Biomedical subjects

S Lyubomirsky

Publications and source records attributed to S Lyubomirsky.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Why are some people happier than others? The role of cognitive and motivational processes in well-being.

Addressing the question of why some people are happier than others is important for both theoretical and practical reasons and should be a central goal of a comprehensive positive psychology. Following a construal theory of happiness, the author proposes that multiple cognitive and motivational processes moderate the impact of the objective environment on well-being. Thus, to understand why some people are happier than others, one must understand the cognitive and motivational processes that serve to maintain, and even enhance, enduring happiness and transient mood. The author's approach has been to explore hedonically relevant psychological processes, such as social comparison, dissonance reduction, self-reflection, self-evaluation, and person perception, in chronically happy and unhappy individuals. In support of a construal framework, self-rated happy and unhappy people have been shown to differ systematically in the particular cognitive and motivational strategies they use. Promising research directions for positive psychology in pursuit of the sources of happiness, as well as the implications of the construal approach for prescriptions for enhancing well-being, are discussed.

Cognition↗

PubMed1999

Changes in attractiveness of elected, rejected, and precluded alternatives: a comparison of happy and unhappy individuals.

In 3 studies the authors compared the responses of self-rated happy and unhappy students in situations involving choice. In Study 1, high school seniors evaluated colleges after applying for admission and then later after making their selections. Happy students tended to be more satisfied than unhappy ones with the colleges they ultimately chose and those they ultimately rejected, and they more sharply devalued the colleges that rejected them. Studies 2 and 3 dealt with postdecisional consequences of less consequential decisions about fancy desserts. In Study 2, unhappy participants sharply derogated the desserts they rejected or were denied, relative to those selected by or for them, whereas happy participants showed no such derogation. These group differences, moreover, proved to be largely independent of self-esteem and optimism. The design of Study 3 helped explicate underlying mechanisms by inducing both groups to distract themselves or to self-reflect. Doing so eliminated all group differences. Implications of the results for the link between cognitive processes and hedonic consequences are discussed.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1999

Why ruminators are poor problem solvers: clues from the phenomenology of dysphoric rumination.

The phenomenology of dysphoric rumination and its consequences for problem solving were explored in 3 studies. In Study 1, self-focused rumination, compared with distraction, led dysphoric participants to rate their own biggest problems as severe and unsolvable and to report a reduced likelihood of actually implementing their solutions. Clues into the mechanisms behind these findings were explored in Study 2. The results showed that dysphoric ruminative thought is characterized by a focus on personal problems combined with a negative tone, self-criticism, and self-blame for problems as well as reduced self-confidence, optimism, and perceived control. Finally, Study 3 revealed a direct relationship between the negatively biased content of ruminative thoughts and reduced willingness to solve one's problems. Implications of these findings for the consequences of self-focused rumination are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Effects of ruminative and distracting responses to depressed mood on retrieval of autobiographical memories.

Four studies explored the effects of self-focused rumination vs. distraction on dysphoric and nondysphoric students' retrieval of autobiographical memories. Dysphorics induced to ruminate subsequently recalled more negatively biased autobiographical memories in free recall (Study 1) and in response to prompts for memories (Study 2) than either dysphorics who first distracted themselves from their mood or nondysphoric controls. In Study 3, dysphoric rumination led students to recall negative events as occurring relatively frequently in their lives and positive events as occurring relatively infrequently. In Study 4, judges scored transcripts of participants' thoughts as expressed aloud while engaging in rumination or distraction. Codings revealed that dysphoric ruminators spontaneously generated memories that were more negative than those of the other three groups. Implications of a ruminative response style for progress in therapy, as well as for enhancing dysphoria and negatively biased cognitive processes, are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Individual psychopathology relative to reports of unwanted sexual experiences as predictor of a bulimic eating pattern.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to determine whether family and individual psychopathology mediate the relationship between unwanted sexual experiences and bulimic eating behavior. METHOD: Sixty-one women diagnosed with bulimia nervosa and 92 women students and university staff who had never met critia for an eating disorder completed standardized questionnaires on eating behavior, sexual abuse, individual psychopathology, and family psychopathology. RESULTS: Linear regression showed bulimic eating behavior to be significantly related to sexual abuse (beta = .40; p < .0001; R2 = 8.9%). However, multiple regression analyses with family and individual psychopathology as independent variables in addition to sexual abuse showed only individual psychopathology to predict significantly abnormal eating behavior (beta = .53, p < .0001; overall R2 = 49.6%). Specifically, depressive symptoms, suicidality, and impulsive behavior, but not substance abuse, were the components of individual psychopathology most directly associated with bulimia. DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that the primary focus in treatment should not be the traumatic events themselves, but their long-term consequences for the individual.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Hedonic consequences of social comparison: a contrast of happy and unhappy people.

Two studies tested the hypothesis that self-rated unhappy individuals would be more sensitive to social comparison information than would happy ones. Study 1 showed that whereas unhappy students' affect and self-assessments were heavily affected by a peer who solved anagrams either faster or slower, happy students' responses were affected by the presence of a slower peer only. These between-group differences proved to be largely independent of 2 factors associated with happiness, i.e., self-esteem and optimism. Study 2 showed that whereas the unhappy group's responses to feedback about their own teaching performance were heavily influenced by a peer who performed even better or even worse, happy students' responses again were moderated only by information about inferior peer performance. Implications for our appreciation of the link between cognitive processes and "hedonic" consequences are discussed.

Achievement↗

PubMed1995

Effects of self-focused rumination on negative thinking and interpersonal problem solving.

Hypotheses about the effects of self-focused rumination on interpretations of events and interpersonal problem solving were tested in 3 studies with dysphoric and nondysphoric participants. Study 1 supported the hypothesis that dysphoric participants induced to ruminatively self-focus on their feelings and personal characteristics would endorse more negative, biased interpretations of hypothetical situations than dysphoric participants induced to distract themselves from their mood, or nondysphoric participants. Study 2 showed that dysphoric participants who ruminated were more pessimistic about positive events in their future than the other 3 groups. Study 3 showed that dysphoric ruminating participants generated less effective solutions to interpersonal problems than the other 3 groups. In Studies 1 and 3, dysphoric ruminating participants also offered the most pessimistic explanations for interpersonal problems and hypothetical negative events. In all 3 studies, dysphoric participants who distracted were as optimistic and effective in solving problems as non-dysphoric participants.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Self-perpetuating properties of dysphoric rumination.

Hypotheses about the self-perpetuating properties of ruminative responses to depressed mood were tested in 2 laboratory studies and 2 questionnaire studies with dysphoric and nondysphoric Ss. Studies 1 and 2 supported the hypothesis that dysphorics induced to engage in self-focused rumination would report reduced willingness to engage in pleasant, distracting activities that could lift their moods, even if they believed they would enjoy such activities. Studies 3 and 4 confirmed the hypothesis that dysphorics induced to ruminate in response to their moods would feel they were gaining insight into their problems and their emotions. Therefore, they might have avoided distraction because they believed it would interfere with their efforts to understand themselves. Depressed mood alone, in the absence of rumination, was not associated with either lower willingness to participate in distractions or an enhanced sense of insightfulness.

Analysis of Variance↗