Positive Research Flashcards
Methodology +Procedures
Literature review on topic of happiness from other research
Interviews:
Assessing subjective well being using closed questions e.g. how happy are you? Very happy/happy/Not happy
Observations:
Asking P’s to report what they’re doing and how happy they feel at selected times
Finding what factors correlate with happiness e.g. money
Findings
Culture: Related to happiness
10% happy in Portugal
40% happy in Netherlands
•People are happier in individualist cultures where people are more concerned with individual needs
Age: Not related to happiness
170,000 all ages surveyed and found no difference in happiness, however found different factors contribute to happiness at varied ages
Relationships: Related to happiness
Married people tended to be happier than unmarried, people who can name several close friends happier than those who can’t
Conclusions
Effects of negative events fade over time.
Those who experienced psychological trauma e.g. concentration camps can recover + be happy
Longitudinal study found only events of last 3 months affect subjective wellbeing (SWB)
Cultural attitudes predispose attitudes to certain life events, this affects happiness
Methodology/ Procedures evaluation
-All self report techniques so poses threat of social desirability + subjective interpretation of happiness
-Good protection from harm
-May lead to people gaining stereotypes e.g. all Portuguese are unhappy
