A hypothesized need to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships is evaluated in light of the empirical literature. The need is for frequent, nonaversive interactions within an ongoing relational bond. Consistent with the belongingness hypothesis, people form social attachments readily under most conditions and resist the dissolution of existing bonds. Belongingness appears to have multiple and strong effects on emotional patterns and on cognitive processes. Lack of attachments is linked to a variety of ill effects on health, adjustment, and well-being. Other evidence, such as that concerning satiation, substitution, and behavioral consequences, is likewise consistent with the hypothesized motivation. Several seeming counterexamples turned out not to disconfirm the hypothesis. Existing evidence supports the hypothesis that the need to belong is a powerful, fundamental, and extremely pervasive motivation.

The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.

A science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions promises to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies that arise when life is barren and meaningless, The exclusive focus on pathology that has dominated so much of our discipline results in a model of the human being lacking the positive features that make life worth living. Hope, wisdom, creativity, future mindedness, courage, spirituality, responsibility, and perseverance are ignored or explained as transformations of more authentic negative impulses. The 15 articles in this millennial issue of the American Psychologist discuss such issues as what enables happiness, the effects of autonomy and self-regulation, how optimism and hope affect health, what constitutes wisdom, and how talent and creativity come to fruition. The authors outline a framework for a science of positive psychology, point to gaps in our knowledge, and predict that the next century will see a science and profession that will come to understand and build the factors that allow individuals, communities, and societies to flourish.

https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/55/1/5.pdf

Positive psychology: An introduction.

W. Wilson's (1967) review of the area of subjective well-being (SWB) advanced several conclusions regarding those who report high levels of "happiness". A number of his conclusions have been overturned: youth and modest aspirations no longer are seen as prerequisites of SWB. E. Diener's (1984) review placed greater emphasis on theories that stressed psychological factors. In the current article, the authors review current evidence for Wilson's conclusions and discuss modern theories of SWB that stress dispositional influences, adaptation, goals, and coping strategies. The next steps in the evolution of the field are to comprehend the interaction of psychological factors with life circumstances in producing SWB, to understand the causal pathways leading to happiness, understand the processes underlying adaptation to events, and develop theories that explain why certain variables differentially influence the different components of SWV (life satisfaction, pleasant affect, and unpleasant affect).

Subjective Well-Being: Three Decades of Progress

W Wilson's (1967) review of the area of subjective well-being (SWB) advanced several conclusions regarding those who report high levels of "happiness" A number of his conclusions have been overturned: youth and modest aspirations no longer are seen as prerequisites of SWB E Diener's (1984) review placed greater emphasis on theories that stressed psychological factors In the current article, the authors review current evidence for Wilson's conclusions and discuss modern theories of SWB that stress dispositional influences, adaptation, goals, and coping strategies The next steps in the evolution of the field are to comprehend the interaction of psychological factors with life circumstances in producing SWB, to understand the causal pathways leading to happiness, understand the processes underlying adaptation to events, and develop theories that explain why certain variables differentially influence the different components of SWB (life satisfaction, pleasant affect, and unpleasant affect) In 1967, Warner Wilson presented a broad review of subjective well-being (SWB) research entitled, "Correlates of Avowed Happiness" Based on the limited data available at that time, Wilson concluded that the happy person is a "young, healthy, welleducated, well-paid, extroverted, optimistic, worry-free, religious, married person with high self-esteem, job morale, modest aspirations, of either sex and of a wide range of intelligence" (p 294) In the three decades since Wilson's review, investigations into SWB have evolved Although researchers now know a great deal more about the correlates of SWB, they are less interested in simply describing the demographic characteristics that correlate with it Instead, they focus their effort on understanding the processes that underlie happiness This trend represents a greater recognition of the central role played by people's goals, coping efforts, and dispositions In this article, we review research on several major theoretical approaches to well-being and then indicate how these theories clarify the findings on demographic correlates of SWB Throughout the review we suggest four directions that researchers should pursue in the decades ahead These are by no means the only questions left to answer, but we believe they are the most interesting issues left to resolve First, the causal direction of the correlates of happiness must be examined through more sophisticated methodologies Although the causal priority of demographic factors such as marriage and income is intuitively appealing, it is by no means certain Second, researchers must focus greater attention on the interaction between internal factors (such as personality traits) and external circumstances As we shall see, demographic factors have surprisingly small effects on SWB, but these effects may depend on the personalities of those individuals being studied Thus, future research must take Person X Situation interactions into account Third, researchers must strive to understand the processes underlying adaptation Considerable adaptation to both good and bad circumstances often occurs, yet the processes responsible for these effects are poorly understood Research that examines how habituation, coping strategies, and changing goals influence adaptation will shed much light on the processes responsible for SWB Finally, theories must be refined to make specific predictions about how input variables differentially influence the components of SWB In the past, many researchers have treated SWB as a monolithic entity, but it is now clear that there are separable components that exhibit unique patterns of relations with different variables In each section of this article we discuss progress and opportunities in these four areas

