Boehm et al., 2011: Expressing optimism or conveying gratitude increased life satisfaction over one month later among Anglo Americans, Asians only benefitted when conveying gratitude
Reference:
Boehm, J. K., Lyubomirsky, S., & Sheldon, K. M. (2011). A longitudinal experimental study comparing the effectiveness of happiness-enhancing strategies in Anglo Americans and Asian Americans. Cognition & Emotion, 25(7), 1263-1272.
Download PDFSummary:
Asking Anglo American adults to express optimism (“write about their best possible life in the future”) once a week for 10 minutes reported increased life satisfaction relative to a control condition (list what they had done in the past week) over this period and one month later. Asian American adults showed no such benefits. Similar benefits arose from asking people to convey gratitude (write letters of appreciation to friends or family members).
Psychological Process:
What Desired Meaning is At Stake?
What is the Person Trying to Understand?
Selves (My Own and Others')Approach to Desired Meaning
What about it?
Changing beliefs about emotions, states, and the valence of the self-conceptHow?
Psychological Question Addressed
Do I think and feel positively about myself?Do I think and feel positively about myself?Psychological Question Addressed
Do I think and feel positively about myself?Psychological Process 2:
Psychological Process 3:
Social Area:
Well-Being
Intervention Technique:
Active reflection, on a positive aspect of self