Are Cognitive,Affective, and Eudaimonic Dimensions of Subjective Well-Being Differently Related to Consumption? Evidence from Japan

In this study, we investigate the relationship between consumption and subjective well-being (SWB). There is clear evidence in the literature that the income–SWB relationship depends on the SWB measure, but the reasons are not fully clear yet; however, the main reason may be related to consumption because most income is used for that. This study is the first to examine directly whether the consumption–SWB relationship differs between affective, cognitive, and eudaimonic SWB measures. We adopt the following four SWB indices: life satisfaction, the Cantril ladder, affect balance, and eudaimonia. In addition, on the consumption side, we consider both material and relational consumption. Nonparametric analysis of our uniquely collected survey results in Japan suggests that total consumption contributes to cognitive measures of SWB and eudaimonia, while there is a certain threshold for affective measures. However, once material versus relational consumption is considered in total consumption, we find that relational consumption contributes to any SWB measure without clear upper bounds, while material consumption contributes to all SWB measures only to certain thresholds. Our results also show that the marginal effects of total consumption, material consumption, and relational consumption on cognitive measures of SWB and eudaimonia are greater than on affective measures. In addition, our results show that the marginal effects of relational consumption tend to be greater than those of material consumption for all SWB indices. Based on the findings, we expect relational consumption to be key for improving well-being.

     

Correction to: Are Cognitive,Affective, and Eudaimonic Dimensions of Subjective Well-Being Differently Related to Consumption? Evidence from Japan

Journal of Happiness Studies - In the original publication, the authors’ affiliation has been published incorrectly. The correct affiliation of authors is given in this correction.     

Sex differences and properties of the decreasing force during sustained static grip at various target forces

The purpose of this study was to examine properties and sex differences of the decreasing force during sustained isometric grip using various target forces, 50%, 75%, and 100% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), for 6 min. Participants were healthy, 15 men (height = 172.9 +/- 4.6 cm, body mass = 67.7 +/- 5.36 kg) and 15 women (height = 160.9 +/- 5.4 cm, body mass = 55.9 +/- 5.36 kg). The force decrease for target forces of 75% and 100% MVC was marked until 60 sec. from the onset of grip and then decreased gradually. On the other hand, the target force of 50% MVC was maintained for about 60 sec. and then decreased markedly until 100 sec. Differences in the decreasing force among target force levels was observed until 60 sec., and there were no significant differences of the time to decay to 20%, 30%, and 40% MVC. Namely, the time and force exertion reaching an almost steady state were considered to be almost the same at any target force. A sex difference on a parameter was found after 60 sec. or a decreasing force after 40% MVC, and women held it longer or higher than the men. However, the tendency was smaller in the latter phase of the steady state.     

Correspondences among pupillary dilation response,subjective salience of sounds,and loudness

A pupillary dilation response is known to be evoked by salient deviant or contrast auditory stimuli, but so far a direct link between it and subjective salience has been lacking. In two experiments, participants listened to various environmental sounds while their pupillary responses were recorded. In separate sessions, participants performed subjective pairwise-comparison tasks on the sounds with respect to their salience, loudness, vigorousness, preference, beauty, annoyance, and hardness. The pairwise-comparison data were converted to ratings on the Thurstone scale. The results showed a close link between subjective judgments of salience and loudness. The pupil dilated in response to the sound presentations, regardless of sound type. Most importantly, this pupillary dilation response to an auditory stimulus positively correlated with the subjective salience, as well as the loudness, of the sounds (Exp. 1). When the loudnesses of the sounds were identical, the pupil responses to each sound were similar and were not correlated with the subjective judgments of salience or loudness (Exp. 2). This finding was further confirmed by analyses based on individual stimulus pairs and participants. In Experiment 3, when salience and loudness were manipulated by systematically changing the sound pressure level and acoustic characteristics, the pupillary dilation response reflected the changes in both manipulated factors. A regression analysis showed a nearly perfect linear correlation between the pupillary dilation response and loudness. The overall results suggest that the pupillary dilation response reflects the subjective salience of sounds, which is defined, or is heavily influenced, by loudness.     

Subjectively divided tone components in the gap transfer illusion

When a long glide with a short temporal gap in its middle crosses with a continuous short glide at the temporal midpoint of both glides, the gap is perceived in the short glide instead of in the long glide. In the present article, we tested possible explanations for this "gap transfer illusion" by obtaining points of subjective equality of the pitches and durations of the two short tones that are subjectively divided by the gap. The results of two experiments showed that neither an explanation in terms ofenvelope patterns nor explanations in terms of combinationtones or acoustic beats could account for the perception of the short tones in the gap transfer illusion. Rather, the results were compatible with the idea that the illusory tones were formed by the perceptual integration of onsets and offsets of acoustically different sounds. Implications for the perceptual construction of auditory events are discussed.     

Relations between the inflection point on the force-time curve and force-time parameters during static explosive grip

Individual differences in muscle contractile speed during static explosive muscle contraction are reflected in the developmental phase of the force-time curve. The purposes of this study were to clarify the properties and reliability of the inflection point of force-time, statistically dividing speed during static explosive grip into two phases and to assess the relations between that inflection point and others. Static explosive grip data were measured two times with a 5-min. rest (sampling frequency; 100 Hz). 32 healthy, young men (age: 15.5 +/- 0.8 yr., height: 173.9 +/- 7.3 cm, body mass: 71.5 +/- 11.2 kg) participated. 8 static explosive grip parameters were selected: time of reaching, integrated area, and quotient values of the integrated areas up to 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 sec. divided by maximal grip force. The inflection point was calculated statistically from two regression lines fitted to a developmental phase and the almost steady-state phase of reaching maximal grip force by applying a two-phase regression model. The reliabilities of maximal grip force, time of reaching 90% of maximal grip force, and the integrated area until 0.5 sec. and 1.0 sec. after the onset of grip were good (ICC=.77 to .93). The time of reaching an inflection force value appeared at 0.3 sec. after the onset of grip, corresponding to 80% of maximal grip force, and the reliabilities of the parameters regarding inflection point were good (ICC=.77 to .95). The time determined by boundary data between the former and the latter regression data set and the regression coefficient during the developmental phase correlated significantly with the time of reaching 90% of maximal grip force, the integrated area, and the quotient values of the integrated areas up to 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 sec. divided by maximal grip force (rs=-.78 to -.96 and -.75 to 0.88, respectively, p<.05). However, these parameters did not correlate with maximal grip force. A force during the developmental phase and maximal grip force can depend on different physiological factors. The time determined by boundary data between the former and the latter regression data set and the regression coefficient during the developmental phase are useful parameters for evaluating static explosive grip.     

Influence of differences of visual acuity in various visual field conditions on spectral characteristics of the center of pressure sway

This study examined the influence of visual acuity and visual field on the spectral characteristics of the center of pressure during standing. 17 men and 20 women participated in High and Low visual acuity groups. Both groups underwent center of pressure measurements under three visual field conditions: No vision: subjects were given no visual information, Central vision: they were given only central visual field information, and Full vision: they were given full visual information. To assess the spectral characteristics of center of pressure, mean power frequency and frequency of maximal power were calculated from medial-lateral and anterior-posterior center of pressure directions. The Friedman test and Scheffé pairwise comparison tests showed that frequency of maximal power was higher in the No vision than in the Central and Full vision conditions in the High visual acuity group. In conclusion, people with high visual acuity are more susceptible to visual field conditions than those with low visual acuity. It is suggested that postural control characteristics differ with visual acuity or resolution in the central visual field.     

Does Mealtime Communication Improve Happiness? Considering the Trait of Shyness1

Shared mealtimes have been found to be important daily rituals with positive effects on behavior and mental health, such as increasing subjective well-being. However, most previous studies have not considered possible barriers to these positive effects, specifically shyness. We investigated the relationships among shared mealtime quality, shyness, and subjective well-being, and the moderating role of shyness in the relationship between the other two variables by surveying a sample of college students (n = 305). Correlational analyses revealed that shared mealtime quality was negatively associated with shyness and positively associated with subjective well-being. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that shared mealtime quality was significantly associated with subjective well-being, as was the interaction between the friend factor of shared mealtime quality and shyness. Therefore, shared mealtime quality might help improve happiness, but shyness should be considered a possible barrier to this beneficial effect when meals are shared with friends.     

Monetary Valuations of Life Conditions in a Consistent Framework: The Life Satisfaction Approach

The life satisfaction approach (LSA) enables researchers to attach monetary values to nonmarket circumstances that affect people’s life satisfaction. Previous studies employ LSA to examine how the environment, health, and social capital, etc. affect life satisfaction. This study focuses on the OECD Better Life Index and intends to evaluate more comprehensive socioeconomic characteristics. Considering comprehensive factors about life enables us to avoid biased estimation. This study also considers more consistent estimation methods. Previous studies tend to attach monetary valuations in different settings. Thus, it is difficult to compare the effects of different socioeconomic circumstances. This study employs LSA to estimate the happiness functions of Japanese survey respondents by incorporating extensive socioeconomic characteristics as explanatory variables. Controlling for multiple factors affecting subjective wellbeing, we more accurately attach monetary values to each factor within a consistent analytical framework. By doing so, we assess factors’ relative comparable influence on subjective wellbeing. We adopt three estimation procedures to check robustness against model specifications. Results indicate that respondents value small changes in their socioeconomic circumstances more highly than other factors. Especially, circumstances surrounding quality of life carry higher equivalent monetary valuations than material living standards.     

Different gripping intervals in reproducibility of force-decreasing curve and muscle oxygenation kinetics during sustained maximal gripping

The purpose was to examine the properties and reproducibility of the force-decreasing curve and muscle-oxygenation kinetics measured by near infrared spectroscopy in sustained isometric grip and rhythmic repeated grip measurements using various contraction intervals (2 to 5 sec.). 10 healthy young adults performed both grip tests for 6 min., during which muscle-oxygenation kinetics were measured. The intraclass correlation coefficients of the time to reach the minimum value for oxygenated hemoglobin and myoglobin tended to become lower with longer relaxation time, especially over a 3-sec. interval. Although blood-flow obstruction closely influences the initial decreasing grip force during both grip tests with a 2-sec. interval, the decreasing grip force during rhythmic repeated gripping with over a 3-sec. interval is low. Hence, the physiological mechanism related to rhythmic repeated grip with over a 3-sec. interval may differ from that related to sustained isometric grip and rhythmic repeated grip with a 2-sec. interval.