The relationship between exercise motives and psychological well-being

The aim of the present study was to use the self-determination model of exercise motives to examine the relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motives for exercise and a number of measures of psychological well-being. Undergraduate students purporting to exercise regularly (N = 227; 102 men, 125 women) were split into 2 groups: those exercising for less than 6 months and those exercising for 6 months or more. The respondents were asked to complete measures of exercise motivation, self-esteem, psychological well-being, and stress. Among individuals exercising for less than 6 months, a number of extrinsic motivations for exercise were significantly related to poorer psychological well-being. Among individuals exercising for 6 months or more, a number of intrinsic motivations were significantly related to better psychological well-being. The present findings suggest that researchers can use self-determination theory to understand the relationship between exercise motivation and psychological well-being.     

The relationship between marital interaction behaviors and affective reactions to one's own and one's spouse's self-evaluation needs

A recent extension (Beach, & Tesser, 1993) of Tesser's self-evaluation maintenance model (SEM: Tesser, 1988) proposed that a person's motivation to feel good about the self, and his or her concern for the partner's need to feel good about the self, can affect the couple's interaction behavior. In the present study, individual differences in the motivation to maintain one's own and one's partner's SEM needs are used to predict the couple's problem-solving discussion behaviors. Fifty-three married couples were videotaped for 20 minutes while discussing an important relationship issue on which there was disagreement. From these video records, husbands' and wives' favorable and unfavorable discussion behaviors were coded. During a subsequent session, couples reported their affective reactions to a number of SEM scenarios recalled from memory, which were used to create an individual difference measure representing the strength in motivation to maintain one's own and one's partner's self-evaluation needs. In general, husbands' and wives' responsiveness to their partners' SEM needs was associated with favorable interaction behavior, whereas responsiveness to one's own SEM needs was associated with unfavorable interaction behavior. The results of this study suggest that the extended SEM model provides an experimental framework that incorporates research directed at both the elucidation of individual differences and the examination of the couple as a unit.     

When you accept me for me: the relational benefits of intrinsic affirmations from one's relationship partner

Research suggests that not all affirmations of self-worth are created equal-affirming intrinsic aspects of the self (i.e., a person's stable, intrinsic qualities) leads to better outcomes for the individual compared to affirming extrinsic aspects (i.e., a person's deeds and accomplishments). Extending this research to the domain of romantic relationships, the current research compared the relational benefits of recalling intrinsic versus extrinsic affirmations from a romantic partner among people high versus low in baseline relationship satisfaction. Across three experiments, as predicted, people low but not high in baseline satisfaction reported higher relationship quality and more pro-relationship responses after recalling a time of intrinsic compared to extrinsic affirmation from a romantic partner. Together, these experiments suggest that affirmations from relationship partners may be important for enhancing relationships, but only if they emphasize intrinsic qualities of the self.     

The relationship between gender role ideals and psychological well-being

Previous research on the influence of gender roles upon psychological health has found that most effects may be due to participants' levels of masculine traits alone. This study investigated whether individual gender role ideals moderate the relationship between gender roles and psychological well-being. Eighty-three psychology undergraduate students of European descent were given a battery of measures of gender role and psychological well-being. Results of analysis of these tests suggest that the degree to which participants' gender-specific traits represent met or unmet ideals is a better predictor of psychological adjustment than personal gender role alone. Results also suggest that gender roles can diminish psychological well-being by creating conflict between personal beliefs about the nature of appropriate behavior and the actual demands of life situations. Theoretical implications and future research directions are discussed.     

智慧与幸福感的关系：基于多元幸福取向的视角

智慧与幸福是人类的普遍追求。智慧与自我实现幸福感(eudaimonia well-being)正相关得到研究者的普遍认同。智慧与享乐主义幸福感(hedonia well-being)是何种关系, 仍在争论中。从智慧发展的角度, 学者提出了积极人格发展观和发展历程观, 对智慧与幸福感的关系进行更深入的理论探讨。结合中国文化及智慧和幸福感的研究进展, 提出发展水平观：随着智慧发展水平不断提高, 个体幸福感的来源、持续时间以及对身心健康的影响存在差异。未来宜重点解决两个问题：(1)选择和编制适宜的智慧和幸福感测量工具; (2)澄清智慧与幸福感的因果关系。     

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.     

