Character Strength Research Part 1 For each of your top 5 strengths, find a research article that supports how that strength contributes to overall happiness and provide the following: o o o How that strength contributes to happiness (your fact) A paragraph (5 sentences minimum) on your thoughts on the study and how it contributes to your life Citation…..APA format 1. #1 Strength: Hope, optimism, and future-mindedness Journal/Study name: Hope and Happiness: A Comparison of Some Discrepancies 2. #2 Strength: Gratitude Journal/Study name: Gratitude and Happiness: Development of a measure of Gratitude, and Relationships with Subjective Well- Being 3. #3 Strength: Judgment, critical thinking, and open-mindedness Journal/Study name: Simple and Multivariate Relationships Between Spiritual Intelligence with General Health and Happiness 4. #4 Strength: Perspective wisdom Journal/Study name: Self-Reported Wisdom and Happiness: An Empirical Investigation 5. #5 Strength: Kindness and generosity Journal/Study name: Happy People Become Happier through Kindness: A Counting Kindnesses Intervention Part 2: Find 2 research articles pertaining to positive psychology (Hint: on the authentic happiness webpage, click on learn more located at the top of the page and look through the scholarly articles available. You may also look through the press articles and though they are not scholarly, they can guide you in the direction of the studies they reference). Please provide the following: o Fact o A paragraph (5 sentences minimum) on your thoughts on the study and how it contributes to your life o Citation….APA Format Positive Psychology Research #1 Journal/Study name: Effectiveness of the Mindfulness in Schools Programme: non-randomised controlled feasibility study. Positive Psychology Research #2 Journal/Study name: Understanding the influence of social media on people’s life satisfaction through two competing explanatory mechanisms Character Strengths Research My top five character strengths are appreciation of beauty and excellence, leadership, fairness and equity and justice, gratitude, and kindness and generosity. These character strengths make me who I am today, and hold great potential in helping me through my journey to mindful living. By assessing the positive effects these traits have on my well-being, I am better able to determine what measures I need to take to make my life more meaningful and improve my wellbeing. People with an appreciation of beauty and excellence often “feel fulfilled, expand their awareness beyond their own concerns, feel connected to the environment (physical and social), acquire a new knowledge of the world, see it with better eyes, and feel motivated to change for the better, and to behave in a way that preserves the harmony of the world” (Martinez-Marti, 2015). The beauty of nature, life, and everything in between has always been something I was quick to notice. I have always wanted to explore new places and learn the local customs and ways of life. I think this has helped me gain a broader world view and has also helped me to better understand others. The fact that people with this character strength are often more motivated towards positive change and have more awareness of their surroundings gives me hope that I can always work to become a better person. I hope this character strength allows me to maintain positive relationships and create healthy dialogue instead of constantly fighting with those I disagree with. The ability to see many sides and hoping to change the world for the better has definitely influenced the people I keep around me today. I think this will increase my wellbeing as it will be much easier for me to create a network of supporters, and to think more rationally about my circumstances when things become difficult. It will also help me channel my ability to lead in times of crisis or disagreement. Martínez-Martí, M. L., Hernández-Lloreda, M. J., & Avia, M. D. (2015). Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence: Relationship with Personality, Prosociality and Well-Being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17(6), 2613-2634. doi:10.1007/s10902-015-9709-6 A good leader positively impacts anyone working under them and can have positive effects on the productivity of a group (Keller, 2006). When I am working in a group, I often think of how to delegate the work so that we are all able to work together, efficiently, and in a way that creates the best results. However, I am also usually concerned about the thoughts of my group members and how they think we should handle the project, as there is always more than one way to do something. I agree with the study because, in the past, I have done my best to show