Psychological Benefits of the “Maker” or Do-It-Yourself Movement in Young Adults: A Pathway Towards Subjective Well-Being

Over the past several decades, increasing numbers of people have become involved in the do-it-yourself (DIY) or “Maker” movement, i.e., creating a wide range of products from home improvement to self-service to crafts. Little is known about the psychological benefits of these actions; there is an assumption that involvement ultimately increases quality of life. We surveyed 465 college students to describe their participation in a variety of Maker undertakings ranging from domestic arts, arts and crafts, to DIY activities, and examined four potential mediators of the relationship between a Maker identity and SWB. We inquired about the time spent engaged in the activities, reasons for involvement, as well as the immediate and long-term benefits received from Making. We found that college students spent approximately 3 h a week involved in Maker activities and that they most often engaged in domestic arts (e.g., cooking, baking, and gardening). The most important reasons provided for involvement in Maker activities were mood-repair, socializing with friends, and the ability to “stay present-focused.” Having a Maker identity was associated with subjective well-being (SWB), primarily explained by high arousal (i.e., exciting or stimulating) during Maker activities, but not positive mood. Trait rumination and reduced self-focus, or quiet ego, were also related to SWB and suggest the importance of reduced self-focus in understanding the relationship between Making and SWB. Taken together, it appears that Maker identity may be a potential pathway towards SWB.     

The relationship between Facebook and the well-being of undergraduate college students

We investigated how Facebook use and attitudes relate to self-esteem and college adjustment, and expected to find a positive relationship between Facebook and social adjustment, and a negative relationship between Facebook, self-esteem, and emotional adjustment. We examined these relationships in first-year and upper-class students and expected to find differences between the groups. Seventy undergraduate students completed Facebook measures (time, number of friends, emotional and social connection to Facebook), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Student Adaptation to College Scale. First-year students had a stronger emotional connection to and spent more time on Facebook while they reported fewer friends than upper-class students did. The groups did not differ in the adjustment scores. The number of Facebook friends potentially hinders academic adjustment, and spending a lot of time on Facebook is related to low self-esteem. The number of Facebook friends was negatively associated with emotional and academic adjustment among first-year students but positively related to social adjustment and attachment to institution among upper-class students. The results suggest that the relationship becomes positive later in college life when students use Facebook effectively to connect socially with their peers. Lastly, the number of Facebook friends and not the time spent on Facebook predicted college adjustment, suggesting the value of studying further the notion of Facebook friends.     

Aspects of Social Support Associated with Adaptation in Middle-Class,Single-Mother Families

Abstract

This study’s research question is: What aspects of social support are associated with adaptation in single-mother families? In a mixed-methods design, 47 participants were recruited through snowball sampling in Cape Town, South Africa. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and questionnaires were completed. Qualitative analysis indicated two main sources, paid and unpaid support. The quantitative analysis confirmed the following adaptation resources: harnessing family and friend support; having friends as a support; socializing with friends; receiving emotional support, practical help, and advice from friends. Significant differences were found between the family and friends groups for socializing and obtaining financial aid as a support.     

How U.S. Children and Adolescents Spend Time: What It Does (and Doesn't) Tell Us About Their Development

Young people develop as "the sum of past experiences," and data on their time use are one means of quantifying those experiences. U.S. children and adolescents spend dramatically less time than in the agrarian past in household and income-generating labor. Because such labor is usually repetitive and unchallenging, this reduction has probably not deprived youths of crucial developmental experience. The schoolwork replacing this time has a clearer relationship to developmental outcomes. American teens, however, spend less time on schoolwork than teens in other industrialized countries. American teenagers have more discretionary time, much spent watching television or interacting with friends; spending large amounts of time in these activities is related to negative developmental outcomes. Increasing amounts of young people's discretionary time, however, appear to be spent in structured voluntary activities, like arts, sports, and organizations, which may foster initiative, identity, and other positive developmental outcomes.     

Factors associated with adolescent saving and spending patterns

This study examined the saving and spending behaviors of 1,619 employed high school seniors from over 1,000 private and public schools across the United States. Students were categorized as savers, necessity spenders, and discretionary spenders based on their responses to the question, "How do you spend the money that you earn?" Associations of student spending and saving patterns with individual and family factors were analyzed. Student savers were from families who saved and planned money use. Students who spent more for necessities were from families with fewer resources and greater financial difficulties. Discretionary spenders felt that money was important and were from families with higher income and socioeconomic status. Findings are discussed in light of the importance of families as socializing agents of their children.     

Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life

Six studies examined the role of positive affect (PA) in the experience of meaning in life (MIL). Study 1 showed strong relations between measures of mood, goal appraisals, and MIL. In multivariate analyses, PA was a stronger predictor of MIL than goal appraisals. In Study 2, the most consistent predictor of the experience of meaning in a day was the PA experienced that day. Later, global MIL was predicted by average daily PA, rather than average daily MIL. Study 3 demonstrated no prospective relations between measures of MIL and PA over 2 years. In Study 4, priming positive mood concepts enhanced MIL. In Study 5, manipulated positive mood enhanced ratings of MIL for those who were not given an attributional cue for their moods. In Study 6, PA was associated with a high level of distinction between meaningful and meaningless activities. Results indicate that positive moods may predispose individuals to feel that life is meaningful. In addition, positive moods may increase sensitivity to the meaning-relevance of a situation.     

Being moved by meaningfulness: appraisals of surpassing internal standards elicit being moved by relationships and achievements

ABSTRACT

People can be moved and overwhelmed, a phenomenon typically accompanied by goose-bumps and tears. We argue that these feelings of being moved are not limited to situations that are appraised as pro-social but elicited when someone surpasses an internal standard. In line with these predictions, people were moved by relationships and success (Study 1), by reunion, separation, success and failure (Study 2) and by social, environmental and sports achievements (Study 3). In all three studies, the elicitation of these feelings was partially mediated by appraisals of surpassing social or achievement standards. In line with this, ratings of meaningfulness were closely associated with feelings of being moved and moving stimuli elicited behavioural intentions such as spending time with family and friends, helping others and/or achieving something in life. Thus, moving situations may remind us about what we perceive as meaningful and thereby help us to act accordingly.     

Effective group work with delinquents in Hong Kong

The principle of matching services to needs suggests that group work would be most effective when it targets those most in need of the services--delinquents with low involvement with the family and high involvement with friends. Less time with the family indicates a greater need for conventional social control, while more time with friends may entail a greater need for learning social skills in order to resist delinquent peer influences. To address these needs, developmental group work is appropriate for delinquents identified by social workers. The effectiveness of services tend to be contingent upon the delinquents' relationship with family and friends. To test this hypothesis, the present study collected data from 190 delinquents in Hong Kong. It was found that developmental group activities were beneficial to delinquents who spent less time with family and/or more time with friends. For delinquents in general, developmental group activities were helpful in diminishing delinquency. Moreover, the help was significantly greater for delinquents who spent more time with friends.     

High School Biology/Life Science Teachers’ Presentation of Genetic Counseling and Health Care Career Options in Their Classrooms

Studies show teachers play an influential role in the career decision-making process of students and early knowledge of genetic counseling (GC) increases the likelihood students will consider this career option. This quantitative study is the first to explore the presentation of GC and other health care career options by high school (HS) biology/life science (B/LS) teachers in their classrooms. Our findings indicate most B/LS teachers present GC as a career option to HS students, agree it complements classroom activities, and perceive students as interested in learning about the profession. However, teachers note many barriers to spending class time presenting GC careers. Consequently, a substantial number of teachers spent a minimal amount of time presenting health care careers in general. We discuss ways genetic counselors can enhance career resources, reduce barriers, and foster student interest in pursuing a career in GC by developing partnerships with HS B/LS teachers.     

Effects of positive and negative moods on helping tasks having pleasant or unpleasant consequences

A field study investigated the effects of positive and negative moods on subjects' willingness to perform helping tasks having pleasant or unpleasant consequences. Results indicated that procedures designed to induce either positive or negative moods facilitate helping when the task has pleasant consequences, but tend to inhibit helping when the task is likely to be unpleasant. The findings are consistent with the notion that many everyday acts of kindness (altruism) are interpretable as a form of hedonism. The implications of these outcomes for an activation model of mood-induced altruism are discussed.     

