Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Editorial: The Good Side Of Technology: How We Can Harness The Positive Potential Of Digital Technology To Maximize Well-Being, John F. Hunter, Lisa C. Walsh, Chi-Keung Chan, Stephen M. Schueller

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

"The rapid advancement of digital technology has transformed society and undeniably impacted wellbeing. With the advent of smartphones and social media, a host of empirical articles, popular press pieces, non-fiction books, and documentaries have highlighted the potential negative effects of technology, such as addiction, loneliness, and depression (e.g., Alter, 2017; Twenge et al., 2018; Orlowski, 2020). While it is important to acknowledge and address the potentially detrimental effects of this increasing technological reliance, we believe that it is imperative that researchers, developers, and users embrace a more balanced approach that also recognizes the positive potential of digital technology to support …

Interventions To Modify Psychological Well-Being: Progress, Promises, And An Agenda For Future Research, Laura D. Kubzansky, Eric S. Kim, Julia K. Boehm, Richard J. Davidson, Jeffrey C. Huffman, Eric B. Loucks, Sonja Lyubomirsky, Rosalind W. Picard, Stephen M. Schueller, Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald, Tyler J. Vanderweele, Katey Warran, David S. Yeager, Charlotte S. Yeh, Judith T. Moskowitz

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Psychological well-being, characterized by feelings, cognitions, and strategies that are associated with positive functioning (including hedonic and eudaimonic well-being), has been linked with better physical health and greater longevity. Importantly, psychological well-being can be strengthened with interventions, providing a strategy for improving population health. But are the effects of well-being interventions meaningful, durable, and scalable enough to improve health at a population-level? To assess this possibility, a cross-disciplinary group of scholars convened to review current knowledge and develop a research agenda. Here we summarize and build on the key insights from this convening, which were: (1) existing interventions should continue …

Inspirational Bullshit: The Good, The Bad, And The Vacuous, Esther Abel

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

There are myriad methods offered in the “self-help industry” and on social media promising to improve happiness. Some messages are evidence-based, often drawn from positive psychology research, and suggest actions requiring time and effort, while other messages may offer feel-good platitudes that are devoid of meaningful guidance; we label this latter type of content “inspirational bullshit.” Across two manuscripts, we investigate the predictors of liking different kinds of positive self-help content, from meaningless randomly-generated phrases to vacuous positivity to evidence-based advice. In the first manuscript, across three studies, bullshit receptivity (a tendency to judge pseudo-profound statements as profound) and people’s …

Physical Activity, Sitting Time, And Feelings Of Energy And Fatigue During The Early Stages Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: Does Grit Make A Difference?, Andreas Stamatis, Jessica Adams, Joel Martin, Matthew L. Smith, Italia Milani, Shane V. Caswell, Nelson Cortes, Ali Boolani

Health Behavior Research

Grit has been associated with feelings of energy when measured as the opposite end of fatigue. During the COVID-19 pandemic, grit has been linked to positive health-related behaviors, which are known to influence feelings of energy and fatigue. The objective of this study was to identify the association between grit, time spent sitting, physical activity (PA), and feelings of mental and physical energy (ME, PE) and fatigue (MF, PF) during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Participants (n = 859) completed surveys once. Using a series of multivariate regression models, we assessed the association …

Applying Theoretical Models Of Positive Emotion To Improve Pediatric Asthma: A Positive Psychology Approach, Brooke N. Jenkins, Judith T. Moskowitz, Jill Halterman, Zeev N. Kain

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Positive emotion, encompassing feelings such as joy and happiness, has been shown to predict a multitude of health outcomes. However, the role of positive emotion in pediatric asthma is not understood. No work to date has examined how positive emotion may offer benefits to children and adolescents with asthma. Based on theory and models of positive emotion and health, we hypothesize that positive emotion may improve asthma outcomes through mediators such as health behaviors and health-relevant physiological functioning. Moreover, boosting positive emotion during times of stress may be particularly relevant in mitigating asthma symptoms. In the present commentary, we elaborate …

Exploring The Role Of Core Positive Selves With Men Convicted Of Child Sexual Offenses: A Character Strengths Initiative, Tiffany A. Miner