respect to my fellow team members, and they have always responded by working harder and more willingly. I think that my leadership skills will help me to maintain a sense of order that will reduce stress by ensuring that the group stays on top of things and creates good work. I also hope that my leadership skills help propel me through my career as an architect, as my goal in life is to create affordable housing projects as well as transitional housing to help bring the homeless off the streets. Keller, R. T. (2006). Transformational leadership, initiating structure, and substitutes for leadership: A longitudinal study of research and development project team performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(1), 202-210. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.91.1.202 It is hardly fair that there are so many empty homes in the world when there are so many homeless people on the streets. We turn a blind eye to homeless people and beggars, but we still recognize the unfairness of their situations because human beings are actually sensitive to fairness. And the need for justice is simply a basic human impulse, “possibly rooted in a basic social motivation to be accepted” (Tabibnia, 2008), so when we react in outrage at the mistreatment of others, are we doing it more for others or our own self gain? I hope that by utilizing my skills as an architect, I can work hard to make sure that people are treated fairly and that the homeless people are respected and helped up out of their situations. Not for recognition or because I want others to view me in a positive light for what I am doing, but because I believe that no one should be left with nothing in a time of need. This study has made me realize that simply wanting justice and equality are not enough. I have to act if I want to see those changes in the world. I also hope that my need to see fairness and justice in the world never leaves me, because it has shaped me into a person who cares for others. I feel a more generous person when I feel the need to see justice, equity, and fairness in the world. Tabibnia, G., Satpute, A. B., & Lieberman, M. D. (2008). The Sunny Side of Fairness: Preference for Fairness Activates Reward Circuitry (and Disregarding Unfairness Activates SelfControl Circuitry). Psychological Science, 19(4), 339-347. doi:10.1111/j. 14679280.2008.02091.x Studies have shown that oxytocin increases generosity in people (Zak, 2007). When people feel a connection or a sense of trust between themselves and another, they are more inclined to be generous to them. Oxytocin is the same hormone that allows mothers to bond with their newborn children, and it creates that sense of trust between oneself and another. I always tell myself that I wish I could be more generous, because helping others often makes me feel much better about myself. This study has helped me realize that in order to be a more generous person, I have to be able to trust more, and to be more susceptible to the chemistry going on inside my body. I think if I can learn to let go of some of my fears and put more trust in others, I can gain the confidence to do even more generous things. By learning to be more generous to others, I think I will feel a greater sense of purpose in life. Even if my purpose is simply being someone who gives, I will be happy, because giving has always made me feel a sense of gratitude for what I already have. Zak, P. J., Stanton, A. A., & Ahmadi, S. (2007). Oxytocin Increases Generosity in Humans. PLoS ONE, 2(11). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001128 Gratitude increases well-being by influencing a sense of abundance and appreciation (Toussaint, 2008). Meaning that someone who can find a reason to feel that they have plenty and can learn to appreciate even the smallest things can become so much happier in life. I am very grateful for everything that I have. I understand the sacrifices my family has made to get me where I am today, and I love them so much for all they do. However, I can sometimes be a bit ungrateful. I hope that learning to put gratitude first in any situation will help me fight any negative thoughts or stress. I also hope gratitude can give me the strength to tackle problems without the added bitterness being ungrateful often entails. I hope to find one thing a day to be grateful for, so that I can better improve my mood and have a good attitude to help me be productive throughout the day. Toussaint, L., & Friedman, P. (2008). Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Affect and Beliefs. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10(6), 635-654. doi:10.1007/ s10902008-9111-8 People with a sense of purpose are less likely to develop adverse health effects (Yu, 2015). By using my strengths to find said purpose, I can work to improve my well-being and decrease my chances of developing major health problems later in life. By applying the mindful living techniques and tools that I have learned recently, I may be able to go a step further in preventing health issues. I already feel that my life’s purpose is to help the homeless and those less fortunate by providing livable housing options. Now I just have to maintain a less-stressful lifestyle and work hard to become a certified architect so that I can begin working on my dream. However, I know that I will likely have more than one purpose in life, and once I find another, I hope that I can better myself, physically and mentally. Yu, L., Boyle, P. A., Wilson, R. S., Levine, S. R., Schneider, J. A., & Bennett, D. A. (2015). Purpose in Life and Cerebral Infarcts in Community-Dwelling Older People. Stroke, 46(4), 1071-1076. doi:10.1161/strokeaha.114.008010 There is a positivity bias in language, despite all the negativity that may seem to be going around (Dodds, 2015). This article has given me hope to become more positive, because I often feel so negative. If I can remind myself of positive thoughts when I feel I am being negative, then maybe I can improve my attitude. I think it is important to find positivity in everything. When things become stressful, it is so easy to become bogged down with sadness and anxiety. I want to start leaving myself positive messages so that I can tell my future self to slow down and remember to smell the roses every once in a while. Life is such a precious gift, and the fact that language is more often than not used in a positive way, gives me hope that the world can become a more positive place. Dodds, P. S., Clark, E. M., Desu, S., Frank, M. R., Reagan, A. J., Williams, J. R., . . . Danforth, C. M. (2015). Human language reveals a universal positivity bias. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(8), 2389-2394. doi:10.1073/pnas.1411678112 All of my character strengths and the information I found about mindfulness and wellness have really shaped the way I view myself and the world. I hope to remember that my generosity and desire for justice are not weaknesses, but something that makes me caring and compassionate in the face of something cruel or heartless. I cannot let the stresses of life turn me into a negative, bitter, or ungrateful person because I know that I have so much potential to do well. I want the exercises I have learned to become so ingrained into my being that I have no chance of developing health issues or letting stress dominate my life. The world is a beautiful place, and I hope to be a positive being in the face of whatever life throws my way. MARJOR?E A. STASSEN AND SARA R. STAATS HOPE AND HAPPINESS: A COMPARISON OF SOME DISCREPANCIES (Received 12 October, 1986) ABSTRACT. This paper presents a comparison of Canadian and American university students on happiness and satisfaction as measured by the Satisfaction and Happiness Survey (Michalos, 1985). For the American sample, the findings for other measures of satisfaction and happiness, as well as for hope as measured by the Hope Index (Staats and Stassen, 1986), are also reported. American students had slightly higher means on both overall satisfaction and happiness with life as a whole than the Canadian students. The greatest perceived gap for American students was between what one has now and expects to have in the future while for Canadian students it was between what one has and what one needs. Both Canadian and American students reported greatest satis faction with health and lowest satisfaction with financial security and paid employment. For the American sample, of the other satisfaction, happiness, and hope measures, a global happiness measure had the highest correlation with both overall satisfaction (r - 0.62, p < 0.0001) and happiness with life as a whole (r - 0.55, p < 0.0001). Reasons for the observed differences between the two samples are suggested and future research directions are discussed. This paper represents the preliminary report of the Newark, Ohio contribution to the Guelph international survey of satisfaction and happjrjess, and an international test of the multiple discrepancies hypothesis of net satisfaction (Michalos, 1985).1 In the context of social indicators and quality of life, American national level surveys (Andrews and Withey, 1976; Campbell et al., 1976) found that overall satisfaction was not well predicted by demo graphic variables and that about 90 percent of the variance was unexplained. Self-perceptions are generally more predictive than objec tive attributes of subjective well-being, and subjective well-being is more predictive of happiness than are objective circumstances (Diener, 1984). Not only is happiness an important feature of quality of life, but physicians (Gottschalk, 1985) have also shown that positive emotional states such as hope are related to physiological changes in the immune system and are predictive of individual survival (Beck etal., 1985). An important question then is how are these self perceptions arrived Social indicators Research 20 (1988) 45-58. ? 