Eudaimonic Well-Being

Eudaimonic Well-Being

• An alternative perspective on happiness focuses on the actualization of human potential
• Argues that well-being isn't just about feeling good, but about living a meaningful and fulfilling life
• True happiness arises from expressing virtue and engaging in worthwhile activities

Eudaimonia

• Defined as fulfilling one's true nature, called daimon
• Achieved when life activities align with deep values
• Includes developing one's true self, engaging in activities for their own sake, and serving something larger than oneself

Relationship with Hedonic Well-Being

• Views diverge on how eudaimonic and hedonic well-being relate
• Eudaimonic well-being may include hedonic well-being
• They may be independent dimensions
• Eudaimonic well-being may reduce hedonic well-being
• The concepts and experiences may be identical

Nature as Process or Outcome

• Eudaimonic well-being can be viewed as a state or a process
• Prevailing thought constructs it as a state
• Some suggest it is more appropriate to view it as a process

Relationship with Personality

• Research explores if a connection exists between eudaimonic well-being and personality differences
• Research explores one's propensity to experience eudaimonic well-being through hedonic or eudaimonic orientation

Psychological Well-Being (PWB)

• PWB is a concept of well-being consisting of six components:
  • Self-acceptance: Positive evaluation of oneself and one's life
  • Personal growth
  • Purpose in life
  • Positive relations with others
  • Environmental mastery: Effectively manage one's life and environment
  • Autonomy
• Empirical support of the 6 factor model shows associations between 2 subscales of PWB and SWB

Authentic Happiness

• Seligman proposes authentic happiness has 3 routes
  • The pleasant life enables increased positive emotion and gratification
  • The good life enables constant absorption, engagement and flow
  • A meaningful life: using strengths in the service of something greater than oneself

Flow

• Flow relates to intense experiential involvement in an activity, physical or mental
• Flow attention is invested fully, and the person functions to their fullest capacity
• Has direct ties with consciousness and psychic energy
• Psychic entropy leads to depression and stress
• Psychic negentropy/flow enhances experiences

Conditions for Flow

• Structured activity with clear goals and immediate feedback
• Balance of challenges versus skills
• Ratio: high challenge, high skill
• Complete concentration; merging of action and awareness with no self-awareness
• Sense of control: Perceived balance between challenges and skills, strengthening a sense of control
• Transformation of time, distorting speeds
• Activity for the sake of activity

Autotelic Personality

• Traits like curiosity, persistence, low self-centeredness and intrinsic motivation make one more likely to reach flow

Demographics of Flow

• 10-15% of the US and European population have never experienced flow
• 10-15% experience flow every day
• Teenagers are happiest and most motivated when with friends
• Flow is most often experienced during sports, dance, sex, socializing, studying, working and reading

Activities Inhibit Flow

• Housework, watching TV and being idle

Benefits of Flow

• Can produce peak performance, enhanced skills, positive emotions

Unexplored Areas of Flow

• Micro flow, lasting seconds
• Group flow for collaborative work

Dangers of Flow

• Flow can be found in morally good and bad activities
• Can become addictive, impairing daily functioning

Applying Flow Theory

• 2 approaches to creating flow are suggested
  • Change environments to facilitate flow
  • Help others find flow

Meaning and Purpose in Life

• Meaning in life is essential for fulfillment
• Lack of meaning is associated with existential fear of death, negative mental health outcomes and reduced well-being
• Researchers focus on structure of personal meaning systems

Frankl's Contribution

• Victor Frankl's concept of the "will to meaning" identified 3 values of meaningful life: Creative, experiential and attitudinal

Common Sources of Meaning

• Later studies identified 7 common sources of meaning across cultures: achievement, acceptance, relationships, intimacy, religion, self-transcendence and fairness

Well-Being Components

• Well-being is a combination of happiness (SWB) and meaning (eudaimonia)
• 2 components of mental health were identified:
  • Happiness/SWB
  • Personal growth

Positive Impact of Purpose

• Having life purpose assists with coping with stress and resisting suicidal thoughts
• People with depression and hopelessness tend to use emotion-focused coping
• Avoidance strategies can lead to constructive actions and life-affirming

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

• Like Maslow, SDT proposes humans have 3 basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness

Existential Psychology

• Traditionally: focuses on the dark side of life
• Recently: merges with positive psychology to tackle tough topics, like death, freedom, isolation, meaninglessness, identity and happiness

Mature Happiness

• Authentic happiness comes from being true to oneself
• Eudaimonic happiness comes from virtuous deeds
• Chairnoic happiness: a happiness through spiritual gifts, beyond circumstances or suffering
• True happiness stems from serving something greater than oneself
• Growth includes positive and negative experiences

Authenticity and Risk

• Authenticity does not always lead to happiness
• People must risk being themselves and identity crises

Death and Psychology

• Awareness of mortality leads to anxiety, but death can be an avenue for growth and development
• Positive/good dying is linked to a "good life" and enhanced authenticity
• Managing theories suggest embracing death transforms productive energy

Attitudes Toward Death

• Neutral: natural part of life that motivates people to live fully
• Approach: belief in a pleasurable afterlife
• Escape: preferable to a miserable life

Terror Management Theory and Mortality

• Humans have biological need to survive
• Awareness causes anxiety

Integrating Well-Being

• Those who pursue eudaimonic goals score high on life satisfaction
• Those who pursue hedonic goals score high on positive effect and relaxation
• Pursuits are tied to growth, effort, and challenges

Critiques

• Approaches lack clarity and conceptual unity
• Studies use top-down analyses and focus on how people define happiness instead of what happiness means to them
• Well-being consists of 6 components considered to be neglected by the traditional hedonic paradigm
• Purpose in life can reduce suicidal thoughts
• Self-determination theory proposes well-being includes 3 psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness