Chapter Thirteen

Question 1

cognitive components of happiness

Answer 1

consists of judgements that one’s life has purpose and meaning and has been so called the life-satisfaction component

Question 2

affective components of happiness

Answer 2

consists of the ratio of a person’s positive emotions to their negative emotions averaged over time

Question 3

seligman’s three main routes to happiness

Question 4

happiness correlation with social desirability

Answer 4

measures of happiness do correlate with social desirability (people who score high on social desirability also score high on self-reported happiness scales)

Question 5

positive illusions

Answer 5

one having a positive view of oneself (part of being happy)

Question 6

research on the causal relationship between happiness and well-being

Answer 6

• longitudinal study: people are measured on two occasions separated in time and if happiness precedes success in life, then there is evidence of causal direction
• experimental study: happiness is manipulated for half of the sample and some outcome is measured. if outcome is higher in the group undergoing happiness induction than the control group, then there is evidence of a causal direction

Question 7

the causal relation between happiness and well-being

Answer 7

• longitudinal studies showed that happiness leads to positive outcomes in many areas of life (helpful, altruistic)
• reciprocal causality

Question 8

what is known about happy people?

Answer 8

• men are happier than women
• circumstances that make people happy change with age
• ethnicity does not correlate with well-being

Question 9

does money make people happy? (myers)

Answer 9

• wealthier countries do indeed have higher average levels of life satisfaction than poorer countries
• below a very low income level, a person is very unlikely to be happy

Question 10

personality and well-being (costa and mcrae)

Answer 10

• made specific predictions about how extraversion and neuroticism influence happiness
• found that extraversion influenced a person’s positive emotions and that neuroticism influenced a person’s negative emotions
• the right combination of traits (high extra, low neuro) contribute much more to happiness than other factors

Question 11

depression

Answer 11

where a person feels sad, hopeless, or empty most of the time, affecting how they live their everyday lives

Question 12

diathesis-stress model

Answer 12

• suggests that there is a preexisting vulnerability, or diathesis, present among people who become later depressed
• stressful life event must occur to trigger the depression
• both stress and diathesis have to occur together to trigger depression

Question 13

beck’s cognitive theory

Answer 13

• suggests that vulnerability lies in a particular cognitive schema (mental blueprint) for interacting with the world
• three important areas of life are most influenced by the depressive cognitive schema (cognitive triad): making arbitrary influences, personalizing, catastrophizing

Question 14

making arbitrary influences (cognitive triad)

Answer 14

jumping to a negative conclusion, even when evidence doesn’t support it

Question 15

personalizing

Answer 15

assuming that everything is your fault

Question 16

catastrophizing

Answer 16

assuming the worse will always happen

Question 17

automatic negative thoughts

Answer 17

quickly applied cognitive distortions (negative) outside of immediate awareness

Question 18

cognitive distortions of depressed people

Answer 18

-“i’m no good”
-“the world is against me”
-“my future is bleak”

Question 19

neurotransmitter theory of depression

Answer 19

• holds that depression may be a result of NT imbalance at the synapses of the nervous system

Question 20

NTs thought to be most involved with depression

Answer 20

norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine

Question 21

affect intensity

Answer 21

a description of people who are either high or low on how much they experience their emotions

Question 22

high affect intensity individuals

Answer 22

• experience their emotions strongly and are emotionally reactive/variable
• “way up” when they are feeling up and the latter

Question 23

low affect intensity individuals

Answer 23

• experience their emotions mildly with only gradual fluctuations/minor reactions
• calm and stable, do not experience negative emotions
• do not experience peaks of enthusiasm, joy, etc.

Question 24

how affect intensity is measured

Answer 24

researchers can measure people’s moods across time longitudinally and experimentally

Question 25

advantages of high affect intensity

Answer 25

• get a lot of zest out of life
• peaks of enthusiasm, joy, etc.

Question 26

disadvantages of high affect intensity

Answer 26

• prone to strong negative emotional reactions such as sadness, guilt, and anxiety
• frequent experiences of extreme emotions
• exhibit physical symptoms that result from their chronic emotional lifestyles

Question 27

advantages of low affect intensity

Answer 27

• stable and do not typically get upset very easily even when negative events happen

Question 28

disadvantages of low affect intensity

Answer 28

• fail to experience their positive emotions very strongly (lack the peaks of zest, enthusiasm, emotional engagement, and joy)

Question 29

emotional content and style

Answer 29

• person low in affect intensity has an emotional life that is characterized by its enduringness, evenness, and lack of fluctuation.
• person high on the affect intensity dimension has an emotional life characterized by abruptness, changeableness, and volatility.