1988 by D. Reidel Publishing Company. This content downloaded from 129.219.247.33 on Tue, 11 Apr 2017 03:25:03 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 46 MARJORIE A. STASSEN AND SARA R. STAATS at since they are not simply or directly based on objective assessment. The idea that we determine our happiness and life satisfaction in relation to personal standards seems likely. What are the standards, what are the natures of the comparisons, and are there important communalities among different persons? These are indeed questions worthy of a major effort. Personal standards may reflect in part ideographic individual dis positions whose antecedents are yet unspecified. However, considerable evidence indicates that we often compare ourselves to others whom we consider similar to us in relevant dimensions (Festinger, 1957). As Michalos (1985) notes, the idea of discrepancies comes from various sources such as social comparison theory and equity theory. Previous researchers have dealt with a few discrepancies on a much smaller scale than that suggested in Multiple Discrepancies Theory (MDT). In addition to providing data relevant to the MDT, the view taken here is that one's wants or hopes as well as perceptions of similar others are most important individual determiners of happiness and satisfaction. The present study will describe the Newark, Ohio sample, compare their satisfaction level with those of the benchmark Canadian sample (Michalos, 1985), and then discuss the results of a Hope Index and other happiness and satisfaction measures. METHOD Subjects Participants were 270 university students enrolled in an Introductory Psychology course at the Newark regional campus of the Ohio State University (OSUN). There were 130 males and 140 females. The demographic characteristics of the sample as well as those for the comparison Canadian sample are given in Table I. The OSUN and University of Guelph students were similar in sex and marital status characteristics. The OSUN students tended to be younger (17?19 years) than the Guelph students (20?22 years), reflecting the earlier age for entering college for American students as well as the pre dominance of freshmen in the OSUN sample. While 69 percent of the Guelph students were not employed, over 60 percent of the OSUN This content downloaded from 129.219.247.33 on Tue, 11 Apr 2017 03:25:03 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 47 A COMPARISON students worked 20 hours or more each week. This may be indicative of the rural background and possibly lower socioeconomic status of the TABLE I Sample composition OSU Sex Males Females Total Age 17-19 20-22 23-25 26-30 31-35 36+ Total Marital Status Single Married Widowed Separated Divorced Total Work Status Unemployed 5 hours 10 hours 20 hours 30 hours 40 hours Other Total Formal Education 1 Year or less 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years Diploma/Degree Other 1 Missing Total N 130 140 270 Guelph 48 52 100 N % 207 77 33 12 9 3.3 9 3.3 2.2 6 6 2.2 270 100 N 241 22 % 89 8.1 1 6 270 0.4 2.2 100 N 70 10 16 90 41 25 18 270 11 269 N 60 345 135 75 34 33 682 % 9 50 20 11 5 5 100 N % 84 12 0.1 2 1.9 100 471 N % 69 68 55 34 54 10 8 5 8 682 100 % 22 26 28 13 0.7 N 150 177 191 89 14 61 0.4 100 682 100 % 25.9 3.7 5.9 33.3 15.2 9.3 6.7 100 N 220 81.5 27 10 6 2.2 3 1.1 2 N % 314 45 368 54 682 100 4.1 571 83 1 15 12 681 This content downloaded from 129.219.247.33 on Tue, 11 Apr 2017 03:25:03 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 2 9 48 MARJORIE A. STASSEN AND SARA R. STAATS ( Table I continued) OSU Guelph Major Studies N % N % General 50 18.5 57 8 Natural Sciences 10 3.7 30 4 Biological Sciences 30 11.1 161 24 Social Sciences 57 21.1 181 27 Humanities 22 8.1 24 3 Engineering 38 14.1 21 3 Commerce 41 15.2 35 5 Other 172 Missing 22 26 8.1 Total 270 100 682 100 students attending the Newark regional campus of OSU. The majority of the OSUN students (81.5%) had one year or less of university whereas only 22 percent of the Guelph students were freshmen. Measures Data were collected at the beginning of fall quarter (n ? 190) and at the beginning of winter quarter (n ? 80). Participants completed a questionnaire packet during classtime. The questionnaire packet con sisted of the following measures. 