Positive Psychology and Happiness Measurement
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Questions and Answers

What does operationalization in psychology primarily involve?

  • Studying positive experiences
  • Creating new psychological theories
  • Measuring indicators to infer latent constructs (correct)
  • Directly measuring abstract constructs

What is a key reason that happiness and well-being are difficult to measure directly?

  • They have no associated surveys
  • They are too simple to quantify
  • They are latent constructs (correct)
  • They can be directly observed

Which type of reliability assesses the correlation of scores from two different time points?

  • Internal consistency
  • Interrater reliability
  • Split-half reliability
  • Test-retest reliability (correct)

What does systematic measurement error relate to?

<p>Responses that skew towards a certain bias (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is true about internal consistency?

<p>It assesses how items within a measure correlate with each other (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does validity assess in psychological measurement?

<p>How much a measure correlates with a gold standard (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What phenomenon causes people to believe they are better than average?

<p>Positive illusion bias (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does content validity refer to?

<p>The assessment of how items face value relate to the target construct (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which method can help standardize evaluations of how people perceive themselves?

<p>Aggregating multiple informants (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which statement best describes random measurement error?

<p>It arises from unpredictable influences on scores (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a potential negative consequence of positive illusions?

<p>Risky behavior (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which type of thinking involves believing in one's ability to achieve set goals?

<p>Agentic thinking (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of optimistic individuals regarding negative outcomes?

<p>They attribute negative outcomes to external factors (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between hope and well-being?

<p>Hope is positively correlated with well-being (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the concept of positive comparisons based on?

<p>Reflecting on oneself using standards set by others or oneself (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does unrealistic optimism often lead to?

<p>Engagement in risky choices (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What percentage of subjective well-being (SWB) is considered heritable?

<p>50% (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which factor significantly contributed to the lower concordance rate at time two?

<p>Environmental influences (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the heritability range for subjective well-being based on multiple meta-analyses?

<p>32-41% (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which statement regarding cheerfulness and subjective well-being is incorrect?

<p>Cheerfulness contributes greatly to SWB. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are shared environmental factors?

<p>Common experiences among family members. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does an internal perceived locus of control imply?

<p>You think you are responsible for the good things in your life. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the stress-diathesis model describe?

<p>Genetic predispositions interact with environmental stressors. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does heritability assess?

<p>Relative contributions of genes to traits. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does setting self-concordant goals affect basic needs?

<p>It positively influences the satisfaction of the need for autonomy. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a limitation of behavior genetic designs mentioned?

<p>They cannot capture shared pre-adoption environment. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does self-esteem primarily reflect?

<p>Evaluations of oneself. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How are high self-esteem individuals expected to respond to the me/positive condition?

<p>Faster response times. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What correlation exists between explicit self-esteem and well-being?

<p>Moderately positive correlation. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a possible issue with measuring implicit self-esteem?

<p>It may be influenced by distractions or mood. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does research suggest about implicit self-esteem and the experience of negative emotions?

<p>It predicts daily negative emotion experience. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a limitation in the relationship between IAT scores and subjective well-being (SWB)?

<p>Name/letter liking can skew results. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What correlation was found between life satisfaction and affective balance in the study?

<p>Positive correlation of 0.32 for positive affect and negative correlation of -0.59 for negative affect (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which aspect of culture plays a greater role in life satisfaction according to the findings?

<p>Emotions are more influential in individualistic cultures (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does culture influence goals related to well-being?

<p>Asian Americans prioritize others' happiness more than American participants (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was found regarding self-esteem in different cultures?

<p>Self-esteem and subjective well-being are higher in western cultures (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does tactical self-enhancement refer to?

<p>Self-enhancement techniques based on cultural values that are considered important (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements best describes self-serving attributional bias?

<p>Attributing positive events to oneself and negative events to external factors (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How is the correlation between hedonic balance and life satisfaction moderated by culture?

<p>It's stronger for individualistic cultures than for collectivistic cultures (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The findings from Schimmack et al. suggest which personality trait has a negative correlation with hedonic balance?

