Self- and peer-rated character strengths: How do they relate to satisfaction with life and orientations to happiness?

Abstract

This paper addresses the question as to whether previously reported findings on a positive relation between character strengths, satisfaction with life, and orientations to happiness (OTH) can be replicated for peer ratings of character strengths. A sample of 334 Swiss adults completed questionnaires and collected informant ratings by 634 peers. Selfand peer ratings converged well and suggest that, primarily: the strengths of hope, zest, and curiosity -but also gratitude and love -play key roles in the interplay of strengths and satisfaction with life. Peer ratings of strengths also related positively with the endorsement of a pleasurable, engaged, and meaningful life. Further analyses show that the OTH predict satisfaction with life beyond self-and peer-rated character strengths. There, the engaged life (i.e. endorsement of flow) was most relevant. This study supports earlier findings that argue for an important role of character strengths when describing the well-being of a person. AbstractThis paper addresses the question as to whether previously reported findings on a positive relation between character strengths, satisfaction with life and orientations to happiness can be replicated for peer-ratings of character strengths. A sample of 334 Swiss adults completed questionnaires and collected informant ratings by 634 peers. Self-and peer ratings converged well and suggest that, primarily: the strengths of hope, zest, and curiosity-but also gratitude and love-play key roles in the interplay of strengths and satisfaction with life. Peer-ratings of strengths also related positively with the endorsement of a pleasurable, engaged, and meaningful life. Further analyses show that the orientations to happiness predict satisfaction with life beyond self-and peer rated character strengths. There, the engaged life (i.e., endorsement of flow) was most relevant. This study supports earlier findings that argue for an important role of character strengths when describing the well-being of a person.Keywords: character strengths, life satisfaction, self and peer-ratings, VIA, well-being 4 Self-and peer-rated character strengths: How do they relate to satisfaction with life and orientations to happiness?The question of how individuals can achieve enduring happiness has been an important topic of discussion from the time of ancient philosophers to today's empirical researchers of various disciplines. Various aspects of well-being such as life satisfaction have been studied in relation to demographics, health issues, social contact, activity, personality and many other variables. Recently, the idea that traits valued as morally positive (strengths of character) are robustly related to satisfaction with life has gained considerable attention in the literature and encourages further research along these lines.Character strengths and life satisfaction. Virtues and character have become important topics of research in positive psychology (Dahlsgaard, Peterson, & Seligman, 2005). One influential contribution to this area is...

Character Education: A Role for Literature in Cultivating Character Strengths in Adolescence

“…Hope, together with love, gratitude, curiosity and zest are the character strengths whose levels share the strongest relationship to our subjective well-being (Park, Peterson & Seligman, 2004;Peterson, Ruch, Beerman, Park, & Seligman, 2007;Buschor, Proyer & Ruch, 2013). Subjective well-being is a holistic judgement based on high scores in positive emotion and satisfaction with our life, and lower scores on our negative emotion .…”

“…Many of the measurements for character strengths and its correlates rely on self-report so do these findings hold up, then, in peer-rated reports? A recent study of Swiss adults, including informant ratings, found that hope, zest, love, gratitude and curiosity play key roles in life satisfaction (Buschor, Proyer & Ruch, 2013). The peer ratings of strengths related positively with the individual's endorsement of a pleasurable, engaged and meaningful life.…”

“…The peer ratings of strengths related positively with the individual's endorsement of a pleasurable, engaged and meaningful life. Ultimately, people who are perceived by their peers to be hopeful, zestful, curious and grateful see themselves as more satisfied with their life in general (Buschor et al, 2013).…”

An examination of the relationship between emotional intelligence, positive affect and character strengths and virtues.

“…In this direction, research so far has shown contradicting results, although several studies show that the endorsement of character strengths, such as hope, zest or love, is significantly related to a higher degree of well-being and Positive Affect (PA) (e.g., Buschor et al, 2013;. At the same time, some authors have found that hope, zest, love, social intelligence, perseverance, and those strenghts related to the use and acquisition of knowledge seem to be the most related character strengths to PA while other authors find that all strengths result significantly and directly related to PA (Azañedo, 2014;.…”

Самооцінка «сильних» Рис Характеру Стосовно Гелотофобії, Гелотофілії Та Катагеластицизму

“…C. Peterson and M. Seligman (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) refer to the moral character of humor and its role in "making the human condition more bearable by drawing attention to its contradictions, by sustaining good cheer in the face of despair, by building social bonds, and by lubricating social interaction" (p. 530). Humor is considered to be a form of manifestation of the positive personality functioning and a sign of mental health (Buschor, Proyer & Ruch, 2013;Niemiec, 2013).…”