefits of prioritizing time over money (Hershfield, Mogilner, & Barnea, 2016;Whillans & Dunn, 2018;Whillans et al., 2016). In one set of studies, thousands of respondents completed a single-item measure assessing whether they valued time or money (Whillans et al., 2016). People answered whether they were willing to give up money to have more time (time-focused) or whether they were willing to give up time to have more money (money-focused). ...
The policies of most governments focus on improving material prosperity. Yet, wealth only weakly predicts well-being. It is therefore important to understand whether factors other than money shape the happiness of nations. Here, we construct a data set of 79 countries (N = 220,000) and explore whether differences in the prioritization of time (leisure) vs. money (work) explain cross-country differences in happiness. Consistent with our predictions, countries whose citizens value leisure more than work report higher subjective well-being at the country and individual level. These effects hold in high and low GDP countries. Critically, we find evidence for a novel mechanism: people who value leisure over work are less negatively impacted by financial instability. Moving beyond individual welfare, the value that nations place on leisure vs. work fundamentally shapes happiness.
... To begin to understand how people think about trade-offs between time and money more broadly, we developed a simple single-item measure, called the Resource Orientation Measure (ROM; Whillans, Weidman, & Dunn, 2016). We presented people with descriptions of two individuals, Tina and Maggie: ...
... Using the ROM, we typically observe a fairly even split between those who report valuing time vs money, with a slight majority favoring time (Whillans, Weidman, et al., 2016). The ROM demonstrates good test-retest reliability; over 80% of people provide the same answer 3 months apart (Whillans, Weidman, et al., 2016, Study 1). ...
... In our data, the beneficial effect of valuing time over money was about half the size of being married (or in a marriage-like relationship) vs single. Combining across all of our initial studies (N ¼ 4328; Whillans, Weidman, et al., 2016), we see a small, but reliable effect (d ¼ 0.14), whereby people who value time over money report higher SWB than those who value money over time. This relationship holds for all three facets of subjective well-being, but appears somewhat stronger for life satisfaction, followed by positive mood, with weaker and more inconsistent effects on negative mood. ...
... Researchers have started to explore this possibility by examining whether broadly prioritizing time over money in the context of everyday life is associated with greater SWB (10)(11)(12)(13). To this end, researchers have developed the Resource Orientation Measure (ROM) (13). ...
... Researchers have started to explore this possibility by examining whether broadly prioritizing time over money in the context of everyday life is associated with greater SWB (10)(11)(12)(13). To this end, researchers have developed the Resource Orientation Measure (ROM) (13). The ROM is a single-item measure that asks individuals whether they value time more than money or money more than time. ...
... Previous research has found evidence that this single-item measure demonstrates strong psychometric properties (13). Demonstrating discriminant validity, participants' responses to the ROM are distinct from materialism, material striving, socioeconomic status (SES), social desirability, conscientiousness, and current feelings of time and material affluence (13). ...
How does prioritizing time or money shape major life decisions and subsequent well-being? In a preregistered longitudinal study of approximately 1000 graduating university students, respondents who valued time over money chose more intrinsically rewarding activities and were happier 1 year after graduation. These results remained significant controlling for baseline happiness and potential confounds, such as materialism and socioeconomic status, and when using alternative model specifications. These findings extend previous research by showing that the tendency to value time over money is predictive not only of daily consumer choices but also of major life decisions. In addition, this research uncovers a previously unidentified mechanism—the pursuit of intrinsically motivated activities—that underlies the previously observed association between valuing time and happiness. This work sheds new light on whether, when, and how valuing time shapes happiness.
... Indeed, people who prioritize money are less satisfied with their lives than people who prioritize time (Hershfield, Mogilner, & Barnea, 2016;Whillans, Weidman, & Dunn, 2016) in part because they spend less time engaging in activities that are associated with greater happiness, such as by spending less time socializing in daily life (Hershfield et al., 2016;Hur, Lee-Yoon, & Whillans, 2018;Whillans et al., 2016;Whillans & Dunn, 2018). ...
... Indeed, people who prioritize money are less satisfied with their lives than people who prioritize time (Hershfield, Mogilner, & Barnea, 2016;Whillans, Weidman, & Dunn, 2016) in part because they spend less time engaging in activities that are associated with greater happiness, such as by spending less time socializing in daily life (Hershfield et al., 2016;Hur, Lee-Yoon, & Whillans, 2018;Whillans et al., 2016;Whillans & Dunn, 2018). ...
... Taken together, our findings offer new insights for an emerging body of research focusing on the contributions of time and money to life satisfaction (Aaker et al., 2011;Hershfield et al., 2016;Mogilner & Aaker, 2009;Whillans et al., 2017;Whillans et al., 2016). While past research has primarily focused on the direct relationship between money and life satisfaction (Boyce et al., 2017;Clark et al., 2008;Diener et al., 1993;Dunn et al., 2008;Hagerty & Veenhoven, 2003;Kahneman & Deaton, 2010;Kahneman et al., 2006;Kraus et al., 2006;Lucas & Dyrenforth, 2006;Lucas & Schimmack, 2009), often by plotting income against life satisfaction, we show that wealth is associated with different expenditures of time. ...
How do the very wealthy spend their time, and how does time use relate to well-being? In two studies in the Netherlands, the affluent ( N = 863; N = 690) and the general population ( N = 1,232; N = 306) spent time in surprisingly similar ways such as by spending the same amount of time working. Yet the nature of their time use differed in critical ways that are related to life satisfaction. In Study 1, millionaires spent more time engaged in active leisure (e.g., exercising and volunteering) rather than passive leisure (e.g., watching television and relaxing). In Study 2, millionaires spent more time engaged in tasks at work over which they had more control. The affluent sample belongs to the top of the income and wealth distribution, representing a significantly wealthier sample than in previous studies. These results further our understanding of when and how wealth may translate into greater well-being. All materials for this article are available at https://osf.io/vndmt/
... Recent studies have shown that prioritizing time more highly than money is positively associated with happiness [9][10]. Individuals may choose to allocate more of their time to making money, but often do so at the expense of neglecting social relationships (spending time with family, friends, and the community). ...
... The millionaire rapper and songwriter Sean "Diddy" Combs recently said in an interview that "I can always make more money, but I can't make time", which expresses the ideas that (a) investing in relationships does not cost money, but (b) making more money is often traded off against other uses of time. It has been discussed that prioritizing time over money is beneficial for happiness because it can improve the quality of social relationships [9][10]. Although a recent study has shown that prioritizing family over work and leisure results in higher life satisfaction [11], most studies have compared a limited number of contrasting domains (i.e., time vs money, family vs. work), but not included diverse life domains together. ...
... A longitudinal study has reported that prioritizing family over work and leisure results in higher life satisfaction [11]. Recent studies have also shown that prioritizing money more than time is adversely associated with happiness [9][10]. Although there are variations in terms of categorization of personal values, previous studies have provided quite consistent results showing that prioritizing extrinsic achievements, such as money, is adversely associated with subjective well-being in general. ...
Personal values refer to the beliefs, principles or ideas that are important to people’s lives. We investigated the associations between personal values and happiness. We inquired about the importance of four different categories of personal values: prioritizing social relationships, extrinsic achievements, physical health, and spirituality. Data were drawn from the Korean General Social Survey (KGSS), a nationally representative cross-sectional sample collected over three years (i.e., 2007, 2008, and 2009). The findings showed that respondents prioritizing religion (i.e., spirituality) were the most likely to be happy, followed by those prioritizing social relationships, including family, friends, and neighbors. Those who prioritized extrinsic achievements (money, power, educational attainment, work, and leisure) as well as health were least likely to be happy. The findings suggest that pursuing goals focused on self-enhancement or self-centered value are less likely to result in happiness compared to pursuing alter-centered collective goals or self-transcendence/selflessness.
... Across studies, we assessed whether individuals prioritized having more time or having more money by presenting them with a binary choice. To help participants imagine these trade-offs concretely and to encourage honest responding (Fisher, 1993), we asked participants to read a short paragraph describing two individuals who prioritize money or who prioritize time in their daily lives (Whillans et al., 2016). ...
... Conceptually, we chose this response format because we are interested in assessing people's broad preferences related to prioritizing time over money as opposed to assessing people's domain-specific preferences. Prior research suggests that people's responses to this measure represent a stable preference that is a reliable predictor of consumer decisions (Hershfield et al., 2016;Whillans et al., 2016). This research also shows that the resource orientation measure (ROM) is a distinct construct from both materialism and material striving and that responses to the ROM are not driven by conscientiousness, socially desirable responding, time, or material affluence. ...
... These results were robust controlling for extraversion, conscientiousness, time pressure (Study 1), and demographic characteristics such as gender and age (Studies 1 to 3). Consistent with prior research (Whillans et al., 2016), these results held controlling for proxies of income, including number of hours worked and job title (Studies 2 and 3). Study 2 provides the strongest evidence that these results were not driven by socially desirable responding-even when the ROM was implemented 2 months prior to the outcome measures of interest, valuing time over money significantly predicted the amount of time that people spent socializing with a new peer. ...
Can the trade-offs that people make between time and money shape our social relationships? Across three studies, utilizing self-report (N = 127; N = 249) and behavioral outcomes (N = 358), we provide the first evidence that the chronic orientation to prioritize time over money encourages greater investment in daily social interactions. For example, in Study 2, respondents who valued time spent 18% longer socializing with a new peer than respondents who valued money. These findings could not be explained by extraversion (Study 1) or by demographic characteristics such as age, gender, or socioeconomic status (Studies 1 to 3). Together, these studies suggest that valuing time over money facilitates social connection.
... The time versus money measurement was based on a measurement used by Whillans et al. (2016). Respondents were presented with the following question: "Generally speaking; would you rather work longer hours and get paid more, or fewer hours and have more time off?". ...
... Furthermore, derived from the same stream of literature, we formulated hypotheses about people's evaluations of time and money, asserting that when exposed to higher (lower) priced ads, people would increase (decrease) their valuation of money in relation to time. This hypothesis was only supported in Study 1. Prior research on time-money evaluations has focused primarily on the consequences of prioritizing money over time (and vice versa) (Whillans et al., 2016), but no research has explored how such trade-offs are influenced by factors such as prices in advertisements. ...
