Jaime L. Kurtz

The role of familiarity in daily well-being: developmental and cultural variation.

The present study examined life stage and cultural differences in the degree to which familiarity of ones physical location and interaction partner is associated with daily well-being. Participants reported all the activities they engaged in and how they felt during these activities on a previous day using the Day Reconstruction Method (Kahneman, Krueger, Schkade, Schwarz, & Stone, 2004). Both Korean and American retirees were happier when in a familiar place than in an unfamiliar place, whereas the reverse was true for both Korean and American working adults. In addition, we found cultural differences in the role of familiarity of the interaction partner. Specifically, Koreans (both retirees and working adults) were substantially happier when they interacted with a familiar person than when they interacted with an unfamiliar person. In contrast, Americans (both retirees and working adults) were no happier with a familiar person than with an unfamiliar person.

What triggers prosocial effort? A positive feedback loop between positive activities, kindness, and well-being

Abstract Across two studies, we found evidence supporting a positive feedback loop between positive activities, kindness and well-being. In Study 1, participants were randomly assigned to one of four distinct positive activities (versus a neutral writing activity) before spending three weeks engaging in kind acts. We found that the positive activities served as triggers – that is, they predicted greater prosocial effort, which in turn predicted greater well-being immediately following the intervention and at a two-week follow-up. In Study 2, we explored the specific effects of a gratitude trigger, and extended the intervention period to six weeks. Although, we did not replicate the direct effect of the gratitude trigger on prosocial effort, people who wrote gratitude letters (versus writing about their week) reported relatively greater elevation, which predicted greater prosocial effort during the six weeks. In turn, replicating Study 1, greater effort predicted higher well-being immediately following the study.

Happiness and self-knowledge: A positive psychology and judgment and decision-making hybrid course

This chapter describes an undergraduate positive psychology course that specifically focuses on the construct of happiness, or subjective well-being. Judgment and decision-making research is used to understand the processes involved in making decisions with the goal of promoting happiness. The course heavily focuses on methodology and recent empirical research. However, students are also given hands-on activities and are encouraged to consider the relationship between happiness, self-knowledge, and decision-making processes in their own lives.

‘Would I be happier if I moved?’ Retirement status and cultural variations in the anticipated and actual levels of happiness

Should one give up the comforts of home in exchange for more leisure opportunities or a desirable climate? The present research examined the anticipated and actual levels of happiness among non-retirees and retirees in the US and Korea. Both American and Korean non-retirees overestimated the importance of novelty factors (e.g., climate, recreational opportunities) in making a retirement prediction, compared with retirees’ reports. Non-retirees believed that a place with nice weather and plenty of cultural and recreational opportunities would make them happy in their retirement. However, the actual retirees who placed importance on the novelty factor when they made the retirement location decision were not happier than those who placed less importance on this factor. Instead, the retirees who placed more importance on the practicality factor (e.g., easy access to medical services, daily convenience) felt happier and more peaceful than other retirees.

Reframing the ordinary: Imagining time as scarce increases well-being

Abstract We explored a counterintuitive approach to increasing happiness: Imagining time as scarce. Participants were randomly assigned to try to live this month (LTM) like it was their last in their current city (time scarcity intervention; n = 69) or to keep track of their daily activities (neutral control; n = 70). Each group reported their activities and their psychological need satisfaction (connectedness, competence, and autonomy) weekly for 4 weeks. At baseline, post-intervention, and 2-week follow-up, participants reported their well-being – a composite of life satisfaction, positive emotions, and negative emotions. Participants in the LTM condition increased in well-being over time compared to the control group. Furthermore, mediation analyses indicated that these differences in well-being were explained by greater connectedness, competence, and autonomy. Thus, imagining time as scarce prompted people to seize the moment and extract greater well-being from their lives.

Affective Forecasting: Teaching a Useful, Accessible, and Humbling Area of Research.

All students, from college freshmen to advanced graduate students, have asked themselves, “Will this decision make me happy?” The vast majority of them have been wrong. Affective forecasting, the process of predicting future feelings, is a topic of great interest to students due to its applicable and highly relatable nature. This article discusses the basic principles behind affective forecasting, explains common errors in forecasting, describes some specific applications derived from the forecasting literature, discusses and explains the connections between forecasting and happiness. It also discussed areas of application across the curriculum, particularly in the context of research methods, and considers the benefits and challenges of teaching this topic.

The Emotion of Happiness

Ask most anyone to name a deeply held and sought-after life goal, and happiness is likely to top the list. Although this state plays a central role in our daily and long-term motivation and decision-making, for many years, it was a topic reserved for philosophers and self-help book writers rather than psychological scientists. However, this trend shifted in the 1990s, as researchers in the burgeoning field of positive psychology began studying happiness in earnest. Since then, great strides have been made in operationally defining and developing measures to reliably tap into this construct. In this chapter we cover three areas. First, we explain how happiness is defined and assessed in the research literature. Next, we describe some of the most commonly used measures of happiness, or subjective well-being. Finally, with the goal of application in mind, we lay out the benefits and drawbacks of the most commonly used measures of happiness.