1. Satisfaction and Happiness Survey (Michalos, 1985). This ques tionnaire contains demographic items, basic satisfaction ratings for overall satisfaction, and satisfaction with 12 different domains, assess ment of 7 discrepancies (e.g., discrepancies between what one has and what one wants, between what one has and what relevant others have), the Rosenberg (1965) Self-esteem scale, and a 6-item social support scale. 2. The Hope Index (Staats and Stassen, 1986). The Hope Index is an empirically-derived and theoretically-based 16-item measure of hope. Respondents independently rate their wishes and expectations for each of the items on a 6-point Likert scale. A total hope score is obtained by multiplying wishes by expectations and then summing across all items. 3. A number of measures relating to various aspects of satisfaction This content downloaded from 129.219.247.33 on Tue, 11 Apr 2017 03:25:03 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms A COMPARISON 49 and happiness were also included. Global measures of hope, happiness, and subjective well-being were each assessed by asking respondents to place a check mark on a line which was anchored at either end (e.g., "No hope at air, "Extremely hopeful"). Other measures included Scheier and Carver's (1985) Life Orientation Test (LOT) which is a scale designed to measure dispositional optimism, the Expected Balance Scale (EBS), a modified version of Bradburn's (1969) Affective Balance Scale designed to measure expected happiness (Staats and Stassen, 1985; Staats, in press), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener etal.,l9$5). A preliminary analysis of the data indicated that 5 subjects had either a larger number of incomplete responses or had improperly completed the questionnaire packet (i.e., had circled the extreme response on all measures indicating a response set). The data for these 5 subjects were subsequently discarded from the dataset. The domain item "Living Partner" on the Satisfaction and Happiness Survey elicited a large number of non-responses (e.g., 112 non-responses for the basic satisfaction scale and 101 non-responses for both the self-others and the self-deserve discrepancies). On the basis of the number of missing values, we decided to omit this domain item from future analyses. Therefore, we have only 11 domain items instead of the 12 which Michalos (1985) employed. However, it should be noted that "Living Partner" was not one of the 12 domain items included in the Satisfac tion and Happiness Survey administered to the University of Guelph students. "Living Partner" was substituted for "Area Lived In" in more recent versions of the questionnaire. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The means for each of the domain and global items, including happiness with life as a whole, are given in Table II. The means for overall satisfaction and happiness were slightly higher for the OSUN students (5.3 versus 5.0). The overall satisfaction mean and the happiness mean were the same in both groups. The Pearson correlation between overall satisfaction and happiness was r ? 0.59, p < 0.0001 which was some what lower than that of the University of Guelph students (r ? 0.67, p < 0.001). For the University of Guelph students, the perceived This content downloaded from 129.219.247.33 on Tue, 11 Apr 2017 03:25:03 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 50 MARJORIE A. STASSEN AND SARA R. STAATS TABLE II Mean scores for OSU students Now Want Other Deser. Need Prog. Futr. Best Mean Health 5.7 3.9 5.5 3.7 5.7 5.2 5.0 4.2 5.0 4.0 5.0 5.0 4.3 3.7 4.3 3.4 4.4 4.4 Education 5.2 5.3 4.8 4.9 5.2 5.3 5.0 5.0 5.3 5.5 4.7 4.5 4.7 4.6 4.9 4.3 4.2 4.0 4.1 4.2 Mean 5.0 5.1 4.7 4.1 3.8 4.2 3.7 4.2 4.3/4.3 Whole Life Happiness 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.1 4.1 4.0 4.3 4.0 4.3 Financial Security Family Relations Paid Employment Friendship Housing Living Partner Recreation Religion Self-esteem Transportation 5.6 4.0 5.2 4.1 5.5 5.3 3.8 3.9 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.7 4.0 4.2 3.9 4.3 4.2 4.4 4.1 3.0 4.1 4.3 4.2 4.0 4.3 3.8 4.4 4.3 4.0 3.5 3.9 4.0 4.0 4.2 3.9 4.3 4.3 4.3 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.5 4.0 4.3 4.1 4.1 3.2 3.8 4.2 4.6 4.8 3.8 4.4 3.7 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.5 gap between what one has and what one needs (Self-Needs) had the greatest perceived discrepancy, while for the OSUN students the perceived discrepancy between what one has now and expects to have in the future (Self-Future) was the greatest (mean of 3.7 for the 11 domains and 4.0 for life as a whole) followed closely by the perceived gap between what one has and what one needs (mean