Commercial advertisements are intended to persuade consumers to purchase products, but their influence can often extend unintentionally and uninvitedly to noncommercial domains. Researchers have uncovered many such unintended ad effects—from lowered self‐esteem to increased empathy. This paper adds to the research on unintended ad effects by examining the variable of price in advertisements, and its influence on people's perceived (1) financial well‐being, (2) happiness, (3) time–money evaluations (4) proneness to prosocial behavior, and (5) calculative mindset. The first study was conducted on Swedish nationals through the Swedish national survey company, Nepa. The participants were exposed to advertisements with high versus low levels of prices. We find that those exposed to lower‐priced ads feel better off financially, and consequently happier, place relatively higher value on time over money, and are more likely to help a friend in need than those exposed to higher‐priced ads. The second study was conducted on a US sample using Prolific and further investigated the mechanism behind the effects found in the first study. In this study, we again find an effect of advertised prices on happiness, but not on the other dependent variables. The study results shed new light on the role of advertising and prices on consumer's appraisal of their own financial‐ and psychological well‐being.
... Our findings suggest that Gopal Das served as Guest Editor for this article. Hershfield et al., 2016;Leclerc et al., 1995;Liu & Aaker, 2008;Lynch et al., 2010;Macdonnell & White, 2015;Okada & Hoch, 2004;Soman, 2001;Whillans et al., Service firms Booms & Bitner, 1981;Iacobucci & Ostrom, 1993;Zeithaml et al., 1985 1. Services are characterized by degree of interaction between consumer and service employees that implicates perishability, that is services cannot be stored or inventoried. 2. Service firms are often assessed on two aspects i.e., core of the service and relationship aspect ...
... In accord, past research has viewed money and time as orthogonal constructs since the decision making process regarding time is different from decision making process regarding money (Leclerc etal., 1995;Liu & Aaker, 2008;Okada & Hoch, 2004;Soman, 2001). People think about money and time in profoundly different ways (e.g., Whillans et al., 2016) such as money is more fungible than time (Leclerc et al., 1995). Similarly, other factors such as activated mindsets (Liu & Aaker, 2008), value of resources (Okada & Hoch, 2004), and mental accounting of resources (Soman, 2001) also differentiate money and time resource. ...
Our research uniquely shows that scarcity cues, when effectively managed by the service firms, can lead to favorable purchase decisions. We investigate how service firms that are scarce on time resource (busy) vs. money resource (poor) are perceived differentially on the two basic dimensions of social perceptions: warmth and competence. Across four studies, we provide the first empirical evidence that busy service firms are perceived higher on competence and poor service firms are perceived higher on warmth. We also find that service firms that are both busy and poor have the highest purchase preference compared to either busy or poor service firms. In addition, purchase preferences are moderated by the consumption contexts (exchange vs. communal relationship domain). Managerially, our findings that scarcity cues influence purchase preferences can benefit the design and execution of marketing strategies.
... Looking beyond demographic variables, we also examined whether prosocial spending and buying time are only associated with greater levels of SWB when people are spending money in ways that fit their personal values and beliefs. Whillans et al. [24] showed that people vary in their resource orientation towards time and money: while some people prioritize having more time than money, others prioritize having more money than time. Likewise, people may vary in their beliefs about what will bring them the most happiness: spending money on themselves versus spending money on others. ...
... Resource orientation. To assess whether participants prioritised time or money, the company asked participants to complete a well-validated measure of resource orientation [24]. In this measure, participants are introduced to one individual who values time more than money, and another individual who values money more than time, and then asked to indicate whose values more closely resemble their own. ...
In the last two decades, social psychologists have identified several key spending strategies that promote happiness such as making time-saving purchases (buying time) and spending money on others (prosocial spending). Although the emotional benefits of these two spending strategies are well-documented in the current literature, it is unclear whether the effectiveness of these strategies vary depending on individual characteristics. To address this research gap, we surveyed an economically diverse sample of 15,545 Americans about their subjective well-being, spending behavior, personal values and beliefs, as well as demographics including age, gender, and income. Across demographic groups, spending money on others was robustly related to happiness. Spending money on others was also associated with greater happiness regardless of whether participants believed that they would be happier spending money on others. In contrast, the relationship between buying time and happiness was somewhat less reliable. Although gender and personal income did not moderate the relationship between buying time and happiness, the relationship was only marginally significant for men, and non-significant within each income bracket. Our results also indicated that those who valued money over time were significantly happier when they used money to buy time, whereas those who valued time over money reported similar levels of happiness whether or not they bought time. Taken together, the present research shows that the relationship between prosocial spending, buying time, and subjective well-being is largely consistent across the different demographic groups we examined.
... Having enough time in life, as it is a limited resource, makes life happier. This is illustrated by the concept "time affluence" (Whillans et al., 2016;Hershfield et al., 2016). Studies in this field show that people would normally prioritise "more time" instead of "more money" if they had the choice. ...
... An understanding of these implications also presupposes taking into account the triad of time, sustainability and digital media. When "time" becomes even more important than increased financial resources (Whillans et al., 2016), then only research that further integrates this important resource can make statements about sustainability in digital media appropriation. ...
Purpose
This paper aims to unfold and emphasise the relevance of sustainability and time as research topics in media and communication research and discusses the relation of both phenomena with a focus on processes of media appropriation and media consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
The submission argues theoretically. Firstly, theories on sustainability and media and media and time are presented. Secondly, previous approaches from research on sustainable media use will be discussed. Finally, the authors call for a stronger accentuation of research on digital media, time, and sustainability.
Findings
The submission shows that previous research on sustainable media use does sufficiently take individual and social time experience into account. Moreover, research is too much focussed on the individual level. The authors therefore argue for three major conceptual changes in research on digital sustainability: time is a sustainable human resource; a shift of perspective from individual to relations is needed; and consideration of the cultural condition of capitalism is necessary.
Practical implications
This paper includes implications for the future research on digital media, time and sustainability.
Originality/value
According to the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first one that connects perspectives on time with digital sustainability.
... Prior work examining investment in close relationships has conceptualized time and effort as a singular nonmonetary "social" resource and juxtaposed it with money, a "market" resource (Fiske 1992;Heyman and Ariely 2004). Partly as a result, recent work has focused primarily on understanding differences between time and money (Mogilner and Aaker 2009;Whillans, Weidman, and Dunn 2016). However, some research offers evidence for a role for effort alone in signaling commitment in close relationships, using paradigms that assess effort-for example, where exerting greater physical energy by taking more steps on a treadmill resulted directly in cash rewards to one's partner ( Van Lange et al. 1997)-as one behavioral manifestation of commitment to a partner. ...
... And whereas prior work has shown that effort affects consumers' evaluation of products (Kruger et al. 2004), we show that even when controlling for quality of care, consumers believe that effort makes caregiving symbolically meaningful. More generally, we contribute to the literature on how spending different resources reflects on the self: whereas recent work has focused on understanding the differences between time and money (Mogilner and Aaker 2009;Reed et al. 2007;Whillans et al. 2016), effort as a psychologically distinct resource has been less studied. We also demonstrate that this preference for effort is distinct from a preference for human labor versus automation (Leung et al. 2018), as the low effort alternative in some of our studies still required human labor. ...
Many products and services are designed to make caregiving easier, from premade meals for feeding families to robo-cribs that automatically rock babies to sleep. Yet, using these products may come with a cost: consumers may feel they have not exerted enough effort. Nine experiments show that consumers feel like better caregivers when they put more effort into caregiving tasks than when they use effort-reducing products to perform such tasks. The beneficial effect of effort on caregivers’ self-perceptions is driven by the symbolic meaning of caregiving (i.e., the task’s ability to show love) independent of the quality of care provided (i.e., the task’s ability to meet needs), and is most pronounced when expressing symbolic meaning is most important: when caregivers are providing emotional support rather than physical support, when they are caring for another person with whom they have a close relationship, and when there is a relationship norm that investing effort shows love. Finally, this work demonstrates that marketers can make effort-reducing products more appealing by acknowledging caregivers’ efforts rather than emphasizing how these products make caregiving less effortful. Together, these findings expand our current understanding of effort, caregiving, and consumer choice in close relationships.
... Supporting this idea, research on materialism-a construct that is independent albeit related to Financial CSW-finds that preoccupation with possessions and wealth is associated with neglecting other meaningful areas of life (Kasser & Ryan, 1993). Other studies have found that people who prioritize money over time report lower well-being in terms of less life satisfaction, less frequent positive emotions, and more frequent negative emotions than those who value time over money (Hershfield et al., 2016;Whillans et al., 2016). Notably, the connection between valuing money and lower well-being is thought to involve decreased engagement in social relationships. ...
... Resource orientation. Participants read two scenarios describing individuals who prioritized either money or time and selected the individual they identified with most (36% prioritized money over time; Whillans et al., 2016). ...
Although people may think that money improves one’s relationships, research suggests otherwise. Focusing on money is associated with spending less time maintaining relationships and less desire to rely on others for help. But why does focusing on money relate to worse social outcomes? We propose that when people base their self-esteem on financial success—that is, have financially contingent self-worth—they are likely to feel pressured to pursue success in this domain, which may come at the expense of spending time with close others. Consistent with this idea, results of four cross-sectional studies ( N = 2,439) and a daily diary study ( N = 246) revealed that basing one’s self-worth on financial success is associated with greater feelings of loneliness and social disconnection, and this may be related to experiencing less autonomy and spending less time with family and friends.
... But many people do have discretion in their work hours (e.g., Balderson et al., 2021). How people recognize (or do not recognize) such discretion and how they think about it seems a fruitful avenue for future research, especially given that recent research indicates that individuals underestimate the benefits of more leisure time versus greater income (see Whillans et al, 2016). ...
Nearly 100 years ago, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that, by today, technological advancements would allow the workweek to dwindle to just 15 hours, or 3 hours per day, and that the real problem of humanity would be filling their time with leisure. Although much has changed in the world of work since this prediction, such a drastic change has not taken place. In this article, several industrial-organizational psychology scholars discuss why this is the case. Why do we continue to work as much as we do, and how might that change? More fundamentally, what do these trends, contra Keynes’ prediction, tell us about the nature of work itself? We use this discussion to propose several research directions regarding the nature of work and how it might change in the future. We depict the phenomenon of working hours as multilevel in nature, and we consider both the positive and negative possible implications of working less than we do now.
... Moreover, because people often wrongly assume that making more money will make them much happier, they might be more willing to trade off leisure for work time. Yet, various observational studies have found that individuals who prioritize leisure over work report being happier than those who do not (Whillans et al, 2016;Macchia & Whillans, 2021). We still need to be careful when interpreting these results as they can reflect a difference in preferences and do not tell us whether people who prioritize money over time would be happier by working less. ...
... Foi demonstrado que compras materiais e compras experienciais tornam indivíduos de baixa renda tão felizes quanto os de rendas mais altas (Lee et al., 2018). Porém, embora todos presumivelmente desfrutem de benefícios das compras escolhidas, independentemente da classe social, a escassez de recursos aumenta a preocupação com os benefícios utilitários, o que favorece a escolha por compras materiais (Tully et al., 2015;Whillans et al., 2016). Em geral, os estudos têm revelado o quanto o tipo de compra impacta na felicidade do consumidor (Gaston-Breton et al., 2020;Mogilner et al., 2012;Schmitt et al., 2015), mas ainda é necessário investigar a direção oposta e aprofundar os impactos do BES sobre as preferências e decisões de compra. ...
"If you're happy, do you buy stuff? The predictive power of subjective well-being over material purchases" •• "Si estás feliz, ¿compras cosas? El poder predictivo del bienestar subjetivo sobre las compras materiales" ••••
O objetivo do presente estudo foi testar o poder explicativo do bem-estar subjetivo, da personalidade e de variáveis sociodemográficas sobre a preferência por compras materiais. Um questionário online foi aplicado em 1.238 brasileiros adultos, com média de idade de 34,6 anos (DP = 13,3), sendo 69,1%, mulheres. A amostra contou com respondentes de todas as regiões do Brasil, sendo a maioria do Sudeste. Foram aplicadas as escalas de Satisfação de Vida, de Afetos Positivo e Negativo-PANAS-, Short Affect Intensity-SAIS-Brasil- e de Reduzida de Descritores de Personalidade-RED5. Análises de regressão logística indicaram que quanto mais aumentam a renda familiar percebida e a extroversão, menor é a probabilidade de indivíduos escolherem produtos materiais. Em contrapartida, à medida que a idade e a dimensão Serenidade da SAIS-Brasil são maiores, aumentam as chances de os indivíduos escolherem produtos materiais em uma compra espontânea. Discutem-se as definições de compra experiencial e material conforme a literatura tem apresentado. Para a literatura de bem-estar subjetivo, os resultados adicionam insights a respeito do papel do bem-estar subjetivo sobre escolhas rotineiras dos indivíduos. O estudo traz o crucial ponto de que frequência de afetos aparentemente não prediz a variável desfecho, retirando das emoções uma carga de responsabilidade sobre algumas compras, e abrindo caminho para outros trabalhos que corroborem ou refutem os achados. Esta pesquisa amplia a compreensão das diferenças individuais nos comportamentos de compra, e do papel do bem-estar subjetivo no consumo. •••• The present study aimed to test the explanatory power of subjective well-being, personality, and sociodemographic variables on material shopping preferences. An online questionnaire was applied to 1,238 Brazilian adults, with a mean age of 34.6 years (SD = 13.3), 69.1% of whom were women. The sample included respondents from all regions of Brazil, with the majority from the Southeast. The Life Satisfaction, of Positive and Negative Affect-PANAS-, Short Affect Intensity-SAIS-Brasil-and Reduced Personality Descriptors-RED5-scales were applied. Logistic regression analyses indicated that the higher the perceived family income and extroversion, the less likely individuals are to choose material products. On the other hand, as age and the Serenity dimension of affective intensity are higher, the chances of individuals choosing material products in a spontaneous purchase increase. The definitions of experiential and material purchase presented in the literature are discussed. For the subjective well-being literature, the findings add insights regarding the role of happiness in individuals' routine choices. The study also brings up the crucial point that frequency of affect apparently does not predict the outcome variable, removing from emotions a burden of responsibility on some purchases, and opening the way for further work to corroborate or refute the findings. This research extends the understanding of individual differences in purchase behaviors and the role of subjective well-being on consumption.
... How people perceive their time can have important effects on their behaviour and psychological well-being. For example, people who are more generous with their time have higher satisfaction and happiness in their lives (Hershfield et al., 2016;Whillans et al., 2015). People who value their time are more likely to make social connections with others (Hershfield et al., 2016). ...
The Time Perception Scale (Niiya, 2019, Journal of Happiness Studies ) measures people's perception of time as zero‐sum (i.e., the perception that they are taking time away from others, that they are offering time to others, or that others are taking away time from them) and nonzero‐sum (i.e., the perception that time spent on others is time spent on themselves). This scale was validated in Japan, but whether people from a non‐Asian culture also perceive time as nonzero‐sum remained unknown. We tested the measurement invariance of the Time Perception Scale with 189 Americans and 240 Japanese and examined its correlations with psychological well‐being and cultural self‐construals. We confirmed the configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance of the scale and also found that zero‐sum and nonzero‐sum time perceptions were differently associated with basic needs satisfaction, life satisfaction, and interdependent self‐construal in both cultures. Nonzero‐sum time perception may provide a new possibility where a concept derived from East Asian philosophy can contribute to our psychological well‐being.
... A preference for time over money has furthermore been shown to correlate positively with EWB (e.g. Whillans et al., 2016). In richer countries, working conditions are better and economic security is higher than in poorer countries (Drobnič et al., 2010). ...
The aim of this study is to investigate whether income has different relationships to subjective well‐being in richer countries compared to poorer ones. We report analyses based on interview data collected in the European Social Survey ( n = 72,574) that examine how income relates to life satisfaction (LS) and emotional well‐being (EWB) in 28 European countries, varying in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Our results indicate that the within‐country correlations of income with LS and EWB decrease as GDP per capita increases. Partial correlations controlling for EWB are positive but do not vary with GDP per capita, whereas partial correlations controlling for LS vary inversely with GDP per capita. We hypothesise that the invariant income‐LS relationships result from effects of relative income on social comparisons, while the varying income‐EWB relationships result from the negative impacts of time scarcity in richer countries and the buffering of negative experiences in poorer ones.
... The first of these is indubitable for the most part. The second is confirmed repeatedly in social scientific studies on the phenomenon of human well-being and happiness (e.g., see Whillans, Weidman, & Dunn, 2016), but it is not indubitable. ...
This article presents an extended meditation exercise on Christian learning through the lived experience of frailty. It was composed at various points of calendar distance from the author's experience of sudden cardiac arrest. The structure of the meditation conforms to a catechetical–doctrinal framework, appealing to didache, didaskalia, and didasko. An original poem by Dan Haase is referenced and included in the appendix.
... Time, just like money, can be seen as a resource, and research shows that preferring time over money can predict happiness (Whillans, Weidman, & Dunn, 2016; and even prosocial behaviors (Whillans & Dunn, 2015). Moreover, it seems that using money to buy experience (hence quality time) and to save time (e.g., by paying someone to do household chores; Whillans et al., 2017) can also increase happiness; hence, time seems to be more important than (or at least a complementary resource to) money. ...
Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is a broad theory of psychological growth and wellness that has revolutionized how we think about human motivation and the driving forces behind personality development. SDT focuses on people’s basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness and how social environments that support these needs foster more volition, vitality, and full functioning. SDT has supplied the basis for new and more effective practices in parenting, education, business, sport, healthcare, and other areas of life, fostering higher-quality motivation, engagement, and satisfaction. Drawing on over four decades of evidence-based research and application, The Oxford Handbook of Self-Determination Theory delivers a truly integrative volume by the top researchers and experts within the field of SDT. Edited by SDT co-founder Richard M. Ryan, this Handbook not only provides the theory’s historical and scientific underpinnings but also draws together the latest research and insights, covering topics from the social and biological underpinnings of motivation and wellness to practical applications in all aspects of life. This volume will be an invaluable resource for both researchers and practitioners, as well as any student of human nature, with practical research and guidance.
... Activating a reflection on time, rather than money, has been shown to be effective in encouraging a host of positive behaviors such as donating to charity (Liu & Aaker, 2008), connecting to loved ones (Mogilner, 2010) and acting more ethically (Gino & Mogilner, 2014). In general, research in psychology has proposed that time is more connected to wellbeing than money (Hershfield et al., 2016;Mogilner, Hershfield et al., 2018;Mogilner, Whillans et al., 2018;Whillans et al., 2016). ...
Smoking is one of the leading causes of preventable death globally, yet it remains a common behavior. Interventions that increase the concreteness of future smoking outcomes have been suggested to be effective, but little research has examined what type of future outcomes should be highlighted, and in what way. The present study therefore explores the efficacy of two types of framings of smoking cessation consequences: Benefit appeal (time vs. money) and valence (gain vs. loss). A randomized controlled field experiment with 2935 participants conducted via a digital therapeutics app found an interplay between appeal type and valence such that messages focusing on money were most likely to lead to immediate reduced smoking behavior when framed as a gain, rather than loss. Effects on motivation or long‐term smoking cessation were not detected. The results shed light on psychological differences between money and time, between attitudes and behaviors, and between short‐term and long‐term behavior change. This study highlights the importance of considering both benefit appeal and valence framing when designing smoking cessation messages.
... Previous research on whether enacting the policy would be beneficial for individuals, families, wider communities and the planet has been primarily quantitative or theoretical (e.g.: Buhl & Acosta, 2016;Devetter & Rousseau, 2011;Knight et al., 2013;Hayden and Shandra, 2009;Dengler & Strunk, 2018;Hanbury et al., 2019;Kamerāde, 2019;Wang, 2022). Research on the link between time affluence and wellbeing has shown that increased time affluence means people spend more time on activities which meet their psychological needs (Kasser & Sheldon, 2009) and that people who value free time appear to be happier (Hershfield et al., 2016;Whillans et al., 2016). However, there have been fewer attempts to explore empirically how the potential benefits of reduced working hours would be operationalised and understood. ...
A reduction in the average length of the working week is a policy response which is gaining increasing political and popular support for its potential help to address a number of key societal challenges, particularly the declining health and wellbeing of workers and social cohesion. Drawing on a series 40 of in-depth interviews with people who have voluntarily reduced the amount of time they spend in formal employment we use Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to show the mechanisms through which these improvements are likely to occur. SDT is a well-validated psychological theory which suggests there are three innate psychological needs which when fulfilled lead to enhanced wellbeing: relatedness, competence and autonomy. Interviews showed that when people reduced time in formal employment they dedicated more time to activities which increased the likelihood that these three psychological needs would be adequately met. The activities undertaken were also broadly compatible with a degrowth imaginary. These findings are important as they help to develop the empirical case for a transition away from an economic model focused on ever increasing economic growth and instead illustrate the potential individual, social and environmental benefits of a less work focused way of living.
... We recommend researchers to further explore this time-money conundrum with regard to different contextual demands for sustaining WLB, such as eldercare, leisure, and social activities. This research could draw from Whillans et al. (2016) and use their resource orientation measure to ascertain to what extent individuals prioritize time over money and what effects this has on their WLB. We also recommend the use of more objective measures to assess personal resources, such as physical health (Rocco et al., 2019). ...
Our research has empirically supported the long-term manifestation of the resource depletion, accumulation, and investment mechanisms which have been proposed in the conservation of resources (COR) theory but have been under-investigated in the work–life balance (WLB) literature. Specifically, we have examined how multiple work and non-work contextual demands and resources impact working mothers' WLB satisfaction and job retention via changes in their personal resources of childcare time and family finances through these three mechanisms. The use of multilevel analysis and a longitudinal design has enabled us to evaluate the effectiveness of contextual resources for WLB in consideration of both their short-term influence as transient resources via within-individual fluctuations and their long-term impact as durable resources via between-individual differences. We have tested a total of 27 hypotheses on a nationally representative British sample of 10,983 working mothers who participated in a longitudinal study over 6 years of their children's primary education. By highlighting the critical role of both childcare time and family finances in promoting working mothers' WLB satisfaction and job retention over time, our research contributes to the WLB literature that has predominantly emphasized time-based but neglected financial-based constraints and resources. We have found that working mothers may trade their childcare time for better family finances when they undertake a managerial role. Thus, becoming a manager serves as both a time-based demand and a financial-based resource for working mothers, which points to the specific rather than generic nature of contextual demands and resources.
... For instance, there are over 35,000 books available on Amazon aiming to improve time management (e.g., How to Get 12 Hours Out of an 8-Hour Day), and 50% of Americans spend money to buy out of chores, such as cooking, shopping, and household maintenance (Whillans, Dunn, Smeets, Bekkers, & Norton, 2017). Though prioritizing time over money and spending money to buy more free time have been empirically linked to greater happiness (Hershfield, Mogilner, & Barnea, 2016;Whillans et al., 2017;Whillans, Weidman, & Dunn, 2016), would actually having more time make people better off? Pushing this question further, is it possible to have too much discretionary time? ...
Many people living in modern society feel like they do not have enough time and are constantly searching for more. But is having limited discretionary time actually detrimental? And can there be downsides of having too much discretionary time? In two large-scale data sets spanning 35,375 Americans and two experiments, we explore the relationship between the amount of discretionary time individuals have and their subjective well-being. We find and internally replicate a negative quadratic relationship between discretionary time and subjective well-being. These results show that whereas having too little time is indeed linked to lower subjective well-being caused by stress, having more time does not continually translate to greater subjective well-being. Having an abundance of discretionary time is sometimes even linked to lower subjective well-being because of a lacking sense of productivity. In such cases, the negative effect of having too much discretionary time can be attenuated when people spend this time on productive activities.
... We control for variables previously associated with life satisfaction, including age, gender, race, education, marital status, and work hours. In addition, we control for financial insecurity Whillans et al., 2016), employment status, the number of children, and day of week participants responded to the study-control used in prior research (Stone et al., 2018). We also controlled for the average duration of the activities. ...
There is widespread consensus that income and subjective well-being are linked, but when and why they are connected is subject to ongoing debate. We draw on prior research that distinguishes between the frequency and intensity of happiness to suggest that higher income is more consistently linked to how frequently individuals experience happiness than how intensely happy each episode is. This occurs in part because lower-income individuals spend more time engaged in passive leisure activities, reducing the frequency but not the intensity of positive affect. Notably, we demonstrate that only happiness frequency underlies the relationship between income and life satisfaction. Data from an experience sampling study (N= 394 participants, 34,958 daily responses), a preregistered cross-sectional study (N= 1,553), and a day reconstruction study (N= 13,437) provide empirical evidence for these ideas. Together, this research provides conceptual and empirical clarity into how income is related to happiness.
... Respondents reported their age, gender, experience with buying time (i.e., whether they spent money to buy time), whether they were married, how many of their children were currently living with them, as well as their annual income. We selected these covariates based on previous research examining time-use and well-being (e.g., Hershfield, Mogilner, Barnea, 2016;Mogilner, 2010;Whillans, Weidman & Dunn, 2016;Whillans et al., 2017). ...
Spending money on time-saving services can improve happiness and reduce stress. Yet many people do not spend money to save time even when they can afford to do so, potentially because they feel guilty about paying other people to complete disliked tasks on their behalf. Consistent with this proposition, we find evidence that individuals are most likely to experience guilt when outsourcing to a salient service provider. Across two large-scale surveys of working adults, including a nationally representative sample of employed Americans (Study 1a & 1b, N = 1,337), individuals reported greater guilt when they thought about outsourcing to a salient (vs. non-salient) service provider. Using a novel lab paradigm, participants felt greater guilt when the service provider was salient, which in turn undermined their willingness to buy time (Study 2, N = 350). In Study 3, these effects were mitigated by emphasizing the benefits of task completion for the service provider (N = 390). This research points to the potential of simple interventions to help organizations encourage individuals to make time-saving purchases.
... The literature documents the overarching determinants of subjective well-being as threefold (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005): inherited temperament (Lykken & Tellegen, 1996;Nes & Røysamb, 2015), intentional thinking and behavior (Baumeister, Vohs, Aaker, & Garbinsky, 2013;Bhattacharjee & Mogilner, 2013;Etkin & Mogilner, 2016;Labroo, Mukhopadhyay, & Dong, 2014;Mogilner, 2010), and life circumstances (Fujita & Diener, 2005;Lucas, 2007). A particularly notable life circumstance that motivates many is one's level of wealth (Hershfield, Mogilner, & Barnea, 2016;Whillans, Weidman, & Dunn, 2016). Consequently, a large body of work has examined the relationship between wealth and subjective well-being (e.g., Aknin, Norton, & Dunn, 2009;Boyce, Brown, & Moore, 2010;Diener & Biswas-Diener, 2002;Diener, Ng, Harter, & Arora, 2010;Diener & Oishi, 2000;Diener, Sandvik, Seidlitz, & Diener, 1993;Easterlin, McVey, Switek, Sawangfa, & Zweig, 2010;Frank, 1999;Frey & Stutzer, 2000;Kahneman & Deaton, 2010;Kahneman, Krueger, Schkade, Schwarz, & Stone, 2006;McBride, 2001). ...
Life's major purchases, such as buying a home or going to college, often involve taking on considerable debt. What are the downstream emotional consequences? Does carrying debt influence consumers' general sense of satisfaction in life? Seven studies examine the relationship between consumers' debt holdings and life satisfaction, showing that the effect depends on the type of debt. Though mortgages tend to comprise consumers' largest debts, and though credit card balances tend to have the highest interest rates, we found among a diverse sample of American adults (N = 5,808) that the type of debt most strongly associated with lower levels of life satisfaction is student loans. We further found that the extent to which consumers mentally label a given debt type as "debt" drives the emotional consequences of those debt holdings, and compared to the other debt types, student loans are perceived more as "debt." Together the findings suggest that carrying debt can spill over to undermine people's overall subjective well-being, especially when their debt is perceived as such. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
... 'Time affluence', the feeling of having plenty of time and not being rushed, is positively associated with SWB (Hershfield et al., 2016;Kasser & Sheldon, 2009;Whillans et al., 2016). This is unsurprising as time pressure is a common source of stress, and people tend to spend their free time doing things they enjoy or consider meaningful. ...
Awareness and concern about climate change are widespread. But rates of pro-environmental behaviour are low. This is partly due to the way in which pro-environmental behaviour is framed-as a sacrifice or burden that individuals bear for the planet and future generations. This framing elicits well-known cognitive biases, discouraging what we should be encouraging. We should abandon the self-sacrifice framing, and instead frame pro-environmental behaviour as intrinsically desirable. There is a large body of evidence that, around the world, people who are living more environmentally lifestyles are happier than those not doing so. This is the message we should be spreading.
... Research conducted by Geyser (2012) found that doing good time management is associated with happiness and satisfaction with one's life.Financial management and time management simultaneously influence the wife's subjective wellbeing, which means that the better the financial management and time management of the wife, the wife's subjective well-being will be better. This is consistent with the findings ofWhillans et al. (2016) showing that individuals who can manage time and money well are happier than those who are less able to manage their time and money. ...
... When making this decision, consumers may find it helpful to know that prioritizing time or money may have well-being consequences. Indeed, data from several large surveys indicates that while the majority of Americans report a preference for having more money over more free time, those who prefer more free time report greater happiness (Hershfield, Mogilner, & Barnea, 2016;Whillans, Weidman, & Dunn, 2015). As such, it is possible that finding ways to have more time may promote happiness, and indeed, preliminary findings support this possibility. ...
... Those who have a negative attitude toward waiting times may be more willing to try to avoid them. Indeed, the literature suggests that saving time may be related to greater levels of happiness (Whillans et al., 2016). Thus, marketing innovations that help to allocate time in a more efficient manner and avoid the loss of time are greatly appreciated by some customers (Solomon, 2008). ...
Time is fundamental to organizing all aspects of human life. When invested in relationships, it has a psychological meaning as it indicates how much individuals value others and their interest in maintaining social relationships. Previous research has identified an intergroup time bias (ITB) in racialized social relations, defined as a discriminatory behavior in which White individuals invest more time in evaluating White than Black individuals. This research proposes an aversive racism explanation for the ITB effect and examines its consequences in the medical context. In four experimental studies (N = 434), we found that White medical trainees invested more time in forming impressions of White (vs. Black) male patients. Study 5 (N = 193) further revealed more time investment in diagnosing, assessing pain, and prescribing opioids for White than Black male patients. This biased time effect mediated the impact of patients’ skin color on health care outcomes, leading to greater diagnostic accuracy and pain perception, and lower opioid prescriptions. A meta-analytical integration of the results (Study 6) confirmed the ITB effect reliability across experiments and that it is stronger in participants with an aversive racist profile (vs. consistently prejudiced or nonprejudiced). These findings provide the first evidence that bias in time investment favoring White (vs. Black) patients is associated with aversive racism and impacts medical health care outcomes. Furthermore, these results offer insights into the sociopsychological meaning of time investment in health care and provide a theoretical explanation for an understudied insidious form of discrimination that is critical to comprehending the persistency of racial health care disparities.
The first of three volumes, the five sections of this book cover a variety of issues important in developing, designing, and analyzing data to produce high-quality research efforts and cultivate a productive research career. First, leading scholars from around the world provide a step-by-step guide to doing research in the social and behavioral sciences. After discussing some of the basics, the various authors next focus on the important building blocks of any study. In section three, various types of quantitative and qualitative research designs are discussed, and advice is provided regarding best practices of each. The volume then provides an introduction to a variety of important and cutting-edge statistical analyses. In the last section of the volume, nine chapters provide information related to what it takes to have a long and successful research career. Throughout the book, example and real-world research efforts from dozens of different disciplines are discussed.
As helping professionals, physicians, nurses, and other healthcare staff often struggle with sufficient and meaningful self-care in their own lives. Stress and other psychological challenges, typically resulting from personal, professional, social, and environmental sources, can compromise their ability to convey empathy and compassion not only to their patients but also to those closest to them. Self-care is conceptualized as encompassing not only professional issues such as collegial and doctor–patient interactions but also attending to personal issues such as identity development as well as social, family, and intimate relationships. In this chapter, we examine some of the most common challenges healthcare workers face and explore challenges and interventions in assessing their life course, including a redefinition of success. We also examine the shift in physician identity from being the giver of patient-centered care to that of the receiver of psychological and wellbeing care.
Cet article présente le possible besoin de bienveillance en s'intéressant à ses implications dans le contexte du travail. Nous proposons que sa satisfaction favorise la motivation autonome, le bien-être et les comportements prosociaux, tandis que sa frustration augmente la détresse psychologique, la motivation contrôlée et les comportements déviants. Basés sur un devis de recherche transversale, les résultats montrent que la satisfaction de la bienveillance a un impact significatif sur le bien-être, ainsi que sur la motivation autonome et les comportements prosociaux au travail. Cependant, les effets de la frustration de la bienveillance sur la détresse, ainsi que sur la motivation contrôlée et la déviance, ne sont pas significatifs.
Modern societies provide an abundance of opportunities, which could lead to acceleration and time poverty, thereby paradoxically limiting well‐being. This study examines this issue using social distancing measures introduced during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We analyzed a data set of over four million responses, collected by the German online newspaper “ZEIT ONLINE,” where people responded to the question “How are you today?” with “good” or “bad,” assessing subjective well‐being, and an optional self‐descriptive adjective of mood. The results showed that subjective well‐being significantly increased with the onset of social distancing regulations. This increase was closely accompanied by a rise in adjectives associated with deceleration, the daily usage of which best predicted daily well‐being during COVID‐19. Factor analysis showed that Factor 1 best predicted daily well‐being and was effectively described by adjectives associated with deceleration. An analysis of potential mechanisms of deceleration during the pandemic revealed lower stress levels during workdays and weekends, as well as better sleep. These findings provide large‐scale support to theories suggesting that acceleration and time poverty in modern societies may impair well‐being.
Behavioral science is increasingly used in public policy to understand and address various manifestations of inequalities. Yet evidence from effective population-level interventions is limited. One framework, known as positive deviance, emphasizes individuals from disadvantaged circumstances who have significantly better outcomes than are typical for their group. Studying their behaviors and outcomes helps to understand what might explain their overall success. These insights could also be used to help others from these circumstances experience positive outcomes. Because positive deviance has been markedly understudied, we present a framework for doing so specifically within behavioral science for public policies aimed at reducing inequalities. Using examples from real-world and experimental insights on choices and outcomes of positive deviants, we encourage further study of their choices and trajectories over time to produce valuable insights. We propose that leveraging those findings would inform public policy by introducing interventions that are more ecologically sound and population-relevant and thus have a better chance at benefiting those who start off under adverse circumstances.
In public philosophy, the question is how best to engage people with the fascinating yet complex mix of science and philosophy that underpins discussions of the good life. Reasoning about the good life implies adopting – consciously or not – a philosophy of life. For instance, the authors briefly compare three paths to the good life: Christianity (a religion), Stoicism (a philosophy), and Buddhism (which has both religious and philosophical strands). They discuss some of the issues that come up when they engage in public philosophy about the good life by way of an in‐depth look at a particular example. Lastly, the authors explore a number of approaches to philosophical public discourse on these themes, based on their experiences as a public philosopher as well as on the published literature.
It is the first India Happiness Report and happiness ranking of 36 states & UTs.
The report contains insights from various thought leaders on happiness including historian and biographer Professor Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi; Professor Sir Cary Cooper, a leading global scholar in occupational health and wellness research; Dr. Ashley Whillans, Assistant Professor, Harvard Business School; Dr. Emma Seppälä, Science Director, Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education; Jennifer Moss, CBC Columnist, and UN Happiness Council Member; Dr. Dasho Karma Ura, Head, Centre for Bhutan and Gross National Happiness (GNH) Studies; Dr. T.V. Rao, Chairman TVRLS and often referred to as the ‘One of the Fathers of Human Resource Development (HRD)’ in India; Devdutt Pattanaik, a popular writer; and Dr. Rajendra Singh, popularly known as ‘Jal Purush, Waterman of India’.
It is endorsed by many global thought leaders.
This article makes a significant empirical contribution to our understanding of why people in the United Kingdom without childcare responsibilities actively reduce or limit the amount of time they spend in paid employment. We show how the negative aspects of employment (push factors) and the desire to spend time in more varied and enjoyable ways (pull factors) interact to produce decisions to enact working time reductions (WTRs). The push factors include excessive workloads and difficult or tedious tasks which can result in stress and mental exhaustion. For people working non-standard schedules, their lack of control over hours can make it difficult to enjoy the free time that is available. The pull factors we have identified include traumatic experiences such as illness or the early death of a loved one which can lead to an increased awareness of the salience of time. Also important was the desire to develop skills and subjectivities unrelated to work-time identities. An overarching theme in the interviews was the idea that full-time work leads to a loss of autonomy, and a reduction in hours is a route to greater freedom. These motivations are contrasted with understandings of WTRs present in the empirical and predominantly quantitative literature which highlight the structural constraints that often force women in particular into part-time work as a result of childcare responsibilities. An exploration of the motivations of short-hour workers is pertinent, given increasing concern that long hours of work exacerbate multiple social, economic and environmental problems. We suggest that a deeper understanding of why individuals want to work less could help facilitate ‘priming’ campaigns aimed at increasing demand for WTRs more generally.
Over the last two decades, global wealth has risen. Yet material affluence has not translated into time affluence. Most people report feeling persistently ‘time poor’—like they have too many things to do and not enough time to do them. Time poverty is linked to lower well-being, physical health and productivity. Individuals, organisations and policymakers often overlook the pernicious effects of time poverty. Billions of dollars are spent each year to alleviate material poverty, while time poverty is often ignored or exacerbated. In this Perspective, we discuss the societal, organisational, institutional and psychological factors that explain why time poverty is often under appreciated. We argue that scientists, policymakers and organisational leaders should devote more attention and resources toward understanding and reducing time poverty to promote psychological and economic well-being.
Evidence-based recommendations for increasing subjective happiness and wellbeing or decreasing depression and anxiety in non-clinical populations: systematic review of meta-analyses of observational studies, interventional trials and meta-analyses of interventional trials.
Spotlighting the logistically and existentially foundational resource of time, this review identifies that the extent to which people focus on time, the amount of time people have, and the ways people spend their time all have a significant impact on happiness. This synthesis of the past decade of research on time and happiness advises that people should (1) focus on time (not money), (2) have neither too little nor too much time, and (3) spend the time they have deliberately.
Socioemotional selectivity theory claims that the perception of time plays a fundamental role in the selection and pursuit of social goals. According to the theory, social motives fall into 1 of 2 general categories—those related to the acquisition of knowledge and those related to the regulation of emotion. When time is perceived as open-ended, knowledge-related goals are prioritized. In contrast, when time is perceived as limited, emotional goals assume primacy. The inextricable association between time left in life and chronological age ensures age-related differences in social goals. Nonetheless, the authors show that the perception of time is malleable, and social goals change in both younger and older people when time constraints are imposed. The authors argue that time perception is integral to human motivation and suggest potential implications for multiple subdisciplines and research interests in social, developmental, cultural, cognitive, and clinical psychology.
The data includes measures collected for the two experiments reported in “False-Positive Psychology” [1] where listening to a randomly assigned song made people feel younger (Study 1) or actually be younger (Study 2). These data are useful because they illustrate inflations of false positive rates due to flexibility in data collection, analysis, and reporting of results. Data are useful for educational purposes.
Empirically analyzing empirical evidence
One of the central goals in any scientific endeavor is to understand causality. Experiments that seek to demonstrate a cause/effect relation most often manipulate the postulated causal factor. Aarts et al. describe the replication of 100 experiments reported in papers published in 2008 in three high-ranking psychology journals. Assessing whether the replication and the original experiment yielded the same result according to several criteria, they find that about one-third to one-half of the original findings were also observed in the replication study.
Science , this issue 10.1126/science.aac4716
In this article, the author describes a new theoretical perspective on positive emotions and situates this new perspective within the emerging field of positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory posits that experiences of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-action repertoires, which in turn serves to build their enduring personal resources, ranging from physical and intellectual resources to social and psychological resources. Preliminary empirical evidence supporting the broaden-and-build theory is reviewed, and open empirical questions that remain to be tested are identified. The theory and findings suggest that the capacity to experience positive emotions may be a fundamental human strength central to the study of human flourishing.