<p>Neuroticism (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Positive Psychology

  • A new branch of psychology focuses on people's strengths and positive functioning
  • Aims to study positive experiences that facilitate well-being and happiness

Operationalization of Happiness and Well-being

  • Happiness and well-being are latent constructs - abstract and cannot be directly measured or observed
  • We use indicators (e.g., surveys) to infer information about latent constructs
  • Measurement error exists in self-report scores, making them inaccurate reflections of the true score
    • Random measurement error is unpredictable and unrelated to the construct
    • Systematic measurement error is related to the construct, like response bias

Reliability

  • Assess how much random measurement error is present in a person's score
    • Split-half reliability compares two halves of a survey, ideally with a correlation greater than +0.70
    • Test-retest reliability assesses scores at different time points
      • Short intervals reveal reliability
      • Long intervals reveal stability (whether the measured construct has truly changed)
    • Interrater reliability assesses differences in measurements between raters (Kappa K = 1.0)
    • Internal consistency assesses how much items in a measure correlate with each other (Cronbach's ⍺ > +0.70)

Validity

  • Assess how much non-random measurement error is present
    • Content validity assesses if items measure the construct at face value (face validity)
    • Construct validity assesses if the operationalization matches the theoretical definition of the construct
    • Criterion validity assesses how much a measure correlates with a gold-standard measure

Heritability of Subjective Well-Being (SWB)

  • Twin studies found that around 50% of SWB is heritable, with 50% attributed to environmental factors
  • This suggests a strong genetic influence, but not absolute determination
  • Criticisms of this research include:
    • Small sample size
    • Only two time points, questioning the validity of the findings
    • Environmental factors play a role, evidenced by lower concordance rates at later time points

Cheerfulness vs. SWB

  • Cheerfulness, a tendency towards positive emotions, displays lower heritability than SWB
  • Shared environment influences emotions and moods as much as genes

Meta-analysis of Heritability

  • Meta-analysis of twin studies suggests a 32-41% heritability for SWB
  • Controlling for measurement error, this estimate rises to 50%
  • This confirms that genetics play a significant role, but environment remains influential

Environmental Influences

  • Shared environmental factors affect everyone in a family, while non-shared factors are unique to each individual
  • Measurement error also contributes to variations in heritability estimates

Gene-Environment Interactions

  • Stress-diathesis model highlights the interplay between genes and environmental stressors
  • A genetically predisposed vulnerability can manifest when triggered by environmental stress

Self-Concordant Goals

  • Goals aligned with personal values, interests, and needs contribute significantly to well-being
  • Associated with an internal perceived locus of control (believing in one's ability to control positive outcomes)
  • Self-concordant goals are linked to:
    • Increased effort towards achieving goals
    • Satisfaction of basic needs, including autonomy

Self-Esteem

  • Reflects our evaluations of ourselves, can be both trait-based (global or domain-specific) and state-based (context-specific)
  • Both cognitive and affective components, and manifests explicitly and implicitly

Explicit Self-Esteem

  • Moderately correlated with well-being, both self-reported and observed by others

Implicit Self-Esteem

  • Shows a weak correlation with well-being
  • Correlation varies depending on the measures used
  • Some studies suggest implicit self-esteem may be a predictor of negative emotions and somatic symptoms

Challenges in Measuring Self-Esteem

  • Positive illusions bias can contaminate self-reported measures
  • Difficulty in standardizing "average person" for comparisons

Positive Thinking

  • Positive correlation exists between optimism and measures of life satisfaction, positive affect, and reduced negative affect
  • Optimists expect good things to happen and attribute positive outcomes to internal factors and negative outcomes to external factors
  • Self-enhancement can sometimes lead to unrealistic optimism and self-serving biases, potentially causing risky choices

Hope

  • Hoping for positive outcomes in the future through personal effort
  • Associated with pathways thinking (identifying multiple paths to achieving goals) and agentic thinking (believing in one's ability to achieve those goals)
  • Positively correlated with well-being

Positive Comparisons

  • Individuals compare themselves to standards they set, either self-defined or based on others
  • Influence individual well-being and life satisfaction

Cultural Influences on Well-Being

  • Relationship between affect and life satisfaction varies across cultures
  • Emotion plays a greater role in individualistic nations than collectivistic nations
  • Culture influences which goals are considered important for well-being

Cultural Influences on Self-Esteem

  • Western cultures generally exhibit higher SWB and self-esteem compared to Eastern cultures
  • Correlation between SWB and self-esteem is stronger in Western contexts
  • This could be due to differences in self-enhancement tendencies and cultural values of individualism vs. collectivism

Self-Enhancement

  • Universal self-enhancement exists, but the specific dimensions of enhancement vary across cultures (tactical self-enhancement)
  • Mutual enhancement (enhancing others) also differs culturally
  • Self-serving attributional bias (attributing positive events to oneself and negative events to external factors) is weaker in collectivistic cultures

"Unpackaging" Culture

  • To understand cultural effects on well-being, we need to go beyond broad cultural classifications
  • Examining specific cultural dimensions and their influence on individual and collective well-being
  • Exploring the interplay of cultural values, beliefs, practices, and social structures can unlock insights into the diverse pathways to a fulfilling life

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Description

Explore the key concepts of positive psychology, focusing on strengths and well-being. This quiz delves into the operationalization of happiness and the methods of measuring reliability in psychological constructs. Test your understanding of these vital topics in psychology.

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