ENHANCING OUR SUBJECTIVE

WELL-BEING
SUBJECTIVE WELL-
HAPPINESS
BEING

DAILY SCIENTIFIC
USAGE TERMINOLGY
• POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY-concerned with the
enhancement of happiness and well- being
• -scientific study of the role of personal
strengths and positive social systems in the
promotion of optimal well-being.
 SWB- “What people think and how they feel
about their lives-to the cognitive and affective
conclusions they reach when they evaluate their
existence”(Deiner,2000)
COMPONENTS OF SWB
• Cognitive
-life satisfaction
-satisfaction w/impt life domains(family, peer
group[,health ,finances, work, leisure)
• Affective
-positive affect
-negative affect
 MEASURING HAPPINESS
Satisfaction w/ Life Scale (SWLS)
(Diener,Emmons,Lansen &Griffen 1985)
On the next slide are 5 statements that you may agree or disagree with. Using the
1-7 scale below indicate your agreement with each item by placing the
appropriate number on the line preceeding the item. Please be open and
honest in your responses.

7 - strongly agree
6 - agree
5 - slightly agree
4 - neither agree or disagree
3 - slightly disagree
2 - disagree
1 - strongly disagree
 Satisfaction w/ Life Scale (SWLS)
• In most ways my life is close to the ideal
• The conditions of my life are excellent
• I am satisfied with my life
• So far I have got the important things I want in
life
• If I could live my life over I would change
almost nothing
 Satisfaction w/ Life Scale (SWLS)
Interpreting your SWLS:
31-35 Extremely satisfied
26-30 Satisfied (most common response range)
21-25 Slightly satisfied
20 Neutral
15-19 Slightly dissatisfied
10-14 Dissatisfied
5-9 Extremely dissatisfied
 Positive Affectivity and Negative
Affectivity Scale (PANAS)
-malungkot -masaya
-galit -nagalak
-lito -may- gana
-kakaba-kaba -interesado
-buwisit -inspirado
-matamlay -masigla
-takot -galak na galak
-Nalulumbay -natutuwa
What are the characteristics of the happy person?
Happy person is “young, healthy,well-educated,well-
paid,extroverted,optimistic,worry free,religious,
married persons with high self-esteem, high job
morale, modest aspiration, of either sex and of a wide
range of intelligence”Wilson (1967)
“Happy person has a happy temperament, tends to look
on the bright side of things and does not ruminate
excessively about bad events, has social confidants
(intimate relationship) and possesses adequate
resources for making progress toward valued goals.”
(Deiner,1999)
ADAPTATION MODEL
Brickman and Campbell(1971)
-Hedonic Treadmill “People would never remain
happy over the long run because they would
always adapt to changes in their condition”.
GOALS AND VALUES
Emmons (1986)
-Positive affect correlate with achievement of goals
-Negative affect correlate w/ goal conflicts
Lucas(1999)
-What makes people happy depends on their values
SOCIAL COMPARISON
Michalos (1985)
-Person’s level of subjective well-being is in part
determined by comparisons she/he makes between
standards .
-Downward comparison leads to positive affect .
SELF-DETERMINATION MODEL
-Pursuit of intrinsic goals provided people with a
sense of satisfaction while extrinsic goals does not.
Intrinsic Goals –personal growth, autonomy and
enhancement of others and communities
FLOW
-A person should be happy if he or she is usually
involved in interesting activities that present
challenges that the person can meet.
HIGH CHALLENGE

ANXIETY FLOW

LOW SKILLS HIGH SKILLS

APATHY BOREDOM

LOW CHALLENGE
• Church,1987
Research on Filipino values and social behavior
suggest that Filipinos are probably more
collectivistic or more likely to carry an
interdependent construal of self(emphasis on
roles and relationships)
• Reyes (2004)
Subjective Well –being of Filipino College
students:
SOCIAL SUPPORT HAPPINESS
Self-Esteem Positive Emotions
Negative Emotions
 Based on Seligman Research:
ACTIVITIES THAT ENHANCE SWB
1.EXPRESSING GRATITUDE : being grateful for
what you have (either privately – through
contemplation or journaling) or conveying
your appreciation to one or more individuals
whom you’ve never properly thanked.
-gratitude journal
-expressing gratitude directly to another
person
-gratitude visit
 GRATITUDE FOR CHALLENGES
• Jot down something that upset you
• Now try to brainstorm: How might this be a
blessing in disguise? How could I turn it to my
advantage ? What could be good about this?
• Rate your feelings now 0-10. Did your feelings
move toward peace?
2. CULTIVATING OPTIMISM
• Keeping a journal in which you imagine and
write about the best possible future for
yourself, or practicing to look at the bright side
of every situation.
• Identify barrier thoughts or automatic
pessimistic thoughts
 3. Avoiding overthinking and social
comparison:
• Using strategies (such as distraction) to
cut down on how often you dwell on
your problems and compare yourself to
others.
How to shake off ruminations(negative
thinking)
- Cut loose/distractions
- Act to solve the problem
- Avoid over-thinking triggers
4. PRACTICING ACTS OF KINDNESS
• Doing good things for others , whether
friends or strangers, either directly or
anonymously, either spontaneously or
planned.
 5. NURTURING RELATIONSHIPS
-Picking a relationship in need of
strengthening and investing time and
energy in healing , cultivating .affirming
and enjoying it.
 6.INCREASING FLOW EXPERIENCE
• Engage in activities that you truly enjoy !
Identify your strengths and find ways to
harness your strengths in your daily work..
 7. SAVORING LIFE’S JOYS :
• Paying close attention , taking delight , and
going over life’s momentary pleasures and
and wonders -through thinking ,writing,
drawing or sharing with another.
 8. COMMITTING TO YOUR GOALS
• Picking one , two or three significant goals
that are meaningful to you and devoting time
and effort to pursuing them.
 9. DEVELOPING STRATEGIES FOR
COPING
• Practicing ways to endure or surmount a
recent stress, hardship or trauma
10.COPING VIA THOUGHT DISPUTATION
• ABCDE Disputation technique
Adversity-Identify a recent adverse event
Beliefs – (what you say to yourself)
Identify your interpretation of the event
Consequences-(emotions and behavior that result from
beliefs about adversity)
What happened afterwards?
Disputation-Dispute your beliefs especially any
catastrophic thoughts or overgeneralizations, view
event more realistically.
Energization-focus that energy on making things better
instead of reinforcing your pessismistic beliefs.
 11. LEARNING TO FORGIVE
Keeping a journal or writing a letter in which you
work on letting go of anger and resentment
towards one or more individuals whop have
hurt or wronged you.
 “Letting Go of Grudges “ exercise
• Choose someone you have a grudge against
• On a blank piece of paper, draw a circle in the
center and write a few words capturing the
essence of the grudge
• Fill the rest of the page w/ at least 15 blank
circles
• Fill each circle w/ a word or phrase describing
something about the person for which you are
grateful
• Hold the page at arm’s length and reflect on how
the grudge gets lost in a sea of gratitude.
 12. PRACTICING RELIGION AND
SPIRITUALITY:
• Becoming more involved in your church, or
mosque or reading and pondering spiritually-
themed books.