In recent years, a number of studies have used the material values scale (MVS) developed by Richins and Dawson (1992) to examine materialism as a facet of consumer behavior. This research examines the MVS in light of the accumulated evidence concerning this measure. A review of published studies reportinginformation about the scale and analysis of 15 raw data sets that contain the MVS and other measures revealed that the MVS performs well in terms of reliability and empirical usefulness, but the dimensional structure proposed by Richins and Dawson is not always evident in the data. This article proposes a 15-item measure of the MVS that has better dimension properties than the original version. It also reports the development of a short version of the MVS. Scale lengths of nine, six, and three items were investigated. Results indicate that the nine-item version possesses acceptable psychometric properties when used to measure materialism at a general level. This article also describes a psychometric approach for developing shorter versions of extant multiitem measures.
This research provides the first support for a possible psychological universal: Human beings around the world derive emotional benefits from using their financial resources to help others (prosocial spending). In Study 1, survey data from 136 countries were examined and showed that prosocial spending is associated with greater happiness around the world, in poor and rich countries alike. To test for causality, in Studies 2a and 2b, we used experimental methodology, demonstrating that recalling a past instance of prosocial spending has a causal impact on happiness across countries that differ greatly in terms of wealth (Canada, Uganda, and India). Finally, in Study 3, participants in Canada and South Africa randomly assigned to buy items for charity reported higher levels of positive affect than participants assigned to buy the same items for themselves, even when this prosocial spending did not provide an opportunity to build or strengthen social ties. Our findings suggest that the reward experienced from helping others may be deeply ingrained in human nature, emerging in diverse cultural and economic contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).
In recent years, well-being researchers have distinguished between eudaimonic happiness (e.g., meaning and purpose; taking part in activities that allow for the actualization of one's skills, talents, and potential) and hedonic happiness (e.g., high frequencies of positive affect, low frequencies of negative affect, and evaluating life as satisfying). Unfortunately, this distinction (rooted in philosophy) does not necessarily translate well to science. Among the problems of drawing too sharp a line between ‘types of happiness’ is the fact that eudaimonia is not well-defined and lacks consistent measurement. Moreover, empirical evidence currently suggests that hedonic and eudaimonic well-being overlap conceptually, and may represent psychological mechanisms that operate together. In this article, we outline the problems and costs of distinguishing between two types of happiness, and provide detailed recommendations for a research program on well-being with greater scientific precision.The purpose of life is to be happy. The Dalai LamaYou will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. Albert CamusAnd they all lived happily ever after. The Brothers Grimm
This study examined the accuracy of measuring happiness by a single item (Do you feel happy in general?) answered on an 11-point scale (0-10). Its temporal stability was 0.86. The correlations between the single item and both the Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI; Argyle, Martin, & Lu, 1995; Hills & Argyle, 1998) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985; Pavot & Diener, 1993) were highly significant and positive, denoting good concurrent validity. Moreover, the single item had a good convergent validity because it was highly and positively correlated with optimism, hope, self-esteem, positive affect, extraversion, and self-ratings of both physical and mental health. Furthermore, the divergent validity of the single item has been adequately demonstrated through its significant and negative correlations with anxiety, pessimism, negative affect, and insomnia. It was concluded that measuring happiness by a single item is reliable, valid, and viable in community surveys as well as in cross-cultural comparisons.
Chaotic conditions are a prevalent and threatening feature of social life. Five studies examined whether social class underlies divergent responses to perceptions of chaos in one's social environments and outcomes. The authors hypothesized that when coping with perceptions of chaos, lower class individuals tend to prioritize community, relative to upper class individuals, who instead tend to prioritize material wealth. Consistent with these predictions, when personally confronting chaos, lower class individuals were more communally oriented (Study 1), more connected with their community (Study 2), and more likely to volunteer for a community-building project (Study 3), compared to upper class individuals. In contrast, perceptions of chaos caused upper class individuals to express greater reliance on wealth (Study 4) and prefer financial gain over membership in a close-knit community (Study 5), relative to lower class individuals. These findings suggest that social class shapes how people respond to perceptions of chaos and cope with its threatening consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
A simulation study compared the performance of robust normal theory maximum likelihood (ML) and robust categorical least squares (cat-LS) methodology for estimating confirmatory factor analysis models with ordinal variables. Data were generated from 2 models with 2-7 categories, 4 sample sizes, 2 latent distributions, and 5 patterns of category thresholds. Results revealed that factor loadings and robust standard errors were generally most accurately estimated using cat-LS, especially with fewer than 5 categories; however, factor correlations and model fit were assessed equally well with ML. Cat-LS was found to be more sensitive to sample size and to violations of the assumption of normality of the underlying continuous variables. Normal theory ML was found to be more sensitive to asymmetric category thresholds and was especially biased when estimating large factor loadings. Accordingly, we recommend cat-LS for data sets containing variables with fewer than 5 categories and ML when there are 5 or more categories, sample size is small, and category thresholds are approximately symmetric. With 6-7 categories, results were similar across methods for many conditions; in these cases, either method is acceptable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
Four replicable findings have emerged regardingthe relation between income and subjectivewell-being (SWB): 1. There are largecorrelations between the wealth of nations andthe mean reports of SWB in them, 2. There aremostly small correlations between income andSWB within nations, although these correlationsappear to be larger in poor nations, and therisk of unhappiness is much higher for poorpeople, 3. Economic growth in the last decadesin most economically developed societies hasbeen accompanied by little rise in SWB, andincreases in individual income lead to variableoutcomes, and 4. People who prize materialgoals more than other values tend to besubstantially less happy, unless they are rich.Thus, more money may enhance SWB when it meansavoiding poverty and living in a developednation, but income appears to increase SWBlittle over the long-term when more of it isgained by well-off individuals whose materialdesires rise with their incomes. Several majortheories are compatible with most existingfindings: A. The idea that income enhances SWBonly insofar as it helps people meet theirbasic needs, and B. The idea that the relationbetween income and SWB depends on the amount ofmaterial desires that people's income allowsthem to fulfill. We argue that the firstexplanation is a special case of the secondone. A third explanation is relativelyunresearched, the idea that societal norms forproduction and consumption are essential tounderstanding the SWB-income interface. Inaddition, it appears high SWB might increasepeople's chances for high income. We review theopen issues relating income to SWB, anddescribe the research methods needed to provideimproved data that will better illuminate thepsychological processes relating money to SWB.
We present new measures of well-being to assess the following concepts: 1. Psychological Well-Being (PWB); 2. Positive Feelings,
Negative Feelings, and the balance between the two (SPANE-P, N, B); and 3. Positive Thinking. The PWB scale is a short 8–item
summary survey of the person’s self-perceived functioning in important areas such as relationships, self-esteem, purpose and
meaning, and optimism. The scale is substantially correlated with other psychological well-being scales, but is briefer. The
scale provides a single overall psychological well-being score and does not yield scores for various components of well-being.
The Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) yields a score for positive experience and feelings (6 items), a score
for negative experience and feelings (6 items), and the two can be combined to create an experience balance score. This 12-item
brief scale has a number of desirable features compared to earlier measures of positive and negative feelings. In particular,
the scale assesses with a few items a broad range of negative and positive experiences and feelings, not just those of a certain
type, and is based on the frequency of feelings during the past month. A scale to measure Positive Thinking is also presented.
Basic psychometric statistics are presented for the scales based on 573 college students at five universities.
Measures of well-being were created to assess psychological flourishing and feelings—positive feelings, negative feelings,
and the difference between the two. The scales were evaluated in a sample of 689 college students from six locations. The
Flourishing Scale is a brief 8-item summary measure of the respondent’s self-perceived success in important areas such as
relationships, self-esteem, purpose, and optimism. The scale provides a single psychological well-being score. The measure
has good psychometric properties, and is strongly associated with other psychological well-being scales. The Scale of Positive
and Negative Experience produces a score for positive feelings (6 items), a score for negative feelings (6 items), and the
two can be combined to create a balance score. This 12-item brief scale has a number of desirable features compared to earlier
measures of positive and negative emotions. In particular, the scale assesses with a few items a broad range of negative and
positive experiences and feelings, not just those of a certain type, and is based on the amount of time the feelings were
experienced during the past 4weeks. The scale converges well with measures of emotions and affective well-being.
KeywordsSubjective well-being-Well-being-Measure-Positive affect-Negative affect-Scales (or Assessment)
In this article, we accomplish two things. First, we show that despite empirical psychologists' nominal endorsement of a low rate of false-positive findings (≤ .05), flexibility in data collection, analysis, and reporting dramatically increases actual false-positive rates. In many cases, a researcher is more likely to falsely find evidence that an effect exists than to correctly find evidence that it does not. We present computer simulations and a pair of actual experiments that demonstrate how unacceptably easy it is to accumulate (and report) statistically significant evidence for a false hypothesis. Second, we suggest a simple, low-cost, and straightforwardly effective disclosure-based solution to this problem. The solution involves six concrete requirements for authors and four guidelines for reviewers, all of which impose a minimal burden on the publication process.
One possible reason for the continued neglect of statistical power analysis in research in the behavioral sciences is the inaccessibility of or difficulty with the standard material. A convenient, although not comprehensive, presentation of required sample sizes is provided. Effect-size indexes and conventional values for these are given for operationally defined small, medium, and large effects. The sample sizes necessary for .80 power to detect effects at these levels are tabled for 8 standard statistical tests: (1) the difference between independent means, (2) the significance of a product-moment correlation, (3) the difference between independent rs, (4) the sign test, (5) the difference between independent proportions, (6) chi-square tests for goodness of fit and contingency tables, (7) 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and (8) the significance of a multiple or multiple partial correlation.
