Deciphering Subjective Trajectories for Life Satisfaction Using Self–Versus–Normative Other Discrepancies, Self–Esteem and Hope

Abstract

Drawing on temporal and social comparison perspectives, we examined sources of the widespread belief that life gets better and better over time by determining how young adults evaluate their past, present and anticipated future life satisfaction (LS) relative to beliefs about normative others. We assessed whether patterns of subjective LS trajectories based on self-versus-normative other discrepancies varied as a function of self-esteem and whether such patterns were accounted for by hope, encompassing goal-related cognitions and motivations. University participants (n = 394) completed measures of their own and normative others' past, present and anticipated future LS, as well as self-esteem and hope scales. Results from latent growth curve analyses demonstrated that high-self-esteem and low-self-esteem individuals perceived normative others' LS as progressing on a similar upward subjective temporal trajectory; however, high-self-esteem individuals perceived self-improvement from past to present LS and self-consistency from present to future LS relative to others. Low-self-esteem individuals perceived self-consistency from past to present LS and self-improvement from present to future LS relative to others. These associations were accounted for by hope. This research highlights the utility of combining temporal and social comparison perspectives for understanding how people envision their LS unfolding over time. norm-adjusted LS, but were not significantly associated with the subjective trajectories based on ratings of normative others.Deciphering subjective trajectories 113

Life Gets Better and Better: Cultural Life Script Theory and Subjective Trajectories for Life Satisfaction

“…The belief that one's life becomes increasingly satisfying over time is found even among dispositionally pessimistic and clinically depressed individuals, despite the heightened negativity characteristic of both groups (Busseri, ; Busseri et al, ; Busseri & Peck, ). Further, this belief is found not only when individuals rate their own LS, but also when they evaluate the LS of normative ‘others’ (Choma, Busseri, & Sadava, ).…”

“…As a result, and consistent with self‐discrepancy theory (Higgins, ), an increasingly satisfying life is viewed both as an ideal way for one's life to unfold over time as well as an obligation (Busseri & Merrick, ). Suggesting the influence of social comparison processes, furthermore, an inclining subjective LS trajectory is seen by young adults as the normative way in which life unfolds over time for comparison others, deviation from which is linked with individuals' self‐esteem (Choma et al, ).…”

Do (Even) Depressed Individuals Believe That Life Gets Better and Better? The Link Between Depression and Subjective Trajectories for Life Satisfaction

“…Furthermore, self-evaluations of one’s life across subjective time have important implications for psychological functioning, including emotional experience, motivation, and self-regulation (Albert, 1977; Freund, 2006; Peetz & Wilson, 2009; Taylor, Neter, & Wayment, 1995; Wilson & Ross, 2001). It is surprising that although inclining subjective trajectories are commonly interpreted as an optimistic sign (Gallagher, Lopez, & Pressman, 2013; Lang, Weiss, Gerstorf, & Wagner, 2013; Moore, 2006), emerging evidence has indicated that such beliefs are an indication of distress and dysfunction rather than positive psychological health (Busseri, Choma, & Sadava, 2012; Choma, Busseri, & Sadava, 2014; Röcke & Lachman, 2008). For example, individuals who perceive their LS to be improving over time, particularly between their current and anticipated futures, are characterized by less positive psychological functioning (less positive affect, greater negative affect, lower self-esteem, less hope) compared with individuals who perceive their lives to be relatively stable over time—a pattern that has been observed on the basis of cross-sectional and longitudinal findings (Busseri, Choma, & Sadava, 2009a; Keyes & Ryff, 2000; Lachman, Röcke, Rosnick, & Ryff, 2008).…”

“…To do so, we evaluated ratings of past, current, and anticipated future LS from the first wave of the longitudinal survey as predictors of depression status at the second wave of the survey (approximately 10 years later) with controls for Wave 1 depression status and demographic variables. On the basis of previous research concerning the psychological implications of subjective LS trajectories (e.g., Busseri et al, 2009a; Choma et al, 2014), we expected they would have predictive utility above and beyond signaling the concurrent distress and dissatisfaction typical of clinical depression. Specifically, we predicted that the temporal-perspective LS ratings would play a unique role in predicting risk of depression over time.…”

Effects of viewing 9/11 footage on distress andIslamophobia: a temporally expanded approach

“…Given that temporally expanded approaches permit a more nuanced investigation of self-evaluations and their implications, we adopted a temporally expanded approach of perceived distress associated with 9/11. We modified the life satisfaction "self-anchoring ladders" (i.e., scales on which people rate their life satisfaction; see Busseri et al, 2009Busseri et al, , 2012Choma, Busseri, & Sadava, 2013;Kilpatrick & Cantril, 1960) to assess temporal perceptions of distress associated with 9/11 spanning 20 years: perceived distress of 9/11 ten years ago (2001), 5 years ago, present day (2011), and 5 years and 10 years in the anticipated future. As noted by previous researchers, most people perceive their stress stemming from 9/11 as diminishing over time (Schlenger et al, 2002;Schuster et al, 2001;Stein et al, 2004).…”