/pdf/subjective-well-being-three-decades-of-progress-55l9oy0irc.pdf

Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress

▪ Abstract Well-being is a complex construct that concerns optimal experience and functioning. Current research on well-being has been derived from two general perspectives: the hedonic approach, which focuses on happiness and defines well-being in terms of pleasure attainment and pain avoidance; and the eudaimonic approach, which focuses on meaning and self-realization and defines well-being in terms of the degree to which a person is fully functioning. These two views have given rise to different research foci and a body of knowledge that is in some areas divergent and in others complementary. New methodological developments concerning multilevel modeling and construct comparisons are also allowing researchers to formulate new questions for the field. This review considers research from both perspectives concerning the nature of well-being, its antecedents, and its stability across time and culture.

/pdf/on-happiness-and-human-potentials-a-review-of-research-on-1t2vu3ifq9.pdf

On Happiness and Human Potentials: A Review of Research on Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being

Meta-analyses are a textbook author's delight. They can alert authors to the existence of a literature, quantitatively synthesize results, and mitigate overemphasis on vivid but misleading studies. For these benefits text authors pay a price: The need to simplify impedes scrutiny of individual studies and draws attention away from moderating variables and toward the statistical bottom line-the mean effect size.

Union is Strength: A Consumer's View of Meta-Analysis

Feeling good about Fredrickson's positive emotions.

The first purpose in this investigation was to evaluate the social-emotional and rational-cognitive explanations of group risky shift on choice dilemmas (hypothetical life situations) by comparing shift in groups of low Mach (emotional) and high Mach (non-emotional) participants. Consistent with the rational cognitive explanations of group shift, group composition was not observed to affect shift magnitude. The second purpose was to examine the effects of Machiavellian beliefs on social functioning. Mixed support was obtained for hypotheses derived from prior theory and research on the Machiavellian personality. The perceptions of high Machs, as compared with low Machs, concerning the direction of shift, were more in line with their actual shift, providing evidence for the proposition that the former are more astute social observers.

Machiavellianism, discussion time, and group shift

John Houghton (2011), the past chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scientific assessment committee, contends that global climate change is now “the greatest problem the world faces.” The IPCC conclusions—supported by the national science academies of the eleven most developed countries in the world—are undergirded by the most “thoroughly researched and reviewed” scientific effort in human history. The consensus facts are as follows:

/pdf/social-psychology-s-contribution-to-a-sustainable-future-cyztl9r25r.pdf

Social Psychology’s Contribution to a Sustainable Future

Summary Reliable group-induced response changes have been observed on choice dilemma items and, in extensions of this research, with other stimulus materials as well. The search for a theoretical explanation of these findings requires analysis of the processes that determine pregroup responses. It has been proposed that interpersonal comparison considerations determine initial responses to choice dilemma items by inducing the subject to compromise between his perception of the group norm and his own ideal. This study demonstrated that the order of measurement of “self,” “other,” and “admired” responses significantly affects these responses. The findings are interpreted as contrary to the interpersonal comparison assumption that initial choices are an attempt to present oneself favorably, but consistent with the idea that after one has acted, there is a tendency to perceive one's action as more admirable than that of the average peer.

David G. Myers

Papers

Union is Strength: A Consumer's View of Meta-Analysis

Feeling good about Fredrickson's positive emotions.

Machiavellianism, discussion time, and group shift

Social Psychology’s Contribution to a Sustainable Future

Interpersonal Comparison Processes in Choice Dilemma Responding