Administrator Perceptions of Actual and Desired Time Spent by School Psychologists in Different Roles and Satisfaction with School Psychologists

Abstract

A total of 512 elementary and secondary administrators in Ohio were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the time spent by school psychologists in 15 role functions, the percentage of time they desired school psychologists to spend in these 15 roles, and their satisfaction with their school psychologist. Results indicated that administrators desired school psychologists to spend less time in assessment and administrative activities than they were perceived to be spending in these areas, and desired school psychologists to spend more time than they were perceived to be spending in all other roles surveyed. Six variables were found to be significant predictors of administrator satisfaction: discrepancy between actual and desired time spent administering and interpreting psychoeducational tests (negatively related), discrepancy between actual and desired time spent providing services to prevent student problems (negatively related), percentage of time spent working with parents and families (positively related), discrepancy between actual and desired time spent performing administrative duties (negatively related), discrepancy between actual and desired time spent conducting inservice activities (positively related), and discrepancy between actual and desired time spent counseling for career/vocational issues (negatively related). Results are discussed in terms of their implication for role expansion in school psychology.     

Beyond emotional benefits: Physical activity and sedentary behaviour affect psychosocial resources through emotions

Physical activity is known to improve emotional experiences, and positive emotions have been shown to lead to important life outcomes, including the development of psychosocial resources. In contrast, time spent sedentary may negatively impact emotional experiences and, consequently, erode psychosocial resources. Two studies tested whether activity independently influenced emotions and psychosocial resources, and whether activity indirectly influenced psychosocial resources through emotional experiences. Using cross-sectional (Study 1a) and longitudinal (Study 1b) methods, we found that time spent physically active independently predicted emotions and psychosocial resources. Mediation analyses suggested that emotions may account for the relation between activity and psychosocial resources. The improved emotional experiences associated with physical activity may help individuals build psychosocial resources known to improve mental health. Study 1a provided first indicators to suggest that, in contrast, sedentary behaviour may reduce positive emotions, which could in turn lead to decrements in psychosocial resources.     

Relational Spending in Funerals: Caring for Others Loved and Lost

Funeral rituals perform important social functions for families and communities, but little is known about the motives of people planning funerals. Using mixed methods, we examine funeral planning as end-of-life relational spending. We identify how relational motives drive and manifest in funeral planning, even when the primary recipient of goods and services is dead. Qualitative interviews with consumers who had planned pre-COVID funerals (N = 15) reveal a caring orientation drives funeral decision-making for loved ones and for self-planned funerals. Caring practices manifest in three forms: (a) balancing preferences between the planner, deceased, and surviving family; (b) making personal sacrifices; and (c) spending amount (Study 1). Archival funeral contract data (N = 385) reveal supporting quantitative evidence of caring-driven funeral spending. Planners spend more on funerals for others and underspend on their own funerals (Study 2). Preregistered experiments (N = 1,906) addressing selection bias replicate these results and find generalization across different funding sources (planner-funded, other-funded, and insurance; Studies 3A–3C). The findings elucidate a ubiquitous, emotional, and financially consequential decision process at the end of life.     

After-school activities and the development of low-income urban children: a longitudinal study.

After-school activities of 194 African American and White children from low-income households were studied from 3rd to 5th grade to determine relations with (a) child, family, and contextual variables and (b) children's adjustment over time. Girls were more likely to engage in academic activities and socializing, whereas boys were more likely to play coached sports. Children who attended after-school programs spent more time on academic and extracurricular activities, whereas children in informal care settings spent more time watching TV and hanging out. Evidence of transactional relations between after-school activities and child adjustment was found. Time spent in activities between 3rd and 5th grades was related to children's adjustment in 5th grade. In addition, child adjustment measured in 3rd grade was associated with time in different activities in 5th grade.     

Where Emerging Adults in the United States Find Meaning in Life

We explored the most important sources of meaning among emerging adults and whether time spent on social media had an effect on life meaning dimensions. Results showed that the majority of emerging adults mentioned family and friends when asked in an open‐ended question about things that make their life meaningful.     

Relative time in dangerous and safe places influences one-way avoidance learning in the rat

This paper reports three experiments on one-way avoidance learning in rats which examined the effect of time spent in the safe and dangerous compartments on acquisition, maintenance, and extinction of avoidance. In Experiment 1 time spent in safety was manipulated, and time spent in danger was held constant. Animals spending more time in safety needed fewer trials to reach the acquisition criteria and more trials to reach the extinction criteria; both effects became stronger as the required criteria for acquisition and extinction were increased. In Experiment 2 time spent in safety/danger was manipulated while holding the intertrial interval constant. Groups simultaneously spending more time in safety and less time in danger again needed fewer trials to reach the learning criteria. In Experiment 3 time spent in danger was manipulated, whereas time spent in safety was held constant. Groups spending less time in danger needed fewer trials to reach the learning criteria. These results indicate that the magnitude of the reinforcement or incentive value of the safety compartment is not a linear function of absolute time spent therein, but a function of the ratio between the length of time spent in safety and in danger.     

