PMID: 11315250Apr 24, 2001Paper

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

The American Psychologist
S Lyubomirsky

Abstract

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.

References

May 31, 1975·Lancet·H J Eysenck
Aug 1, 1978·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·P BrickmanR Janoff-Bulman
Nov 1, 1976·International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics·S Kramer, D F Herring
Jul 1, 1975·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·L Eaves, H Eysenck
Jul 1, 1992·The Journal of Hand Surgery·P W Brand
May 1, 1991·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·A P FiskeS T Fiske
Oct 1, 1990·Clinical Pediatrics·A J Schuman
Dec 1, 1990·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·D W GriffinL Ross
Jan 1, 1987·New Directions for Mental Health Services·A D Brooks
Jun 1, 1987·The British Journal of Social Psychology·M Argyle, J Crossland
Jul 1, 1986·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·Frederick X Gibbons
Aug 1, 1967·The Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry : Official Journal of the Histochemistry Society·P Van DuijnM Van der Ploeg
Mar 1, 1974·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·P D Cherulnik, M M Citrin
Mar 1, 1974·Carbohydrate Research·C J Michalski, A Dominas
Jan 1, 1967·Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics·S Lorand
May 1, 1969·The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Commonwealth·K A Barham
Jul 1, 1969·Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery·S J ThorrensJ E Bennett
May 1, 1984·Psychological Bulletin·E Diener
Jan 30, 1981·Science·A Tversky, D Kahneman
Mar 1, 1995·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·K M Sheldon, T Kasser
May 1, 1995·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·E Diener, F Fujita
May 18, 1996·Lancet·W I SchievinkJ L Atkinson
Dec 1, 1996·Journal of Personality·S E Taylor, D A Armor
Sep 25, 1997·Social Science & Medicine·S Folkman
Jan 7, 1998·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·S Lyubomirsky, L Ross
May 9, 1998·Journal of Affective Disorders·V GloaguenI M Blackburn
Sep 10, 1998·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·J C BrunsteinR Grässmann
Nov 14, 1998·Intensive & Critical Care Nursing : the Official Journal of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses·J Carver
Mar 13, 1999·The Journal of Social Psychology·L Lu
Apr 2, 1999·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·K M Sheldon, A J Elliot
Dec 11, 1986·Health Promotion·E Dekker
Jul 14, 1999·Behaviour Research and Therapy·J E Gillham, M E Seligman
Jul 6, 2000·International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders : Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity·P MystkowskiM W Schwartz
Feb 1, 1985·Journal of Personality Assessment·E DienerS Griffin
Dec 19, 2007·The American Psychologist·Kennon M SheldonCharles P Nichols
Dec 1, 1997·Trends in Ecology & Evolution·H Ellegren, B C Sheldon

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Feb 3, 2007·Quality of Life Research : an International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care and Rehabilitation·Jodie Butler, Joseph Ciarrochi
Feb 11, 2004·The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry·Gillian A King
Oct 27, 2005·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·Ulrich Schimmack, Shigehiro Oishi
Jul 15, 2004·Psychological Bulletin·Daniel HellerRemus Hies
Dec 15, 2005·Psychological Bulletin·Sonja LyubomirskyEd Diener
Apr 15, 2010·The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis·Michael D Yapko
Apr 12, 2013·Cognition & Emotion·Alison P LentonKatherine Power
Jul 5, 2011·The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine : Research on Paradigm, Practice, and Policy·Kristin LayousP Murali Doraiswamy
Jul 25, 2012·Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking·Ahmet Akın
Dec 23, 2006·BMJ : British Medical Journal·Kaare ChristensenJames W Vaupel
Feb 29, 2008·Canadian Journal on Aging = La Revue Canadienne Du Vieillissement·Ashli Watt, Candace Konnert
Jan 1, 2011·European Journal of Psychotraumatology·Cristina Castilla, Carmelo Vázquez
Dec 1, 2011·Quality of Life Research : an International Journal of Quality of Life Aspects of Treatment, Care and Rehabilitation·Christel M C van LeeuwenEline Lindeman
Oct 21, 2014·Journal of Happiness Studies·Tina L PetersonAnn W Nguyen
Feb 12, 2014·International Journal of Behavioral Medicine·Hairong NanIan McDowell
Mar 16, 2007·Journal of Happiness Studies·Keiko OtakeBarbara L Fredrickson
Oct 21, 2009·Journal of Youth and Adolescence·Katariina Salmela-Aro, Lotta Tynkkynen
Aug 14, 2012·Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry·Henian ChenPatricia Cohen
Mar 31, 2016·SpringerPlus·Ljiljana Kaliterna-Lipovčan, Zvjezdana Prizmić-Larsen
Feb 3, 2016·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience·Christina B Young, Robin Nusslock
Nov 21, 2015·Scientific Reports·Wataru SatoMotomi Toichi
Jan 13, 2015·Annual Review of Clinical Psychology·Sonja LyubomirskyS Katherine Nelson
Oct 27, 2015·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience·Yangmei LuoXiting Huang
Dec 29, 2006·International Journal of Aging & Human Development·Morris A OkunBarbara P Huff
Apr 4, 2014·The American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis·Nicole Ruysschaert
Feb 7, 2014·Health Care for Women International·Mijin ParkByunghyun Park
May 2, 2014·Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin·S Katherine NelsonSonja Lyubomirsky
May 18, 2017·Social Work in Health Care·David R HodgeAltaf Husain
Apr 23, 2009·Journal of Health Psychology·Erik AngnerJeroan J Allison
Dec 24, 2010·Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin·Alexander H JordanJames J Gross
Jan 7, 2003·International Journal of Aging & Human Development·Dolores PushkarMelinda Morros
Aug 29, 2007·Journal of Holistic Nursing : Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association·Linda L HalcónCindi C Claypatch
Dec 7, 2010·Personality and Social Psychology Review : an Official Journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc·Michael A Busseri, Stan W Sadava
Jun 1, 2014·Western Journal of Nursing Research·Eun-Ok ImWonshik Chee

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.

Related Papers

Journal of Gerontological Social Work
Rebecca G Judd, Brenda A Moore
American Journal of Mental Retardation : AJMR
L S Szymanski
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved