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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Does Health Insurance Make People Happier? Evidence From Massachusetts’ Healthcare Reform, Seonghoon Kim, Kanghyock Koh
Does Health Insurance Make People Happier? Evidence From Massachusetts’ Healthcare Reform, Seonghoon Kim, Kanghyock Koh
Research Collection School Of Economics
We study the effects of Massachusetts' healthcare reform on individuals' subjective well-being. Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we find that the reform significantly improved Massachusetts residents' overall life-satisfaction. This result is robust to various sensitivity checks and a falsification test. We also find that the reform improved mental health. An additional analysis on the Tennessee healthcare reform supports our findings' external validity. Using the reform as an instrument for health insurance coverage, we estimate its large impact on overall life-satisfaction. Our results provide novel evidence on the psychological consequences of Massachusetts' healthcare reform.
Did The Massachusetts Healthcare Reform Make People Happier?, Seonghoon Kim, Kanghyock Koh
Did The Massachusetts Healthcare Reform Make People Happier?, Seonghoon Kim, Kanghyock Koh
Research Collection School Of Economics
We study the effects of Massachusetts’ healthcare reform on individuals’ subjective well-being. Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we find that the reform significantly improved Massachusetts residents’ overall life-satisfaction. This result is robust to various sensitivity checks and falsification tests. We find consistent evidence from other healthcare reforms such as the 2014 Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion and the 2005 Tennessee Medicaid disenrollment, supporting our findings’ external validity. Our results provide novel evidence on the psychological consequences of recent healthcare reforms expanding health insurance coverage to the uninsured.
Positive Affect And Health: What Do We Know And Where Next Should We Go?, Sarah D. Pressman, Brooke N. Jenkins, Judith T. Moskowitz
Positive Affect And Health: What Do We Know And Where Next Should We Go?, Sarah D. Pressman, Brooke N. Jenkins, Judith T. Moskowitz
Psychology Faculty Articles and Research
Positive affect (PA) is associated with better health across a wide range of physical health outcomes. This review reflects on why the study of PA is an essential component of our understanding of physical health and expands on pathways that connect these two variables. To encourage forward movement in this burgeoning research area, measurement and design issues in the study of PA and health are discussed, as are the connections between PA and a range of different health outcomes. Plausible biological, social, and behavioral pathways that allow for positive feelings to get under the skin and influence physical wellness are …
What Does "Happiness" Prompt In Your Mind? Culture, Word Choice, And Experienced Happiness, Ji Eun Shin, Eunkook M. Suh, Kimin Eom, Heejung S. Kim
What Does "Happiness" Prompt In Your Mind? Culture, Word Choice, And Experienced Happiness, Ji Eun Shin, Eunkook M. Suh, Kimin Eom, Heejung S. Kim
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
What three words come to your mind in association with ‘‘happiness’’? We analyzed the 1563 words reported by 521 Korean and American participants in this free association task. The most frequently endorsed word was ‘‘family’’ in Korea, whereas the most popular word among Americans was ‘‘smile.’’ The overall frequency of social words(e.g., relationships, social emotions) reported by Koreans was higher, and the most often mentioned relationship type differed between the two groups (family in Korea; friend in the US). Nonetheless, both in Korea and the US, individuals who mentioned more social words were significantly more satisfied with their lives. The …
Gratitude Predicts Hope And Happiness: A Two-Study Assessment Of Traits And States, Charlotte Vanoyen-Witvliet, Fallon J. Richie, Lindsey M. Root Luna, Daryl R. Van Tongeren
Gratitude Predicts Hope And Happiness: A Two-Study Assessment Of Traits And States, Charlotte Vanoyen-Witvliet, Fallon J. Richie, Lindsey M. Root Luna, Daryl R. Van Tongeren
Faculty Publications
Gratitude is the appreciation of a gift received; happiness is the enjoyment of a present good; and hope is the desire for a valued future. Two studies investigated gratitude as a predictor of hope and happiness. In Study 1, hierarchical regressions (N = 181) revealed that trait gratitude exceeded other constructs (forgivingness, patience, self-control) in predicting trait hope and happiness. In Study 2, we experimentally tested the impact of a gratitude-related writing intervention on state hope and happiness. Participants (N = 153) first wrote about a current, meaningful, hoped-for outcome and completed state hope and happiness measures. Participants …
Does Savoring Mediate The Relationships Between Explanatory Style And Mood Outcomes?, Paul E. Jose, Bee T. Lim, Soyeon Kim, Fred B. Bryant
Does Savoring Mediate The Relationships Between Explanatory Style And Mood Outcomes?, Paul E. Jose, Bee T. Lim, Soyeon Kim, Fred B. Bryant
Psychology: Faculty Publications and Other Works
Research has shown that explanatory style predicts negative mood outcomes as well as positive mood outcomes, but the mechanisms by which this occurs are unclear. We investigated here whether the manner in which people savor life events might help explain these relationships. Specifically, we examined whether amplifying and dampening savoring mediated the associations between pessimistic and optimistic explanatory styles on the one hand, and positive and negative mood outcomes on the other. A sample of 103 university students completed self-report measures of explanatory style (ASQ), savoring (WOSC), and a variety of mood outcomes (i.e., happiness, life satisfaction, depression, and anxiety). …
The Benefits Of Humilty: Correlations With Gratitude, Happiness, And Joy, Brandy Hutton, Kirsha Johnson
The Benefits Of Humilty: Correlations With Gratitude, Happiness, And Joy, Brandy Hutton, Kirsha Johnson
2018 Symposium
Humility has long been overlooked in psychological studies but may have important benefits to our overall subjective well-being. The most widely accepted definition among researchers of humility includes viewing oneself realistically and accurately and involved focusing on others more than oneself. We conducted a two-month prospective study where 150 students filled out questionnaires at two separate time points. The questionnaires included the Hill Humility Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), The short version of the Gratitude, Resentment, and Appreciation Test (GRAT-S), the Personal Entitlement Scale (PES) and two joy scales (SJS and DJS) along with other measures. Partial correlations showed …