Income Inequality and Life Satisfaction: Unrelated Between Countries,Associated Within Countries Over Time

This article shows for the first time that people are less satisfied when inequality in their country is higher than before, but not when inequality in their country is higher than in another country. It distinguishes this between- and within-country effect of inequality on life satisfaction by using hybrid regressions with the World Values Survey, the British Household Panel Study, the Australian panel study of Household Income and Labour Dynamics, the Korean Labor and Income Panel, the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring study, the Swiss Household Panel and the German Socio-Economic Panel. That life satisfaction is unaffected by long-run levels of inequality, but by changes of inequality over time, suggests that life satisfaction researchers should focus on changes of inequality over time to understand its influence on life satisfaction.     

Effects of variation in teacher organization on classroom functioning

This study examined effects of variation in teacher organization on how time is spent in classrooms, focusing on time spent in transitions and instruction, including child skill by teacher organization interactions. Forty-four first-grade classrooms were observed three times over the school year. Timed narratives of each activity were recorded. “Orient-organize” referred to time teachers spent orienting students to classroom procedures or organizing the class for specific assignments, and included instructional clarity, where teachers described objectives of activities to students. Using hierarchical linear modeling, substantial variation across teachers in orient-organize was observed. Overall, classrooms spent less time in organization as the school year progressed. In addition, spending more time in organization was related to less time spent in transition. Students in classrooms that spent more time in organization in the fall also experienced greater amounts of time in child-managed activities in the spring. There was also an interaction between child vocabulary and amount of orient-organize in the winter. Students with lower vocabulary scores were more likely to be in classrooms that spent more time in spring child-managed activities if they continued to receive substantial amounts of orient-organize in the winter. The opposite was the case for students with high vocabulary skills.     

Emotion regulation in violent conflict: Reappraisal,hope, and support for humanitarian aid to the opponent in wartime

An Internet survey revealed that day-of-the-week (DOW) stereotypes (i.e., “Monday blues”, “Wednesday hump day”, “TGIF”, etc.) were pronounced when subjects predicted their moods for each day of the upcoming week, less obvious when they remembered their moods from each day of the preceding week, and least apparent in the momentary moods they actually experienced on each day. In a second study involving 2-hour, in-home interviews, subjects reporting looking forward to weekends because of the lack of structure and discipline and the freedom to choose activities, yet much of their weekend time was spent fulfilling a need to be productive, which often involved activities that, in many ways, simulated paid work. The content of these interviews suggested that people tend to overvalue future discretionary time on the weekend, assuming that two days of uninterrupted idle time will be more enjoyable than it actually is. In a more general sense, these results suggest that the predicted and remembered moods in the initial survey were driven by DOW stereotypes, which facilitated rapid judgements given the simple scaled response format. However, the depth interviews revealed that moods experienced throughout the week are more nuanced in terms of how they are remembered, described, and linked to recently passed, current, and immediately anticipated events, perhaps explaining why DOW stereotypes were less obvious in the reported momentary moods.     

Mood, self-esteem, and simulated alternatives: thought-provoking affective influences on counterfactual direction

Four studies indicated that moods and self-esteem can influence counterfactual thoughts. This was shown for counterfactuals generated for hypothetical situations (Study 1), for recalled life events (Study 2), and for agreement with counterfactual statements after laboratory tasks (Studies 3 and 4). High self-esteem (HSE) and low self-esteem (LSE) persons generated (Studies 1 and 2) or agreed to (Studies 3 and 4) more downward (worse than actuality) than upward (better than actuality) counterfactuals when in good moods, but they diverged in reactions to bad moods: HSE persons thought more about downward counterfactuals, whereas LSE persons thought more about upward counterfactuals. HSE persons felt better after generating downward counterfactuals (Study 2) and took longer to agree to analogous statements (Studies 3 and 4) in bad moods, suggesting attempts at mood repair.