Group Well-Being: Morale from a Positive Psychology Perspective

What makes life most worth living? The simplest summary of findings from the new field of positive psychology is that other people matter. It is within groups that we live, work, love, and play, and groups should therefore be a primary focus of researchers interested in health and well-being. In the present article, we propose morale as an important indicator of group well-being. We survey what is known about overall morale across a variety of groups: its meaning, measurement, enabling factors, and putative consequences. We sketch a future research agenda that would examine morale in multidimensional terms at both the individual and group levels and would pay particular attention to the positive outcomes associated with morale.
Qu'est-ce qui fait que la vie vaut le plus la peine d'être vécue? Réduire à leur plus simple expression les résultats de ce nouveau domaine qu'est la psychologie positive revient à mentionner l'importance d'autrui. C'est dans des groupes que nous vivons, travaillons, aimons et jouons, et les groupes devraient donc être une préoccupation première pour les chercheurs concernés par la santé et le bien-être. Dans cet article, on avance l'idée que le moral est un indicateur majeur du bien-être des groupes. On recense ce qui est connu sur le moral en général dans divers types de groupes: sa signification, sa mesure, ses antécédents et ses conséquences supposées. On esquisse un futur programme de recherche qui appréhenderait le moral de façon multidimensionnelle aux niveaux à la fois individuel et groupal et accorderait une attention particulière aux retombées positives relevant du moral.     

Positive Psychology Interventions for Chronic Physical Illnesses: A Systematic Review

Positive health focuses on enhancing health along with curing illness to bring about well-being. Treatment for physical illness generally involves drug therapy, while the psycho-social aspects, specifically the positive psychology perspectives, are largely ignored; nevertheless, a growing number of investigations are now studying the effects of positive psychology interventions on health outcomes. The objective of this paper is to systematically review positive psychology interventions in chronic physical illness. A literature search through the databases of EBSCO, PubMed and PsycINFO, reference lists of significant papers and grey literature was conducted following four criteria set for this review. The number of studies selected finally that acceded to the criteria was 14. These studies were analysed by focusing on the study characteristics, kinds of intervention and outcomes of positive psychology interventions. Overall findings reveal that different intervention programmes have been devised by combining various exercises, writing is the most commonly used method for administration and positive psychology interventions are considered feasible and acceptable by patients, but findings about their usefulness are inconclusive. Suggestions for future research, clinical practice and application in communities have been provided which may be useful for clinicians, practitioners and caregivers.     

Positive Leadership: Relationships with Employee Inclusion,Discrimination, and Well-Being

The diverse nature of 21st-century organizations has compelled leaders to minimize discrimination and bring about inclusion amongst their employees. One of the ways this can be achieved is through authentic, respectful, and inclusive leadership. The aim of the present paper was to (1) explore whether the three leadership styles can promote inclusion and curtail discrimination in the South African context and (2) ascertain whether this relationship has any bearing on well-being across Dutch, German, Icelandic, Indonesian, and South African contexts. To reach these aims, two cross-sectional studies have been conducted. In Study 1, 569 employees were surveyed, and results indicated that all three leadership styles loaded on a common latent factor (positive leadership) that was positively associated with both inclusion and discrimination. In Study 2, 1,926 employees were surveyed across the five countries. Results indicated that once again, the latent, positive leadership factor was positively associated with both inclusion and discrimination. Furthermore, inclusion, when compared to discrimination seemed to be a stronger mediator in the relationship between positive leadership and well-being. We propose leadership development that will cultivate positive leadership behaviors for the benefit of employee well-being and collaboration in increasingly diverse teams.     

The Impact of Positive Psychological Interventions on Well-Being in Healthy Elderly People

This systematic review aims to evaluate the impact of positive psychological interventions (PPIs) on well-being in healthy older adults. Systematic review of PPIs obtained from three electronic databases (PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science) was undertaken. Inclusion criteria were: that they were positive psychology intervention, included measurement of well-being, participants were aged over 60 years, and the studies were in English. The cochrane collaboration Guidelines dimensions of quality control, randomization, comparability, follow-up rate, dropout, blinding assessors are used to rate the quality of studies by two reviewers independently. The reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) for evaluation of PPIs effectiveness was also applied. The final review included eight articles, each describing a positive psychological intervention study. The reminiscence interventions were the most prevalent type of PPIs to promote and maintain well-being in later life. Only two studies were rated as high quality, four were of moderate-quality and two were of low-quality. Overall results indicated that efficacy criteria (89 %), reach criteria (85 %), adoption criteria (73 %), implementation criteria (67 %), and maintenance criteria (4 %) across a variety of RE-AIM dimensions. Directions for future positive psychological research related to RE-AIM, and implications for decision-making, are described.     

Michael B. Frisch: A Career in Positive Psychology and Well-Being Assessment and Intervention

Applied Research in Quality of Life -     

A New Second-Generation Mindfulness-Based Intervention Focusing on Well-Being: A Randomized Control Trial of Mindfulness-Based Positive Psychology

Second-generation mindfulness-based interventions (SG-MBIs) align well with positive psychology philosophy and practices, but trials of SG-MBIs have largely focused on ill-being. This study developed a mindfulness-based positive psychology (MBPP) intervention integrating positive psychology with an SG-MBI to enhance well-being. A randomized control trial was performed to compare MBPP with a waitlist condition among 138 Chinese participants. The results showed that MBPP significantly reduced negative emotions for subjective well-being and significantly improved environmental mastery for psychological well-being. Improvements in self-compassion and negative attitudes but not avoidance, mediated changes in well-being. Changes in positive emotions, positive relations, and awareness were associated with the amount of meditation practice. These findings showed that MBPP is promising for improving well-being and that the positive psychology components play important roles. Broadly, the study illustrated that positive psychology and SG-MBIs can be effectively integrated, and it supported the further application of SG-MBIs from the positive psychology perspective.

     

Long-Term Development of Employee Well-Being: A Latent Transition Approach

The long-term development of employee well-being is still poorly understood. Consequently, in this three-wave 10-year longitudinal study among Finnish managers (n = 402) the development of employee well-being was examined in in detail. Specifically, the long-term development of job-related affective well-being was investigated at the intra-individual level, simultaneously taking into account positive and negative indicators of well-being, the level of well-being, and the direction of change. Further, the issue how (changes in) job resources and employee well-being were related across time was examined. By applying a novel person-centered methodology, factor mixture modeling and latent transition analysis, the results revealed that the development of favorable job-related affective well-being was eight times more probable than that of unfavorable development across the 10-year study period. Job resources predicted a high level of job-related well-being and, also, job resources increased along with favorable changes in well-being. Overall, the findings contribute to knowledge in the area of positive occupational health psychology by offering a detailed picture of the level of job-related affective well-being and its development over time.     

The Psychology of Material Well-Being

Material well-being is defined in terms of satisfaction with a range economic concerns such as government’s handling of the economy, taxes, the cost of basic necessities, household income, pay and fringe benefits from one’s job, financial security, standard of living, and agreement within the family regarding how money should be spent. Much evidence is available demonstrating the substantial effect of material well-being on a variety of measures of subjective well-being. The literature review uncovered a host of antecedents or predictors of material well-being. These antecedents involve two sets of constructs, namely personal factors and contextual factors. Personal factors include socio-demographics (age, gender, education, income, marital status, family structure, etc.); personality traits (self-esteem, etc.) and personality dynamics (compensation, top-down spillover, etc.); needs and need satisfaction (how wealth serve to satisfy different needs), beliefs and mental associations (images of wealthy people); goals and aspirations (income goals and goal attainment); skills, behavior, and resources (financial capability, financial behavior, and lack of financial resources); and values (materialism), lifestyle (consumption), and habits (compulsive consumption). Contextual factors include social comparison (how evaluations of standard of living are influenced by social comparisons), adaptation (how income expectations are adapted by changing circumstances), and changes in the macro economic environment (changes in the rate of unemployment, inflation, economic growth, etc.).     

Strength-Based Positive Interventions: Further Evidence for Their Potential in Enhancing Well-Being and Alleviating Depression

The impact of nine strengths-based positive interventions on well-being and depression was examined in an Internet-based randomized placebo-controlled study. The aims of the study were to: (1) replicate findings on the effectiveness of the gratitude visit, three good things, and using character strengths interventions; (2) test variants of interventions (noting three good things for 2 weeks; combining the gratitude visit and three good things interventions; and noting three funny things for a week); and (3) test the effectiveness of the counting kindness, gift of time, and another door opens-interventions in an online setting. A total of 622 adults subjected themselves to one of the nine interventions or to a placebo control exercise (early memories) and thereafter estimated their degrees of happiness and depression at five times (pre- and post-test, 1-, 3-, and 6 months follow-up). Eight of the nine interventions increased happiness; depression was decreased in all groups, including the placebo control group. We conclude that happiness can be enhanced through some “strengths-based” interventions. Possible mechanisms for the effectiveness of the interventions are discussed.     