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

The aim of this study was to help men convicted of child sexual offenses learn to recognize and engage their character strengths over 12 months. Participants were six men convicted of contact and noncontact (internet) child sexual offenses. All participants were members of a community-based reintegration group for registered citizens. In the first weeks of the study, participants received the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths survey. The survey, containing 240 questions—10 items for each of the 24 character strengths outlined—helped participants identify their top character strengths. The study explored (a) how the men could use their character strengths to …

The Effect Of Emphasizing Strengths On Readiness To Change, Taylor Dunn

Capstone Showcase

TAYLOR DUNN

The Effect of Emphasizing Strengths on Readiness to Change

Research Mentor: Dr. Steven Robbins

Researchers have called for the examination of what kind of discussion in therapy is the most beneficial. Although past literature calls for an emphasis on restructuring a client’s negative thoughts and behaviors, there has been an increasing amount of research on the benefits of using positive psychology interventions. “Strength-based approaches” in particular have shown to lead to an attainment of various clinical outcomes. This study attempts to analyze how an emphasis on character strengths influences a person’s readiness to change in comparison to a …

The Relationship Between Faith Maturity And Life Satisfaction, Amanda Roche

Scholar Week 2016 - present

This study attempted to assess the correlation between faith maturity and life satisfaction, as well as to compare that correlation coefficient to other indicators of life satisfaction, namely self-esteem and life orientation. Previous studies have shown that there are many components to life satisfaction, however faith maturity is not a factor that has been previously studied. This study attempts to determine the correlation between these two variables, as well as compare that correlation coefficient to other indicators of life satisfaction, namely self-esteem and life orientation. Participants at a small, private, religiously-affiliated liberal arts university were emailed a survey that included …

Mechanism For Leadership Development And Effectiveness: The Relationship Between Followership, Leadership, And Psychological Capital, Saurabh Gupta

Dissertations

Research supports the strategic role of a leader in improving individual and organizational performance (Day et al., 2009; Kaiser & Curphy, 2013). Developing leadership and enhancing leadership effectiveness remains at the forefront of organizational strategic plans (Day et al., 2009; Kaiser & Curphy, 2013). However, a majority of leadership development efforts fail in their purpose, which causes a leadership crisis in many organizations (Fernández-Aráoz, Roscoe, & Aramaki, 2017; Gurdjian, Halbeisen, & Lane, 2014; Kaiser & Curphy, 2013; Madanchian, Hussein, Noordin, & Taherdoost, 2017; Pfeffer, 2015; Wakefield, Abbatiello, Agarwal, Pastakia, & van Berkel, 2016). Neglecting the role of followership and using …

A Grateful Mind: The Impact Of Felt Fluency On Subjective Well-Being, Renee Hunt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The practice of gratitude has become increasingly prevalent in popular culture as a self-help intervention aimed at improving individuals’ happiness and overall well-being. Although a great deal of empirical work has promoted the benefits of practicing gratitude (see Davis et al., 2016 for a review), less work has been conducted examining the conditions under which the traditional gratitude interventions are less effective, or even entirely ineffective. One potential boundary condition that may be associated with the benefit individuals report after engaging in the practice of gratitude is fluency – an individual’s subjective experience of ease or difficulty. When tasks are …

Nonlinear Dynamical Systems And Humanistic Psychology, David Pincus, Adam W. Kiefer, Jessica I. Beyer

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The recent debunking by Brown, Sokal, and Friedman of some high-profile results applying chaos theory to positive psychology creates the opportunity to shed light on the quality work that has been done by others in this area. Too many humanists may be unaware of the large volume of legitimate work that exists in the literature apart from Fredrickson and Losada’s article. Often, such legitimate lines of research are ignored, not for lack of scientific merit, but because of artificial guild boundaries and similar silos that separate groups of scientists—even when working in similar areas. It would be unfortunate to have …

Spiritual Media Experiences, Trait Transcendence, And Enjoyment Of Popular Films, Sophie Janicke, Srividya Ramasubramanian

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Recent scholarship on media psychology acknowledges that media entertainment offers not only purely hedonistic enjoyment but also meaningful experiences. This study expands our understanding of media enjoyment by exploring the role of media entertainment in evoking spiritual emotions and beliefs, such as those related to connectedness, blessedness, and transcendence. Results from an online survey (N=220) indicate that media entertainment elicits meaningful as well as spiritual emotions and increases the saliency of spiritual beliefs as related to self-actualization and spiritual experiences in everyday life. Furthermore, trait transcendence and eudaimonic media motivations add to the explanation of audiences’ mediated spiritual experiences. Open-ended …

Blue The Bee Learns To Be Happy, Connie Reimers-Hild, Deborah J. Weitzenkamp, Connie Reimers-Hild, Kim Wellsandt

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Faculty and Staff Publications

Do you sometimes feel sad or blue and don't know what to do? If so, this book was written just for you!

