Testing Positive
Preparing Silver Linings for a Cloudy Day: The Consequences of Preemptive Benefit Finding
Kyla Rankin & Kate Sweeny
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, forthcoming
Abstract:
Waiting for important news is stressful. In four studies, we assess the utility of preemptive benefit finding, a coping strategy in which people seek silver linings in bad news before receiving news, for emotional well-being across several waiting periods (waiting for bar exam results, the outcome of political elections, and results of a fictitious health risk assessment). Our findings support the effectiveness of preemptive benefit finding while waiting, such that identifying benefits in bad news while waiting predicts more positive emotions during the wait (Studies 3 and 4) and buffers people against the emotional consequences of bad news by boosting post-news positive emotions (Studies 2-4). Importantly, engaging in preemptive benefit finding does not backfire if a person ultimately receives good news (Studies 1, 3, and 4). We discuss results from a mini meta-analysis and consider implications of our findings for interventions to improve well-being while waiting and after news arrives.
Mental Logout: Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Regulating Temptations to Use Social Media
Nurit Sternberg, Roy Luria & Gal Sheppes
Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Individuals sometimes use social media instead of sleeping or while driving. This fact raises the crucial need for - and challenge of - successfully self-regulating potent social-media temptations. To date, however, empirical evidence showing whether social-media temptations can be self-regulated and how self-regulation can be achieved remains scarce. Accordingly, the present within-participants study (N = 30 adults) provided causal evidence for self-regulation of social-media content and identified a potential underlying neural mechanism. We tested the premise that successful self-regulation requires limiting the mental representation of temptations in working memory. Specifically, we showed that loading working memory with neutral contents via attentional distraction, relative to passively watching tempting social-media stimuli, resulted in reduced self-reported desire to use social media, reduced initial attention allocation toward social-media stimuli (reduced late-positive-potential amplitudes), and reduced online representation of social-media stimuli in working memory (reduced contralateral-delay-activity amplitudes). These results have important implications for successfully navigating a social-media-saturated environment.
Having too little or too much time is linked to lower subjective well-being
Marissa Sharif, Cassie Mogilner & Hal Hershfield
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Many people living in modern society feel like they do not have enough time and are constantly searching for more. But is having limited discretionary time actually detrimental? And can there be downsides of having too much discretionary time? In two large-scale data sets spanning 35,375 Americans and two experiments, we explore the relationship between the amount of discretionary time individuals have and their subjective well-being. We find and internally replicate a negative quadratic relationship between discretionary time and subjective well-being. These results show that whereas having too little time is indeed linked to lower subjective well-being caused by stress, having more time does not continually translate to greater subjective well-being. Having an abundance of discretionary time is sometimes even linked to lower subjective well-being because of a lacking sense of productivity. In such cases, the negative effect of having too much discretionary time can be attenuated when people spend this time on productive activities.
Viewing leisure as wasteful undermines enjoyment
Gabriela Tonietto et al.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Engagement in leisure offers a host of benefits for mental and physical health, yet many people view leisure as wasteful and unproductive. Four studies (n = 1310) demonstrate that believing leisure is wasteful undermines enjoyment of enacted leisure activities. Studies 1 and 2 document that people with a general tendency to find leisure wasteful report lower enjoyment of leisure activities on average, especially terminally-motivated leisure (performed as an end in itself) compared to instrumentally-motivated leisure (performed as a means to an end). The belief that leisure is wasteful is also associated with poorer mental health outcomes, including lower reported happiness, and greater reported depression, anxiety, and stress. Establishing causality, Studies 3 and 4 show that priming the belief that leisure is wasteful or unproductive reduces enjoyment of terminally-motivated leisure activities; unfortunately, priming the belief that leisure is productive does not increase enjoyment. We discuss implications for maximizing hedonic utility and well-being.
The Restorative Power of Nostalgia: Thwarting Loneliness by Raising Happiness During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Xinyue Zhou et al.
Social Psychological and Personality Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic increased the risk for loneliness. We tested whether nostalgia counteracts loneliness via rises in happiness. We conducted surveys in China (N = 1,546), the United States (N = 1,572), and the United Kingdom (N = 603). Although feeling lonely was associated with unhappiness, it was also associated with nostalgia, which in turn conduced to increased happiness. We complemented these findings with three experiments testing MTurk workers (Study 4, N = 209; Study 5, N = 196; Study 6, N = 190), where we manipulated nostalgia and assessed happiness. Nostalgia increased happiness immediately after the manipulation (Studies 4-6) and, following an induction booster, up to 2 days later (Studies 4-5). Nostalgia is a psychological resource that can be harnessed to raise happiness and help combat loneliness.