积极心理学：一种新的研究方向

积极心理学目前在西方心理学界引起了普遍的兴趣和关注。积极心理学关注于力量和美德等人性中的积极方面,致力于使生活更加富有意义。西方关于积极心理学的研究,当前主要集中在研究积极的情绪和体验、积极的个性特征、积极的心理过程对于生理健康的影响以及培养天才等方向。该介绍了积极心理学的这些研究领域,并追溯了积极心理学兴起的历史渊源,从总体上介绍了积极心理学的研究现状与进展,旨在为我国的相关研究提供参考。     

The Psychology of Self-Esteem: A Potential Common Ground for Humanistic Positive Psychology and Positivistic Positive Psychology

Today there are 2 positive psychologies: 1 that is humanistic and 1 that is not. Both focus on researching, understanding, and fostering well-being, optimal functioning, and healthy social institutions. However, in addition to emerging at different times, the 2 psychologies are characterized by major philosophical and methodological differences that help determine what is seen and not seen from each point of view. One area where these distinctions show up most strikingly is in the psychology of self-esteem. Although humanistic positive psychology understands self-esteem as playing a key role in human behavior, the more positivistic positive psychology seems to have largely missed such an important factor. This article examines how the psychology of self-esteem could be a meeting ground between these 2 approaches.     

Developing a Conceptual Framework of Employee Well-Being (EWB) by Applying Goal Concepts and Findings from Personality-Social Psychology

This paper reports an attempt to develop a foundation of a theory of employee well-being (EWB) by borrowing concepts and findings from research in personality-social psychology. The proposed conceptual framework has four central principles: The principle of goal selection based on valence, the principle of goal selection based on expectancy, the goal implementation principle, and the goal attainment principle. These principles have corollaries expanding the logic of the proposed theoretical relationships. Specifically, the principle of goal selection based on valence has nine corollaries: Approach versus avoidance goals, goal meaningfulness, high- versus low-level goals, goals related to cultural norms, goals related to deprived needs, goals related to basic versus growth needs, intrinsic versus extrinsic goals, goals producing flow, and autonomy in goal setting. The principle of goal selection based on expectancy has five corollaries: Goal-motive congruence, goal-cultural value congruence, goal-resources congruence, goal conflict, and adapting goals to changes in circumstances. The principle of goal implementation has two corollaries: Goal concreteness and goal commitment. Finally, the goal attainment principle has three corollaries: Recognition of goal attainment, intensity versus frequency of positive feedback, and progress reports.     

The Psychology of Voluntary Employee Turnover

ABSTRACT— Most research on voluntary turnover has focused on dissatisfaction-induced and rational decisionmaking processes, with some attention paid to external market influences. This focus leaves unexplained a large portion of the variance in why people choose to quit a job. Recently, however, researchers are considering the alternative ways that the turnover process is enacted, as well as what businesses can do to prevent turnover.     

积极心理学研究综述--心理学研究的一个新思潮

积极心理学(Positive Psychology)是美国心理学界兴起的一个新的研究领域,现在受到越来越多的研究者的关注。本文介绍了积极心理学的产生背景,基本内容,价值与意义,并在此基础上指出了今后的研究任务。     

The Contribution of Positive Politics to the Prediction of Employee Reactions

This study investigates whether perceptions of positive (i.e., beneficial) political behaviors are distinct from those of negative political behaviors and the extent to which positive politics perceptions contribute to the prediction of organizationally relevant employee reactions. Data were drawn from 119 survey respondents. The results indicate that, rather than 2 ends of a continuum of political behavior, positive and negative politics represent separate perceptions both of which are seen to occur for individual, group, and organizational foci. In addition, perceptions of positive politics contribute significantly beyond perceptions of negative politics to the prediction of the 4 outcomes used in this study (satisfaction with one's job, supervision, and coworkers; and fulfillment of one's psychological contract with the organization).     

Revising Test Items to Increase Validity

Eight female interviewers varied their interview styles in interviewing 207 adults who had been involved in automobile accidents during a four-year period. A “professional” and a rapport or “interpersonal” style was used. Dependent variables consisted of reporting of events related to an automobile accident in which the respondent was the driver, and for which independent criterion data were available. In addition, the amount of health information reported was also analyzed. In spite of the respondents' more favorable attitudes towards the interpersonal interviews, accuracy was not significantly greater in these rapport interviews. In fact, significant interaction effects between interviewer style and recency of the accident were obtained. Respondents, however, reported more completely under rapport conditions. The results are interpreted within a cognitive, role-learning framework.