Integrating The Diverse Definitions of Happiness: A Time-Sequential Framework of Subjective Well-Being

The field of subjective well-being (SWB) is primarily concerned with people's evaluation of their lives; however, it includes a wide range of concepts, from momentary moods to global life satisfaction judgments. We propose a framework that integrates these diverse constructs. Our sequential temporal framework of subjective well-being describes experiences of well-being from the events and circumstances that cause evaluative reactions, through the emotional reactions to these events, to recall of these reactions, and finally to global judgments of well-being based on the previous stages. The hypothesized processes that translate the various steps in the sequence into one another are described, and supporting evidence is reviewed. We outline the implications of our framework for understanding subjective well-being, and discuss the research that is needed to further explore the proposed framework.     

Perceived loneliness and general cognitive status in community-dwelling older adults: the moderating influence of depression

The relationship between depression, loneliness, and cognitive functioning among the elderly is not well understood in the literature. In the present study, we tested the moderating influence of depressive symptoms on loneliness and cognitive functioning. We recruited 100 community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong. Demographic information, perceived loneliness, depressed mood, and general cognitive status were assessed. Results indicated that married participants reported lower levels of perceived loneliness (t (96) = 2.26, p = .03). We found a significant moderating effect of depressive symptoms on the relationship between perceived loneliness and general cognitive status (B = ?.05, p = .002). Perceived loneliness correlated negatively with general cognitive status only in participants with higher levels of depressed mood (B = ?.16, p = .01). Together, these findings suggest that perceived loneliness combined with depressed mood is related to poorer general cognitive status in older adults. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

More than "just a joke": the prejudice-releasing function of sexist humor

The results of two experiments supported the hypothesis that, for sexist men, exposure to sexist humor can promote the behavioral release of prejudice against women. Experiment 1 demonstrated that hostile sexism predicted the amount of money participants were willing to donate to a women's organization after reading sexist jokes but not after reading nonhumorous sexist statements or neutral jokes. Experiment 2 showed that hostile sexism predicted the amount of money participants cut from the budget of a women's organization relative to four other student organizations upon exposure to sexist comedy skits but not neutral comedy skits. A perceived local norm of approval of funding cuts for the women's organization mediated the relationship between hostile sexism and discrimination against the women's organization.     

Recovering after a Natural Disaster: Differences in Quality of Life across Three Communities after Hurricane Sandy

Applied Research in Quality of Life -     

Psychodynamics of Writing,by Martin Weegman,Routledge, Abingdon and New York, 2019, 151 pp.

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

Perceptions of informal sanctioning and the stigma of involuntary childlessness

This study systematically examines the role of informal social response in the emergence of involuntary childlessness or infertility as a stigmatizing attribute. Seventy‐one involuntarily childless women provide detailed instances of perceived informal social sanctions related to their infertility. Subjects perceive that normals consider infertility to be caused by psychological or sexual malfunctioning, or by the woman in the dyad. Infertility is also seen by some to act as a master status. Subjects categorize other infertile individuals in terms of stigma and consider male infertility to be more stigmatizing than female infertility. Social sanctions and social control are shown to be relevant to an understanding of the experience of involuntary childlessness.     

Revisiting the Roles of Literacy Coaches: Does Reality Match Research?

This study surveyed 104 school-based elementary literacy coaches to explore their perceptions of their roles as coaches. These perceptions were then examined relative to the Standards for Reading Professionals—Revised 2010, developed by the International Reading Association. Overall, coaches reported the majority of the tasks they carried out as coaches were tasks they believed should be part of the role of a coach. They most highly valued tasks that allowed them to interact with and support teachers, ultimately leading to improved student achievement. Coaches also indicated a lack of clarity about their role in supporting the standards related to diversity.     

Where Hypotheses Come From: Learning New Relations by Structural Alignment

We test whether comparison can promote learning of new relational abstractions. In Experiment 1, preschoolers heard labels for novel spatial patterns and were asked to extend the label to one of two alternatives: one sharing an object with the standard or one having the same relational pattern as the standard. Children strongly preferred the object match when given one standard but were significantly more likely to choose the relational match when they compared two standards. Experiment 2 provided evidence that comparison processing—as opposed to simply seeing two exemplars—is necessary for this relational effect. Preschoolers who were shown the two standards sequentially without a prompt to compare them preferred object matches, as did those who viewed only one standard. In contrast, those who saw the exemplars together, with a prompt to compare them, showed the same elevated relational responding as found in Experiment 1. We suggest that structural alignment processes are crucial to developing new relational abstractions.