Join Blue the Bee as she travels through Happy Orchard meeting her friends (Flutter, Buzz, Bonita and Ernie) to learn the 7 Happiness Habits. When happiness is a habit, it comes without thinking. You can choose how to spend your day and use your time. You choose how to live your life and what is on your mind.

Each page was designed to enjoy at any age. People can become pollinators of happiness in any life stage!

This …

Examining Well-Being Among College Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd) And Co-Morbid Diagnoses: An Integrative Approach To Understanding Mental Health, Michael T. Strand

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Deficit and dysfunction in college students with ADHD diagnoses are now well studied and known to be commonplace in clinical psychology research literature (see Green & Rabiner, 2014, for review). However, areas of positive functioning and psychological well-being have not been well examined. This dissertation aims to investigate the extent to aspects of well-being may be more or less developed among college students carrying a diagnosis of ADHD, in comparison to their college peers. This examination utilized a subset of data collected from annual national “Healthy Minds” survey of college student mental health in the United States (Eisenberg, D., Hunt, …

How Can Fredrickson’S Broaden-And-Build Theory Enhance Personal Resources?, Jennifer Danilowski

South Florida Education Research Conference

Abstract: Positive psychology has garnered great attention towards understanding how individuals develop personal resources to enhance wellbeing and flow. Barbara Fredrickson’s broaden and build theory suggests when individuals imbue various personal resources with more positive affect, individuals are more likely able to develop greater resilient assets as a result.

Developing Wildland Firefighters’ Performance Capacity Through Awareness-Based Processes: A Qualitative Investigation, Alexis L. Waldron, Vicki Ebbeck

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

Wildland firefighting is environmentally and socially a risky and complex occupation. Although much attention has been given to understanding the physical components in fighting wildland fire, much less time has been devoted to understanding and developing the capacity of wildland firefighters to handle the dynamic pressures of the physical and social environments. The purpose of this study was to explore the receptiveness, utility, effectiveness, and potential improvements for a mindful and self-compassionate awareness program developed for the wildland fire environment. The program was based on the use of a conceptual tool to refocus awareness and move self-compassionately through key aspects …

Humility: Development And Analysis Of A Scale, Jeffrey Charles Elliott

Doctoral Dissertations

Humility is widely accepted as a character strength or virtue, yet very little research has been done as to its development or benefits, partly due to the lack of a reliable and valid explicit measure or scale. Since to date no such scale has been published, the current study investigates the importance and nature of humility and develops a measure to be analyzed as to its reliability and validity. Potential scale items were derived from participants’ recollection of humbling experiences and Tangney’s (2000) definition of humility. Principal Components Analysis revealed four humility subscales: openness, self-forgetfulness, accurate self-assessment, and focus on …

Counting Blessings Versus Neutral Events: An Experimental Investigation Of Gratitude And Athletic Performance In Volleyball, Marie B. Godwin

Psychology Honors Projects

Positive psychology has related gratitude to positive outcomes for individuals. The purpose of the current study was to apply gratitude journaling to the athletic domain, specifically volleyball. It was hypothesized that participants journaling about things they were grateful for at each practice would result in heightened athletic performance, measured through vertical approach and block jump, team win/loss percentage, and satisfaction with performance, especially when compared to participants who journaled about neutral practice events. Results showed a significant difference between groups in athlete satisfaction with individual and team performance; however, participants who journaled about neutral practice events displayed higher levels of …

The Promise Of Sustainable Happiness, Julia K. Boehm, Sonja Lyubomirsky

Psychology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

From ancient history to recent times, philosophers, writers, self-help gurus, and now scientists have taken up the challenge of how to foster greater happiness. This chapter discusses why some people are happier than others, focusing on the distinctive ways that happy and unhappy individuals construe themselves and others, respond to social comparisons, make decisions, and self-reflect. We suggest that, despite several barriers to increased well-being, less happy people can strive successfully to be happier by learning a variety of effortful strategies and practicing them with determination and commitment. The sustainable happiness model (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005) provides a theoretical …