L2 Measurement and Science Flashcards
Science
Biggest source of human progress, underestimated
Many influential figures in science not well known
Politics gets the attention over human progress, science
Scientific psychology
Systematic observation and measurement, recording observations, representative sampling, replication, questioning skepticism, testing alternative explanations
Growth of science of SWB
Started in 1984
14,000 studies in 2014
Types of studies on SWB
Correlational Qualitative Cross-cultural Longitudinal Experimental Experience-sampling
2 Versions of Happiness
- Eudaimonia
2. Hedonic well-being
Eudaimonia
The good life
Virtue, balance, skills
Purpose, meaning, self-examination
Aristotle
Hedonic well-being
Pleasant life
Epicureans, Bentham
Defining SWB
People’s evaluations of their lives, their appraisals of how good/bad their life is
Major Types/Categories of SWB
Life satisfaction Positive affect Low negative affect Domain satisfaction- marriage, health, work Optimism
Components of SWB
- positive feelings
- low negative feelings
- satisfaction
Hedonist
High positive affect, high please, low life satisfaction
Intense person
High positive affect and high negative affect
Positive and Negative Affect
Separable, not opposites 2 dimensions Spectrums, ranging from low to high on each dimension Can have combinations ex. low PA, low NA low PA, high NA high PA, low NA high PA, high PA
Sanguine
Happy
High PA, Low NA
Choleric
Intense
High PA, High NA
Phlegmatic
Unemotional
Low PA, Low NA
Melancholic
Unhappy
Low PA, High NA
Measurement Scales
Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)- Rating agreeableness on statements (1-7)
SWB Scales Validity
Predict suicide- individual with high score has 1/25 of the chance to commit suicide vs. someone with a low score
Sensitive to change- moves with circumstances
Predicts behavior- health of counties
Correlates with other types of measures
Overall grade of a B
Measures that validate SWB scales
Self reports Experience sampling Informant reports Biological accounts - left frontal activity as predictor Objective behavior Memory and RT Interviews
Examples of converging measures
- Brain asymmetry- Mathieu Ricard
- left to right, positive affect, happiest brain pattern - Brain regions- wine tasting
- fMRI- nucleus accumbens lit up more when subjects were told they were drinking $40 wine vs. $5 wine
- subjective influence on physiological measures
- placebo effect produced real result
- self-report and brian report converge - informant reports- happy friends
- memory- good vs. bad events
- list as many good/bad events in 2 mins
- list size of positive events related with happiness
SWB Measures Biases
Positivity bias- tendency to be positive
Social desirability- creating a good impression
Memory biases- peak/end effect
SWB Scales Reliability
r = 0.94
Variability in SWB
Happiness changes as a factor of time
but we look at mean levels of happiness
Too much extreme fluctuation- bipolar?
