Myers Lecture: Teaching Subjective Well-Being Ed Diener

1. Myers Lecture: Teaching Subjective Well-Being Ed Diener Smiley Distinguished Professor of Psychology University of Illinois Meeting: Association for Psychological Science, Chicago, Illinois, May 22-24, 2008

2. My Gratitude To Carol and David Myers!

3. Happiness • Question of the ages: What is the good life? One answer – Happiness Science is starting to provide answers: • What is happiness? • Is it good to possess? • What cuases it?

4. Exciting, Important Scientific Area! • Possibly the most important thing you can teach students about their lives • Involves material from all of psychology – cognitive, bio, clinical, developmental, et cetera • Great for class discussions: There is existing science, but also many unanswered questions

5. Educational Levels • High School • Undergrad modules • 1 to 5 lectures for larger courses -- Intro, social, developmental, cognitive, etc. • Focused undergraduate course • SWB, adjustment, positive psychology • Graduate seminar

6. ResourcesEd Diener websitehttp://www.psych.uiuc.edu/~ediener/E. Diener & R. Biswas-DienerHappiness book 2008

7. Wiley/Blackwell (Sept., 2008)

8. Interesting Studies! • There are lots of fun studies • Nun study • Colonoscopy & memory And • There are lots of open research questions • E.G., When is happiness beneficial?

9. Major Happiness Topics 1. History of the field 2. Defining, measuring, methods 3. Psychological processes 4. National accounts of SWB 5. Benefits of happiness 6. Causes of happiness

10. Is Happiness Desirable?

11. Flaubert’s Error To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost. Gustave Flaubert

12. Dalai Lama “Stupid Happiness”

13. 2. Benefits of Positive SWB Social relationships Work and income Health & longevity Societal benefits • Causal direction? • Longitudinal, lab experiments, quasi-experiments

14. Social Benefits Happy people more likely to have: Self-confidence, leadership More friends Warmth, sociability

15. Work Success A. Higher supervisor ratings B. Organizational citizenship Example: Helping others on the job C. Higher income

16. College Entry Cheerfulness, and Income 19 yearslater Diener, Nickerson, Lucas, & Sandvik (2002)

17. Example Student Discussion: Why might happy people earn more than unhappy people?

18. Health & Longevity The Nun Study Dr. Snowdon with Sisters Agnes and Gertrude

19. Longevity: The Nun Study Danner, Snowden, & Friesen, U Kentucky 1. Nuns autobiographies at age 22 Expression of positive emotions 2. Happy and less happy nuns living in same life circumstances through lifespan How long do they live?

20. Longevity inThe Nun Study Survival Rate at Age:8593 Most Cheerful Quartile 79% 52% Least Cheerful 54% 18% Danner, Snowdon, & Friesen

21. Psychologists Happy live about 5 years longer (Sarah Pressman)

22. Societal Benefits of Happiness • Volunteering • Pro-peace attitudes • Cooperative attitudes

23. Optimal Happiness (Oishi, Diener, & Lucas, 2007) Sometimes “8’s” achieve more Some “negative” emotions are functional and appropriate

24. Example Student Discussion When is it better not to be too happy? When are negative emotions beneficial?

25. 3. Some Causes of Happiness? • Social relationships • Temperament/adaptation • Money • Society & Culture • Positive thinking styles

26. 1. Strong Social Relationships Every single one of the happiest people we studied have good social relationships

27. GIVING social support: People who help others live longer and are happier!

28. 2. Temperament – A strong influence on people’s moods

29. Temperament“Identical” (Monozygotic) Twins

30. Ed’s Daughters: Clinical Psychologist and Developmental Psychologist

31. Inborn Temperament • Identical twins reared apart are much more similar in happiness than fraternal twins reared together • Heritability – 20 to 50 percent of individual differences in happiness

32. Daily moods of a 20-year old

33. Unemployment

34. Example Student Discussion When can you change your level of happiness? When is inborn temperament dominant?

35. 3. Money

36. But Caveats About Money! • Declining marginal utility • Toxicity of materialism

37. Example Student Discussion How much money is enough for happiness? Can you have too much?

38. 4. Society Influences our Happiness! The individual bias in individualistic societies – happiness is within you only

39. National SWB: 0 – 10 Scale

40. Denmark 8.0 Switzerland 7.5 Canada 7.4 United States 7.2 Togo 3.2 Sierra Leone 3.6 Zimbabwe 3.8 West Bank 4.7 Life Evaluation Ladder

42. 5. Cognition:Positive Mental Outlook • The habit of seeing the glass half-full • Seeing opportunities, not threats • Generally trusting and liking oneself and others

43. Cognition: AIM Model • Attention • Interpretation • Memory

44. Basic Cognition: AIM Model • Attention • Gorilla basketball study (Simon) • Interpretation • “They saw a game” • Memory • Remembering vacation (Wirtz) • Remembering partner (Oishi)

45. Positive Cognition: AIM Model • Attention • Seeing the positive & beauty • Interpretation • Not putting a negative spin on too many things • Memory • Savoring rather than ruminating

46. Example Student Discussion When is happiness caused by your outlook and when is it due to what is objectively happening to you? When is each important?

47. Student Exercise Complete the Positive and Negative Thinking Scales (appendix), and score and discuss Discussion: When and why is positive thinking beneficial?

48. Conclusion: True Wealth-- Psychological Wealth • Material sufficiency • Values, meaning and purpose • Loving social relationships • Spirituality • Physical & mental health • Happiness and life satisfaction

49. Conclusions • You and your students can have a lot of fun with this topic! • It can help students live a better life! • You can review many psychological concepts to understand well-being