Research has associated financial desire discrepancies (the gap between current and desired states) with poorer subjective well-being (SWB). Because acquiring more wealth appears ineffective in decreasing financial desire discrepancies, we examined whether a theoretically meaningful psychological factor, termed mindfulness, would close the aspiration gap by “wanting what one has,” and thereby enhance SWB. Study 1 revealed that mindfulness was associated with a smaller financial desire discrepancy, which helped explain a positive association between mindfulness and SWB in undergraduates. Two further studies with working adults showed that these results occurred independently of financial status and changes therein. A final, quasi-experimental study with mindfulness trainees extended these findings. Reasons why mindfulness may help to promote the perception of having “enough” are discussed.

Journal of Research in Personality,  Volume 43, Issue 5, October 2009, Pages 727-736

Being at the top has its perks, but new UofT research shows people in positions of authority at work are more likely to experience certain psychological and physical problems that can undermine the health benefits associated with job authority. Click here to read the article.

Defensive pessimists (DPs) are considered to be adaptive pessimists because of their high performances, but the well-being of DPs have not been sufficiently studied. Some studies suggested that DPs have lower well-being than optimists, but it is not clear whether their level of well-being is as low as to be considered maladaptive. In this study, well-being was distinguished between psychological well-being including self-improvement, and subjective well-being as in the traditional notion of well-being, and compared well-being among DPs, strategic optimists (SOs) and depressed persons (DEPs) in a sample of 303 college students (F = 160, M = 143). Results indicated no significant differences in the level of psychological well-being among DPs and SOs, and both of these groups scored higher than DEPs. DPs also scored higher than DEPs in subjective well-being and no differences were found in satisfaction in life between DPs and SOs. Thus, this study concluded that the well-being of DPs were high in some regards and were not maladaptive.

Shinrigaku Kenkyu Volume 77, Issue 2, 2006, Pages 141-148

People are unconsciously fairer and more generous when they are in clean-smelling environments, according to a soon-to-be published study led by a Brigham Young University professor. Click here to read the article.

An experiment was conducted with 48 healthy young adults engaged in a supervised 10-week exercise program to determine whether a placebo effect is involved within the exercise-psychological enhancement connection. Based on an expectancy modification procedure, one-half of the subjects were led to believe that their program was specifically designed to improve psychological well-being (experimental condition) whereas no such intervention was made with the second half (control condition). Expectations for psychological benefits and aerobic capacity (VO(2max)) were measured before and after completion of the program. Self-esteem, as the indicator of psychological well-being, was measured on four specific occasions: at the beginning, after the fourth and seventh weeks, and upon completion of the training program. The results showed similar significant increases in fitness levels in both conditions. Moreover, self-esteem was significantly improved over time in the experimental but not in the control condition. These findings provide evidence to support the notion that exercise may enhance psychological well- being via a strong placebo effect.
Psychosomatic Medicine, Volume 55, Issue 2, 1993, Pages 149-154

This study investigated the relationships among mindfulness, marital satisfaction, and perceived spousal similarity. All 95 subjects responded to a questionnaire measuring each of these variables, and an additional series of demographic variables. A significant positive relationship was found between mindfulness and marital satisfaction, with no statistically significant relationship found between perceived spousal similarity and marital satisfaction. There was a stronger correlation between mindfulness and marital satisfaction than the correlation between marital satisfaction and any of the other variables, including similarity. These results carry meaningful implications for the role of mindfulness techniques within the context of building and maintaining happy marital relationships and general well-being.
Journal of Adult Development, Vol. 12, No. 1, January 2005

Prior research links optimism to physical health, but the strength of the association has not been systematically evaluated. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to conduct a meta-analytic review to determine the strength of the association between optimism and physical health. Methods: The findings from 83 studies, with 108 effect sizes (ESs), were included in the analyses, using random-effects models. Results: Overall, the mean ES characterizing the relationship between optimism and physical health outcomes was 0.17, p<.001. ESs were larger for studies using subjective (versus objective) measures of physical health. Subsidiary analyses were also conducted grouping studies into those that focused solely on mortality, survival, cardiovascular outcomes, physiological markers (including immune function), immune function only, cancer outcomes, outcomes related to pregnancy, physical symptoms, or pain. In each case, optimism was a significant predictor of health outcomes or markers, all p<.001. Conclusions: Optimism is a significant predictor of positive physical health outcomes.

A closer look at the research shows that:
1. ES for prospective studies was .12
2. ES for pessimism (.18) was greater than ES for optimism (.14)
3. ES for cancer (crossover and longitudinal) was .27 (moderate)
4. ES for cancer (prospective) was .07 (not significant)
5. ES for subjective health outcomes was .2 6. ES for objective health outcomes was .08

Having children improves married peoples’ life satisfaction and the more they have, the happier they are.  For unmarried individuals, raising children has little or no positive effect on their happiness. Click here to read the article.

The quality and quantity of one’s relationships have been reliably linked to morbidity and mortality. More recently, studies have focused on links between relationships and cardiovascular reactivity as a physiological mechanism via the stress-buffering hypothesis. However, not all social relationships are consistently positive which points to the importance of a more comprehensive examination of relationship that includes negative qualities. In this study, we manipulated relationship positivity and negativity with an experimenter and examined its influence on cardiovascular reactivity. Results revealed that relationship positivity was associated with lower systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity for men and women. Relationship negativity, on the other hand, was related to less of an increase in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) reactivity in men. Internal analyses showed that perceptions of positivity and negativity interacted such that high positivity/high negativity perceptions (ambivalence) were related to the highest SBP reactivity. Results of this study suggest that the quality of one’s relationships is an important moderator of cardiovascular reactivity during stress.

International Journal of Psychophysiology, Volume 74, Issue 2, November 2009, Pages 114-119

A genetic tendency to depression is much less likely to be realized in a culture centered on collectivistic rather than individualistic values, according to a new Northwestern University study. In other words, a genetic vulnerability to depression is much more likely to be realized in a Western culture than an East Asian culture that is more about we than me-me-me. The study takes a global look at mental health across social groups and nations.  Click here to read the article.

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