Refining the relationship between personality and subjective well-being

Understanding subjective well-being (SWB) has historically been a core human endeavor and presently spans fields from management to mental health. Previous meta-analyses have indicated that personality traits are one of the best predictors. Still, these past results indicate only a moderate relationship, weaker than suggested by several lines of reasoning. This may be because of commensurability, where researchers have grouped together substantively disparate measures in their analyses. In this article, the authors review and address this problem directly, focusing on individual measures of personality (e.g., the Neuroticism-Extroversion-Openness Personality Inventory; P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992) and categories of SWB (e.g., life satisfaction). In addition, the authors take a multivariate approach, assessing how much variance personality traits account for individually as well as together. Results indicate that different personality and SWB scales can be substantively different and that the relationship between the two is typically much larger (e.g., 4 times) than previous meta-analyses have indicated. Total SWB variance accounted for by personality can reach as high as 39% or 63% disattenuated. These results also speak to meta-analyses in general and the need to account for scale differences once a sufficient research base has been generated.     

Perceiving one's romantic partner: Schema structure and affective extremity

Abstract

This study attempted to extend research on cognitive structure and affective extremity to help understand the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. Individual members of dating couple relationships (n = 51) described their partners in a card-sorting task used to assess cognitive complexity and completed measures of affect in their relationships. Contrary to earlier studies that had found a number of cognitive dimensions to play a large rok in judgemental extremity, the redundancy of the dimensions (i.e. whether unique or the same attributes were used to describe different facets of the partner) was most important. Greater redundancy in a perceiver's cognitive representation of the partner was associated with greater perceived likelihood of remaining with the partner, and greater positive affect and less negative affect being felt toward the parnter.     

自我概念一致性与幸福感间的关系：文化的调节作用

自我概念一致性已经被证明对于享乐的和自我实现的幸福感具有促进作用。然而文化可以影响它们之间的关系。西方人崇尚个人主义, 具有独立型自我构念和低水平的辩证思维, 因此他们的自我概念一致性较高, 且对幸福感具有强烈的促进作用。而东方人崇尚集体主义, 具有互依型自我构念和高水平的辩证思维, 因此他们的自我概念一致性较低, 且对幸福感的促进作用微弱。未来的研究需要在特质以外的人格水平上, 检验不同分类标准下的自我概念一致性与文化和多种类型的幸福感间的关系。并且探索文化发挥作用的其他机制, 解析文化与自我概念相互作用, 共同影响幸福感的深层机制。     

The association between attachment orientations and partner evaluations: An ideal standards perspective

This research examined links between attachment orientations and evaluations of potential and existing relationship partners with respect to ideal standards. In Study 1, attachment anxiety and avoidance predicted the tradeoffs individuals made when choosing between potential mates. In Studies 2 and 3, attachment anxiety and avoidance were associated with ideal partner discrepancies within existing relationships. The findings across the three studies suggest that highly anxious individuals are more likely to use the ideal partner warmth/trustworthiness and status/resources dimensions when evaluating hypothetical and actual romantic partners, whereas highly avoidant individuals are more inclined to use the ideal partner vitality/attractiveness and status/resources dimensions when making partner evaluations. These novel findings are discussed in terms of evolutionary models of mating strategies and evaluations.     

