Valuing Happiness is Not a Good Way of Pursuing Happiness, but Prioritizing Positivity is: A Replication Study

Hansenne, Michel

doi:10.5334/pb.1036

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Previous work has shown that extremely valuing happiness is related to lower levels of psychological well-being and life satisfaction (Catalino et al, 2014; Hansenne, 2021; Humphrey et al, 2022; Luhmann et al, 2016; Mauss et al, 2011) and more depressive symptoms (Bardeen & Fergus, 2020; Fergus & Bardeen, 2016; Gentzler et al, 2019; Humphrey et al, 2022; Mahmoodi Kahriz et al, 2020). Given that concern about happiness, but not aspiring to happiness, was linked with lower well-being in the current work, it appears that the original findings on extremely valuing happiness were driven by concern about happiness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many people value happiness (Eid & Diener, 2001; Hornsey et al, 2018; Oishi & Gilbert, 2016; Tamir, 2009), but this value appears to backfire at extreme levels (Ford, 2019; Ford & Mauss, 2014; Gruber et al, 2011), at least in Western cultural contexts (Ford, Dmitrieva, et al, 2015). Specifically, people who value happiness to an extreme degree have been found to be less likely to attain happiness in the long term as shown by lower levels of psychological well-being and life satisfaction (Catalino et al, 2014; Ford, Dmitrieva, et al, 2015; Hansenne, 2021; Humphrey et al, 2022; Luhmann et al, 2016; Mauss et al, 2011) and more depressive symptoms (Bardeen & Fergus, 2020; Fergus & Bardeen, 2016; Gentzler et al, 2019; Humphrey et al, 2022; Mahmoodi Kahriz et al, 2020).…”

Section: Valuing Happinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unpacking the pursuit of happiness: Being concerned about happiness but not aspiring to happiness is linked with negative meta-emotions and worse well-being.

Zerwas,

Ford,

John

et al. 2024

Emotion

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Previous work suggests that sometimes the more people value happiness, the less happy they are. For whom and why is this the case? To answer these questions, we examined a model of happiness pursuit that disentangles two previously conflated individual differences related to valuing happiness. The first individual difference operates at the strength of the value itself and involves viewing happiness as a very important goal (i.e., aspiring to happiness). The second individual difference occurs later in the process of pursuing happiness and involves judging one's levels of happiness (i.e., concern about happiness). This model predicts that aspiring to happiness is relatively innocuous. Conversely, being concerned about happiness leads people to judge their happiness, thereby infusing negativity (i.e., negative metaemotions) into potentially positive events, which, in turn, interferes with well-being. We tested these hypotheses using cross-sectional, daily-diary, and longitudinal methods in student and community samples, collected between 2009 and 2020, which are diverse in gender, ethnicity, age, and geographic location (N total = 1,815). In Studies 1a and 1b, aspiring to happiness and concern about happiness represented distinct individual differences. In Study 2, concern about happiness (but not aspiring to happiness) was associated with lower well-being cross-sectionally and longitudinally. In Study 3, these links between concern about happiness and worse well-being were partially accounted for by experiencing greater negative meta-emotions during daily positive events. These findings suggest that highly valuing happiness is not inherently problematic; however, concern and judgment about one's happiness can undermine it.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Valuing Happinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking the pursuit of happiness: Being concerned about happiness but not aspiring to happiness is linked with negative meta-emotions and worse well-being.

Zerwas,

Ford,

John

et al. 2024

Emotion

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…For instance, savoring was demonstrated to positively correlate with higher levels of life satisfaction [35] and well-being [36,37]. Similarly, prioritizing positivity was positively associated with subjective happiness, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being [38]. Gratitude too seems to be reliably associated with higher life satisfaction [39].…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 93%

Seeking Causality in the Links between Time Perspectives and Gratitude, Savoring the Moment and Prioritizing Positivity: Initial Empirical Test of Three Conceptual Models

Burzynska-Tatjewska

Matthews

Stolarski

2022

IJERPH

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We provide an initial empirical test of three conceptual models reflecting possible patterns of causality effects in the relationships between time perspective (TP), gratitude, savoring the moment, and prioritizing positivity (referred to as well-being boosters, WBBs), and mental well-being. The first one, trait-behavior model, states trait TPs increase the tendency to use specific WBBs in order to increase mental well-being. The second model, the accumulation model, proposes that a regular practice of particular WBBs fosters adaptive TPs which in turn impact well-being. The third model, the feedback loop, suggests that WBBs and positive TPs reciprocally strengthen one another and together contribute to higher mental well-being. Participants (N = 206; Mage = 30.90, SD = 8.39, 74% females) filled questionnaires measuring TPs, WBBs, and well-being twice, in a one-year interval. Using cross-lagged panel analyses we examined the direction of causation in the relationships among the variables. Past-Positive had a significant cross-lagged effect on gratitude, Present-Fatalistic had a significant effect on savoring. Both Past-Negative and Present-Fatalistic perspectives displayed significant causal effects on well-being. The results partly support the trait-behavior model. However, given that the second wave was conducted shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, further studies are required to better understand the interplay between the studied traits.

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How to be happy from east to west: social and flexible pursuit of happiness is associated with positive effects of valuing happiness on well-being

Zhang,

Kahriz,

McCabe

et al. 2024

Curr Psychol

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Recent evidence has suggested that valuing happiness to an extreme degree has a potential downside in Western but not in East Asian countries. We tested how valuing happiness relates to well-being in mainland China (N = 721) and Western countries (UK, US, and Canada) (N = 349) in two online survey studies. We predicted that pursuing happiness in a socially engaged yet flexible (i.e., feasible and achievable) way underlies a positive association between valuing happiness and well-being. Indeed, in study 1, a socially engaged definition of happiness mediated the relationship between valuing happiness and well-being in a Chinese sample. Specifically, increased valuing happiness was associated with a higher socially engaged definition of happiness, which in turn was related to higher well-being. Demonstrating the role of flexibility in pursuing happiness, Chinese participants reported more items overall and more feasible items to achieve happiness, though not more social items than participants in the Western sample). In study 2, we repeated the study during the Covid-19 lockdown in Chinese (N = 308) and Western (N = 185) samples and also tested if participants were able to adopt a mindset of flexibly pursuing happiness by adding a survey with social actions that were still feasible (e.g., a call instead of meeting in-person). We found the association holds in times of emotional stress and social restrictions in both samples, suggesting that people flexibly pursue social activities that relate to happiness. We propose that a socially engaged but also feasible and flexible way to pursue happiness is associated with higher well-being.

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Valuing Happiness is Not a Good Way of Pursuing Happiness, but Prioritizing Positivity is: A Replication Study

Cited by 3 publications

References 45 publications

Unpacking the pursuit of happiness: Being concerned about happiness but not aspiring to happiness is linked with negative meta-emotions and worse well-being.

Unpacking the pursuit of happiness: Being concerned about happiness but not aspiring to happiness is linked with negative meta-emotions and worse well-being.

Seeking Causality in the Links between Time Perspectives and Gratitude, Savoring the Moment and Prioritizing Positivity: Initial Empirical Test of Three Conceptual Models

How to be happy from east to west: social and flexible pursuit of happiness is associated with positive effects of valuing happiness on well-being

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