Vagal tone (VT), an index of autonomic flexibility, is linked to social and psychological well-being. We posit that the association between VT and well-being reflects an "upward spiral" in which autonomic flexibility, represented by VT, facilitates capitalizing on social and emotional opportunities and the resulting opportunistic gains, in turn, lead to higher VT. Community-dwelling adults were asked to monitor and report their positive emotions and the degree to which they felt socially connected each day for 9 weeks. VT was measured at the beginning and end of the 9-week period. Adults who possessed higher initial levels of VT increased in connectedness and positive emotions more rapidly than others. Furthermore, increases in connectedness and positive emotions predicted increases in VT, independent of initial VT level. This evidence is consistent with an "upward spiral" relationship of reciprocal causality, in which VT and psychosocial well-being reciprocally and prospectively predict one another.
Temporal instability can reflect either true psychological change or transient measurement error, and it is important that trait psychologists be able to distinguish one from the other. The authors report results from large retest studies of Big Five, trait affectivity, and personality disorder measures across time frames (2 months and 2 weeks) over which these constructs should show little or no true change. On average, nearly 25% of the variance in the measures was a product of transient error rather than true change; however, the proportion of error varied widely-but consistently-across measures. In addition, a reexamination of long-term longitudinal data demonstrated that ignoring transient error can lead to inaccurate conclusions. Most notably, a substantial portion of the observed instability in the Big Five and trait affectivity is due to transient error; thus, these traits are even more stable than commonly thought. The present data further suggest that previous reports of differential stability between the Big Five and trait affectivity are due, in part, to differential levels of transient error in measures of these constructs.
Self-regulation is a complex process that involves consumers’ persistence, strength, motivation, and commitment in order to be able to override short-term impulses. In order to be able to pursue their long-term goals, consumers typically need to forgo immediate pleasurable experiences that are detrimental to reach their overarching goals. Although this sometimes involves resisting to simple and small temptations, it is not always easy, since the lure of momentary temptations is pervasive. In addition, consumers’ beliefs play an important role determining strategies and behaviors that consumers consider acceptable to engage in, affecting how they act and plan actions to attain their goals. This dissertation investigates adequacy of some beliefs typically shared by consumers about the appropriate behaviors to exert self-regulation, analyzing to what extent these indeed contribute to the enhancement of consumers’ ability to exert self-regulation.
This article reviews the construct and measurement of materialism and concludes that materialism is appropriately conceptualized as a consumer value. The development of a values-oriented materialism scale with three components--acquisition centrality, acquisition as the pursuit of happiness, and possession-defined success--is described. In validation tests high scorers (compared with low scores) desired a higher level of income, place greater emphasis on financial security and less on interpersonal relationships, preferred to spend more on themselves and less on others, engaged in fewer voluntary simplicity behaviors, and were less satisfied with their lives. Copyright 1992 by the University of Chicago.
Socioemotional selectivity theory claims that the perception of time plays a fundamental role in the selection and pursuit of social goals. According to the theory, social motives fall into 1 of 2 general categories--those related to the acquisition of knowledge and those related to the regulation of emotion. When time is perceived as open-ended, knowledge-related goals are prioritized. In contrast, when time is perceived as limited, emotional goals assume primacy. The inextricable association between time left in life and chronological age ensures age-related differences in social goals. Nonetheless, the authors show that the perception of time is malleable, and social goals change in both younger and older people when time constraints are imposed. The authors argue that time perception is integral to human motivation and suggest potential implications for multiple subdisciplines and research interests in social, developmental, cultural, cognitive, and clinical psychology.
Large samples of data from the World Values Survey, the US Benchmark Survey and a comparable Canadian survey are used to estimate equations designed to explore the social context of subjective evaluations of well–being, of happiness, and of health. Social capital, as measured by the strength of family, neighbourhood, religious and community ties, is found to support both physical health and subjective well–being.
Our new evidence confirms that social capital is strongly linked to subjective well–being through many independent channels and in several different forms. Marriage and family, ties to friends and neighbours, workplace ties, civic engagement (both individually and collectively), trustworthiness and trust: all appear independently and robustly related to happiness and life satisfaction, both directly and through their impact on health.
This article reports the development and validation of a scale to measure global life satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Among the various components of subjective well-being, the SWLS is narrowly focused to assess global life satisfaction and does not tap related constructs such as positive affect or loneliness. The SWLS is shown to have favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and high temporal reliability. Scores on the SWLS correlate moderately to highly with other measures of subjective well-being, and correlate predictably with specific personality characteristics. It is noted that the SWLS is suited for use with different age groups, and other potential uses of the scale are discussed.
In this article, the author describes a new theoretical perspective on positive emotions and situates this new perspective within the emerging field of positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory posits that experiences of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-action repertoires, which in turn serves to build their enduring personal resources, ranging from physical and intellectual resources to social and psychological resources. Preliminary empirical evidence supporting the broaden-and-build theory is reviewed, and open empirical questions that remain to be tested are identified. The theory and findings suggest that the capacity to experience positive emotions may be a fundamental human strength central to the study of human flourishing.
Many scholars have argued that once “basic needs” have been met, higher income is no longer associated with higher in subjective well-being. We assess the validity of this claim in comparisons of both rich and poor countries, and also of rich and poor people within a country. Analyzing multiple datasets, multiple definitions of “basic needs” and multiple questions about well-being, we find no support for this claim. The relationship between well-being and income is roughly linear-log and does not diminish as incomes rise. If there is a satiation point, we are yet to reach it.Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.
This research explored the relationships between materialism and money spending attitudes on impulse buying tendencies, attitudes toward debt, sensation seeking, and openness to experience. Students and other adults (N = 266) completed a materialism scale, portions of two money conservation scales, an impulse buying scale, an attitudes toward debt scale, a sensation seeking scale, and an openness to experience scale. Simultaneous-entry multiple regression analyses revealed that materialism and money conservation were predictive of impulse buying, sensation seeking, and openness to experience. Two marginally significant interactions emerged. Individuals less materialistic and tight with money had particularly negative attitudes toward debt, and individuals less materialistic and loose with money were particularly open to experience. Results are discussed with respect to how materialism may be related to a variety of individual difference variables, both at the main effect level and in interaction with money spending attitudes.
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 in happiness. Drawing on the past well-being literature, the authors propose that a person's chronic happiness level is governed by 3 major factors: a genetically determined set point for happiness, happiness-relevant circumstantial factors, and happiness-relevant activities and practices. The authors then consider adaptation and dynamic processes to show why the activity category offers the best opportunities for sustainably increasing happiness. Finally, existing research is discussed in support of the model, including 2 preliminary happiness-increasing interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Results of four experiments reveal a counterintuitive solution to the common problem of feeling that one does not have enough time: Give some of it away. Although the objective amount of time people have cannot be increased (there are only 24 hours in a day), this research demonstrates that people's subjective sense of time affluence can be increased. We compared spending time on other people with wasting time, spending time on oneself, and even gaining a windfall of "free" time, and we found that spending time on others increases one's feeling of time affluence. The impact of giving time on feelings of time affluence is driven by a boosted sense of self-efficacy. Consequently, giving time makes people more willing to commit to future engagements despite their busy schedules.
This study builds on the work of Wanous, Reichers, and Hudy (1997) by investigating the use of a single-item approach measuring facet satisfaction. Participants consisted of 207 employees from a variety of organizations who completed a job satisfaction survey containing the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) as well as a single-item which also measured each of five JDI facets. Results indicated that the single-item facet measure was significantly correlated with each of the JDI facets (correlations ranged from .60 to .72). Results also indicated that the single-item approach compared favourably to the JDI and in some cases accounted for incremental variance in self-reported job performance and intentions to turnover. Implications include the notions that single-item measures may be easier and take less time to complete, may be less expensive, may contain more face validity, and may be more flexible than multiple-item scales measuring facet satisfaction.
Money plays a significant role in people's lives, and yet little experimental attention has been given to the psychological underpinnings of money. We systematically varied whether and to what extent the concept of money was activated in participants' minds using methods that minimized participants' conscious awareness of the money cues. On the one hand, participants reminded of money were less helpful than were participants not reminded of money, and they also preferred solitary activities and less physical intimacy. On the other hand, reminders of money prompted participants to work harder on challenging tasks and led to desires to take on more work as compared to participants not reminded of money. In short, even subtle reminders of money elicit big changes in human behavior.
Subjective well-being (SWB) comprises people's longer-term levels of pleasant affect, lack of unpleasant affect, and life satisfaction. It displays moderately high levels of cross-situational consistency and temporal stability. Self-report measures of SWB show adequate validity, reliability, factor invariance, and sensitivity to change. Despite the success of the measures to date, more sophisticated approaches to defining and measuring SWB are now possible. Affect includes facial, physiological, motivational, behavioral, and cognitive components. Self-reports assess primarily the cognitive component of affect, and thus are unlikely to yield a complete picture of respondents' emotional lives. For example, denial may influence self-reports of SWB more than other components. Additionally, emotions are responses which vary on a number of dimensions such as intensity, suggesting that mean levels of affect as captured by existing measures do not give a complete account of SWB. Advances in cognitive psychology indicate that differences in memory retrieval, mood as information, and scaling processes can influence self-reports of SWB. Finally, theories of communication alert us to the types of information that are likely to be given in self-reports of SWB. These advances from psychology suggest that a multimethod approach to assessing SWB will create a more comprehensive depiction of the phenomenon. Not only will a multifaceted test battery yield more credible data, but inconsistencies between various measurement methods and between the various components of well-being will both help us better understand SWB indictors and group differences in well-being. Knowledge of cognition, personality, and emotion will also aid in the development of sophisticated theoretical definitions of subjective well-being. For example, life satisfaction is theorized to be a judgment that respondents construct based on currently salient information. Finally, it is concluded that measuring negative reactions such as depression or anxiety give an incomplete picture of people's well-being, and that it is imperative to measure life satisfaction and positive emotions as well.
Previous research has shown that materialism relates negatively to satisfaction with many life domains. The present study
broadens this body of research by examining the relationship between three dimensions of materialism and eight quality of
life (QOL) domains in a large, diverse sample of U.S. respondents. Two hypotheses were tested: First, overall measures of
materialism and satisfaction with QOL were thought to be inversely related. Second, the three dimensions of materialism and
QOL domains were hypothesized to be negatively correlated. Results show that overall materialism and its happiness dimension
were consistently negatively related to all eight measures of QOL. Materialism’s centrality and success dimensions were negatively
correlated with seven and six of the eight QOL domains, respectively. Findings are discussed in light of Humanistic and Organismic
theories, and other implications are considered.
Personality has been found to be more strongly associated with subjective well-being in many instances than are life circumstances.
In part, this might be due to the fact that temperament and other individual differences can influence people’s feelings and
evaluations of their lives, but also because people’s emotions are an inherent part of personality. This chapter discusses
the heritability of “happiness,” that portion of subjective well-being that is due to genetic differences between individuals.
The stability of subjective well-being over time is substantial, and this is likely due in part to the stability of personality.
Specific personality traits are related to various types of well-being. For example, extroversion appears to be more strongly
related to positive emotions, while neuroticism is more related to negative feelings. Although personality is an important
correlate of subjective well-being, situations and life circumstances can in some cases have a considerable influence as well.
Furthermore, personality can to some degree change over time, and with it, levels of subjective well-being can change.
Subjective well-being (SWB) comprises people’s longer-term levels of pleasant affect, lack of unpleasant affect, and life
satisfaction. It displays moderately high levels of cross-situational consistency and temporal stability. Self-report measures
of SWB show adequate validity, reliability, factor invariance, and sensitivity to change. Despite the success of the measures
to date, more sophisticated approaches to defining and measuring SWB are now possible. Affect includes facial, physiological,
motivational, behavioral, and cognitive components. Self-reports assess primarily the cognitive component of affect, and thus
are unlikely to yield a complete picture of respondents’ emotional lives. For example, denial may influence self-reports of
SWB more than other components. Additionally, emotions are responses which vary on a number of dimensions such as intensity,
suggesting that mean levels of affect as captured by existing measures do not give a complete account of SWB. Advances in
cognitive psychology indicate that differences in memory retrieval, mood as information, and scaling processes can influence
self-reports of SWB. Finally, theories of communication alert us to the types of information that are likely to be given in
self-reports of SWB. These advances from psychology suggest that a multimethod approach to assessing SWB will create a more
comprehensive depiction of the phenomenon. Not only will a multifaceted test battery yield more credible data, but inconsistencies
between various measurement methods and between the various components of well-being. Knowledge of cognition, personality,
and emotion will also aid in the development of sophisticated theoretical definitions of subjective well-being. For example,
life satisfaction is theorized to be a judgment that respondents construct based on currently salient information. Finally,
it is concluded that measuring negative reactions such as depression or anxiety give an incomplete picture of people’s well-being,
and that it is imperative to measure life satisfaction and positive emotions as well.
This study examined how wealth cues and the social image concerns of the perceiver influence interpersonal attributions about others. American college students (N=150) read vignettes that described a man or a woman in either an affluent or not so affluent home setting. They then evaluated the target person on 20 personal qualities and indicated their desire to have the target's lifestyle. The affluent target was evaluated as having more personal ability (e.g., intelligence, self-discipline), more sophisticated qualities (e.g., cultured, successful), and a more desirable lifestyle than the not so affluent target. However, an “affluent people are not nice” stereotype seemed to be evoked, as the affluent target was rated as less considerate of others (e.g., less kind, likable, honest) than the not so affluent person. The appearance of affluence, at least in the American culture, is a powerful and unmistakable social testament to a person's ability, sophistication, and considerateness. The impact of personality differences in self-monitoring, social identity, and materialism were small relative to the impact of affluence cues.
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between various demographic and social belief variables, and people's attitudes to, and habits of, money usage. Over 250 people from a variety of different backgrounds completed a number of standardized questionnaires, as well as two questionnaires on money. A factor analysis of the Money Beliefs and Behaviour Scale revealed six clearly interpretable factors, which were later computed into six subscale scores. Analysis of variance showed that age, education and Protestant Work Ethic beliefs most differentiated Ss' attitudes to money. A canonical correlational analysis revealed three significant variates. There were also a few interesting differences in how Ss viewed the way in which they treated money in the past and in how they expected to do so in the future. The results are discussed in terms of previous literature in the field, and suggestions for further research are considered.
Traditionally, positive emotions and thoughts, strengths, and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs for belonging, competence, and autonomy have been seen as the cornerstones of psychological health. Without disputing their importance, these foci fail to capture many of the fluctuating, conflicting forces that are readily apparent when people navigate the environment and social world. In this paper, we review literature to offer evidence for the prominence of psychological flexibility in understanding psychological health. Thus far, the importance of psychological flexibility has been obscured by the isolation and disconnection of research conducted on this topic. Psychological flexibility spans a wide range of human abilities to: recognize and adapt to various situational demands; shift mindsets or behavioral repertoires when these strategies compromise personal or social functioning; maintain balance among important life domains; and be aware, open, and committed to behaviors that are congruent with deeply held values. In many forms of psychopathology, these flexibility processes are absent. In hopes of creating a more coherent understanding, we synthesize work in emotion regulation, mindfulness and acceptance, social and personality psychology, and neuropsychology. Basic research findings provide insight into the nature, correlates, and consequences of psychological flexibility and applied research provides details on promising interventions. Throughout, we emphasize dynamic approaches that might capture this fluid construct in the real-world.
Recent research has begun to distinguish two aspects of subjective well-being. Emotional well-being refers to the emotional quality of an individual's everyday experience--the frequency and intensity of experiences of joy, stress, sadness, anger, and affection that make one's life pleasant or unpleasant. Life evaluation refers to the thoughts that people have about their life when they think about it. We raise the question of whether money buys happiness, separately for these two aspects of well-being. We report an analysis of more than 450,000 responses to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, a daily survey of 1,000 US residents conducted by the Gallup Organization. We find that emotional well-being (measured by questions about emotional experiences yesterday) and life evaluation (measured by Cantril's Self-Anchoring Scale) have different correlates. Income and education are more closely related to life evaluation, but health, care giving, loneliness, and smoking are relatively stronger predictors of daily emotions. When plotted against log income, life evaluation rises steadily. Emotional well-being also rises with log income, but there is no further progress beyond an annual income of ~$75,000. Low income exacerbates the emotional pain associated with such misfortunes as divorce, ill health, and being alone. We conclude that high income buys life satisfaction but not happiness, and that low income is associated both with low life evaluation and low emotional well-being.
Does thinking about time, rather than money, influence how effectively individuals pursue personal happiness? Laboratory and field experiments revealed that implicitly activating the construct of time motivates individuals to spend more time with friends and family and less time working-behaviors that are associated with greater happiness. In contrast, implicitly activating money motivates individuals to work more and socialize less, which (although productive) does not increase happiness. Implications for the relative roles of time versus money in the pursuit of happiness are discussed.
During 2006, the Gallup Organization conducted a World Poll that used an identical questionnaire for national samples of adults from 132 countries. I analyze the data on life satisfaction and on health satisfaction and look at their relationships with national income, age, and life-expectancy. The analysis confirms a number of earlier findings and also yields some new and different results. Average life satisfaction is strongly related to per capita national income. High-income countries have greater life-satisfaction than low-income countries. Each doubling of income is associated with almost a one-point increase in life satisfaction on a scale from 0 to 10 and, unlike most previous findings, the effect holds across the range of international incomes; if anything, it is slightly stronger among rich countries. Conditional on the level of national per capita income, the effects of economic growth on life satisfaction are negative, not positive as would be predicted by previous discussion and previous micro-based empirical evidence. Neither life satisfaction nor health satisfaction responds strongly to objective measures of health, such as life expectancy or the prevalence of HIV infection, so that neither provides a reliable indicator of population well-being over all domains, or even over health.
Money and possessions hold strong attractions, but being driven to acquire them in order to enhance one's social standing
is associated with lowered well-being. Literatures on money and happiness, materialism, and cultural mediators are reviewed.
Consumer well-being is associated with being neither very tight nor very loose with money, with having relatively low financial
aspirations, and with being low in materialism. Price-related behaviors – whether to spend low, spend high, or attempt to
maximize value – are ways of responding to economic outlay vis-à-vis material wants, and these "strategies" offer a window
into broader consumer lifestyles: the Value Seeker type is tight with money and materialistic; the Big Spender is loose with
money and materialistic; the Non-Spender is tight with money and not materialistic; and the Experiencer is loose with money
and not materialistic. Each of these types is described in terms of the potentials for well-being as well as the risks. Intrinsic
motivation emerges as a key to well-being.
This paper presents a general statistical methodology for the analysis of multivariate categorical data arising from observer reliability studies. The procedure essentially involves the construction of functions of the observed proportions which are directed at the extent to which the observers agree among themselves and the construction of test statistics for hypotheses involving these functions. Tests for interobserver bias are presented in terms of first-order marginal homogeneity and measures of interobserver agreement are developed as generalized kappa-type statistics. These procedures are illustrated with a clinical diagnosis example from the epidemiological literature.
This study examines the multifaceted relationships between religious involvement and subjective well-being. Findings suggest that the beneficent effects of religious attendance and private devotion reported in previous studies are primarily indirect, resulting from their respective roles in strengthening religious belief systems. The positive influence of religious certainty on well-being, however, is direct and substantial: individuals with strong religious faith report higher levels of life satisfaction, greater personal happiness, and fewer negative psychosocial consequences of traumatic life events. Further, in models of life satisfaction only, the positive influence of existential certainty is especially pronounced for older persons and persons with low levels of formal education. Finally, there are persistent denominational variations in life satisfaction, but not in happiness: nondenominational Protestants, liberal Protestants, and members of nontraditional groups such as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses report greater life satisfaction than do their unaffiliated counterparts, even with the effects of other dimensions of religiosity held constant. Several directions for additional research on religion and psychological well-being are discussed.
Aspiring for financial success is an important aspect of capitalist cultures. Three studies examine the hypothesis that values and expectancies for wealth and money are negatively associated with adjustment and well-being when they are more central to an individual than other self-relevant values and expectancies. Studies 1 and 2 use 2 methods to show that the relative centrality of money-related values and expectancies is negatively related to college students' well-being and mental health. Study 3, using a heterogeneous noncollege sample, extends these findings by showing that a high centrality of aspirations for financial success is associated with interview ratings of lower global adjustment and social productivity and more behavioral disorders. Discussion is focused on the deleterious consequences of materialistic world views and the need to examine differential effects of content regarding goals and values.