of 3.8 for the 11 domains and 4.0 for life as a whole). The greater perceived discrepancy for the Self-Future domains and life as a whole for the OSUN students may not necessarily indicate that the OSUN students are less optimistic than the Guelph students. Michalos (1985) points out that assessment of the perceived gap between what one has and what one expects to have in the future was ambiguously worded in regard to the time referent used. The wording in our version of the Satisfaction and Happiness Survey had been modified in an attempt to remedy the time referent ambiguity. Therefore, differences between the two groups of students may simply reflect the changes in the wording. With the exception of the Self-Future domains and Self-Future life as a whole, the OSUN means for the 11 domains, life as a whole, and happiness were slightly higher than those for the Guelph students. The This content downloaded from 129.219.247.33 on Tue, 11 Apr 2017 03:25:03 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms A COMPARISON 51 perceived gap between that one has and what one wants (Self-Wants) had the highest domain mean (5.1) which was somewhat consistent with the Guelph students (Self-Wants and Self-Other had the same mean in the Guelph sample). Consistent with the Guelph students, the OSUN students tended to have the greatest satisfaction with health and the lowest satisfaction with financial security and paid employment. The results of regressing the global scores for each perceived gap on their respective domain scores are given in Table in. Self-esteem had table m Multiple regression of global scores on domain scores Self Self Self Self Self Self Self Wants Others Deserve Needs Progress Future Best Percent of variance explained 50 64 65 59 59 38 36 AT- 180 188 167 172 177 188 176 Predictors Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta Health e 0.097d 0.114d 0.132c 0.167b 0.182d 0.156d Financial security e 0.158a e O.lOld 0.155b e e Family relations 0.126b 0.072d 0.199a 0.171a e e e Paid employment e e 0.123b e e e 0.083d Friendship e 0.142a e e 0.120c e 0.172b Housing 0.112b 0.175a 0.106d 0.131c e e e Area lived in .v. ? Not included in our questionnaire Recreation 0.185a e 0.095d e e 0.197d e Religion e 0.107a e e e e e Transportation e e e e 0.096d 0.402a e Self-esteem 0.195a 0.216a 0.225a 0.256a 0.327a e 0.346a Education 0.164c 0.131c 0.257a 0.131c 0.216a e e a - p < 0.001, b - p < 0.005, c - p < 0.01, d - p < 0.05, e ? significance level too low to enter equation. the greatest impact on 5 of the global discrepancy scores (Self-Wants, Self-Others, Self-Needs, Self-Progress, and Self-Best). Education had the greatest impact on the perceived gap between what one has and what one deserves (Self-Deserved) while transportation had the greatest impact on the perceived gap between what one has now and what one expects in the future (Self-Future). Only the impact of self-esteem on This content downloaded from 129.219.247.33 on Tue, 11 Apr 2017 03:25:03 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 52 MARJORIE A. STASSEN AND SARA R. STAATS Self-Others and Self-Best is similar to the results for the Guelph students. The amount of variance accounted for is similar across the two groups with the exception of the Self-Future and Self-Best discrep ancies in which the amount of variance accounted for is considerably lower in the OSUN sample. In regressing global satisfaction on the 11 domains and 6 demo graphic variables, Michalos (1985, p. 365) noted that "The most striking feature ... is the relative insignificance of the demographic variables." He found a similar insignificant effect of the demographic variables on happiness. Preliminary analysis of our own sample con firmed the relative insignificance of the demographic variables in predicting overall satisfaction and happiness. We therefore decided to omit the demographic variables from further regression analyses. The regression of overall satisfaction with the 11 satisfaction domain variables as well as the regression of happiness with life as a whole on satisfaction with 11 domains are given in Table IV. Satisfaction with self-esteem had the greatest relative impact on overall satisfaction followed by satisfaction with finances and satisfaction with family TABLE IV Regression of net satisfaction and happiness on domains Satisfaction Happiness Percent of variance R2** 0.48 0.27 explained N -174 170 Domains Beta Beta Health e e Finances 0.181a 0.121c Family relations 0.144b 0.204a Paid employment ?0.091c e Friendships e e Housing 0.101c 0.137c Recreation 0.1 lib e Religion e e Self-esteem 0.324a e Transportation e e Education e 0.215b a-p< 0.001, b-p
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