The heart's content: the association between positive psychological well-being and cardiovascular health

This review investigates the association between positive psychological well-being (PPWB) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We also consider the mechanisms by which PPWB may be linked with CVD, focusing on the health behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, sleep quality and quantity, and food consumption) and biological functions (e.g., cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic processes) that are most relevant for cardiovascular health. Because PPWB is a broad concept, not all aspects of PPWB may be associated with cardiovascular health. Thus, we distinguish between eudaimonic well-being, hedonic well-being, optimism, and other measures of well-being when reviewing the literature. Findings suggest that PPWB protects consistently against CVD, independently of traditional risk factors and ill-being. Specifically, optimism is most robustly associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular events. In general, PPWB is also positively associated with restorative health behaviors and biological function and inversely associated with deteriorative health behaviors and biological function. Cardiovascular health is more consistently associated with optimism and hedonic well-being than with eudaimonic well-being, although this could be due in part to more limited evidence being available concerning eudaimonic well-being. Some similarities were also evident across different measures of PPWB, which is likely due to measurement overlap. A theoretical context for this research is provided, and suggestions for future research are given, including the need for additional prospective investigations and research that includes multiple constructs of psychological well-being and ill-being.     

The happy cyclist: Examining the association between generalized authoritarianism and subjective well-being

Although authoritarianism can negatively impact others (e.g., by predicting prejudiced intergroup attitudes), implications for the self are mixed and require clarification. Extending previous research, we examined the association between generalized authoritarianism (GA, indicated by right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation) and subjective well-being (SWB, indicated by positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction) by testing simultaneously the general-level association between GA and SWB as well as specific residual associations between GA and SWB components, independent of basic personality dimensions. We observed a significant general-level association between GA and SWB whereby heightened authoritarianism predicted greater SWB. No residual associations were found between specific GA and SWB components. Despite being “bad” for others, generalized authoritarianism may be “good” for the self.     

Meta-analysis of the relationship between congruence and well-being measures

This paper summarizes the results of a meta-analysis on findings of 41 different studies, yielding 77 correlation coefficients between measures of personality-environment congruence and well-being. Results show congruence-achievement and congruence-stability correlations of .06 and .15, respectively, with negligible residual variance. The mean congruence-satisfaction correlation was .21, and after two further breakdowns—by environmental reference and congruence measuring method—mean congruence-satisfaction correlations exceeding .35 were found, with almost all total nonrandom variance among findings of different congruence studies explained.     

Self-esteem mediates the relationship between dispositional gratitude and well-being

Gratitude is a positive disposition that is connected to well-being. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of self-esteem in the association between gratitude and well-being among undergraduate students. Two hundred and thirty-five participants completed measures of dispositional gratitude, self-esteem, and several indices of well-being. The results indicated that higher levels of dispositional gratitude were associated with greater self-esteem and indices of well-being. Moreover, higher levels of self-esteem were also associated with indices of well-being. Path analyses showed that self-esteem acted as a partial mediator of the association between gratitude and well-being. These results provide information regarding a possible process through which dispositional gratitude has beneficial effects.     

The relationship between employment quality and work-related well-being in the European Labor Force

In this article, data from the 2005 European Working Conditions Survey are used to examine the relationship between contemporary employment arrangements and the work-related well-being of European employees. By means of a Latent Class Cluster Analysis, several features of the employment conditions and relations characterizing jobs are combined in a typology of five employment arrangements: SER-like, instrumental, precarious unsustainable, precarious intensive and portfolio jobs. These job types show clear relationships with separate indicators of job satisfaction, perceived safety climate and the ability to stay in employment, as well as with an overall indicator for work-related well-being. The findings from this multifaceted approach towards employment quality raise questions about the long-term sustainability of highly flexible and de-standardized employment arrangements.     

The relationship between religiosity/spirituality and well-being in gay and heterosexual Orthodox Jews

Numerous studies have demonstrated positive relationships between religiosity/spirituality and emotional well-being. Little research exists, though, on these relationships in Orthodox Jewish and gay populations. Therefore, data from two studies focusing on heterosexual Orthodox Jews (Study 1, 52 females, 18 males) and gay Orthodox Jews (Study 2, 191 males) are presented. The studies assessed religiosity, spirituality, and well-being using validated self-report measures. In Study 1, religiosity and spirituality were generally positively correlated with well-being. In Study 2, spirituality was positively correlated with well-being, while religiosity entered into a complex pattern of relationships. For gay Orthodox Jews, religiosity may not have the same associations with well-being that it does for heterosexual Orthodox Jews, although spirituality may provide an alternative pathway for emotional benefits.