Psych 315 1nd Edition Lecture 15Outline of Last Lecture I. ViolenceOutline of Current Lecture II. Money Primes and behavior III. The Hedonic TreadmillIV. Religion and Altruism V. Culture and SWBVI. Depression Current Lecture- How we feel about our lives. High: happy, Low: unhappy Some Practical Advice from Barbara Fredericksono Bad things that happen impact your life more so than positive things. o 5:1 ration to feel happy o Happy people have a 5 positive experiences to 1 negative experience ratio. Depressed people and people in very unhappy marriages tend to have 1 to 1 ratios. o Bad is stronger than goodo Still able to find positive in negative events. May be hidden with. This can increase our positive ratioo People who behave altruistically, tend to be people who have a higher well- being ratio How to increase positivity ratioso Find Positive Meaning: try to find positive meanings in negative events. After 9/11 remember the bravery of the first responders, find compassion for the survivors, and don’t be only bitter and angry. o Be open to new experienceso Do goodo Be Social: almost all very happy people are highly social; they are also more extraverted and agreeableo Spend time outdoors in good weather o For couples, engage in new, different activities togetherThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.Money Primes and Behavior Hypothesis: Money Primes make people more self-sufficient Given money, asked to spend it on self or others. People who spend it on others were happier. Study done where some people walked from point A to B in a tunnel were less happy than people who walked outside.  Study primed thoughts on money.  Conclusion: people who have a lot of thoughts about money want to be more self- sufficient andless altruistic. 9 studies over this got the same conclusion.  Money doesn’t make you happy Researchers who study money cross- cultural societies that were wealthy studied if they were happy. o Money does make a difference in happiness but it is a small and curvilinear, it increases, then flattens out.  Study 1: Ss given hard task. MPS (money primed subjects) worked longer before asking for help Study 2: replicated study 1. Study 3: The undergraduate experimenter asks the Ss to help her with a task. The MPS helped less that the control group subjects. Study 4: MPS and control Ss were asked to explain how to complete an experimental task to a late arriving participant in the study. MPS spent only ½ as much time explaining.  Study 5: Ss played a Monopoly game. At the end some had $4000, some had $200, and some had none. The experimenter dropped a box of pencils to see who would help by picking up the most. Mr. $4000 picked up fewer than Mr. $200 and Mr. $0. Study 6: MPS donated less money to a charity than people in the control condition Study 7: MPS arranged chairs for a get acquainted conversation with someone that they had not met. They put the chairs farther apart than the non-money primed subjects. Study 8: MPS picked more solitary activities as their preferences than control Ss, who chose activities involving other people Study 9: MPS chose to work on a task alone (meaning more work for them) rather than work with a partner. Non-MPS chose to work with a partnerWhat about money itself? In the U.S. historical growth in income has not be accompanied by increased SWB. Cross-cultural comparisons show that a countries wealth is related to average SWB within the country, but the relationship is not terribly strong and it is curvilinear. That is because the association between SWB and wealth is stronger at lower levels of national income.  Within the U.S. Money correlates moderately with SWB, and the correlation is curvilinear. This is because the association between money and happiness is stronger among people who have less money.  Income inequality – Study of income levels between 1972 and 2008. Is more important for lowerSES people Findings – income inequality has increased dramatically over this time. In years with greater inequality, subjective well-being is lower, especially among the middle class and the poor. Lower subjective well-being is not due to lower income, but to feelings that society is unfair and a lack of trust in other people.  Comparing predictors of SWB, positive daily emotions and negative daily emotions around the world Television, computer, access to the internet? (luxuries that go beyond basic needs) No money for food or shelter in the past year (unmet basic needs) Treated with respect, had family or friends you can count on, yesterday learned something new, did what you do best, chose how you spent you time (social psychological needs) SWB best predicted by household income and luxury goods Positive and negative emotions best predicted by social psychological needs met The Hedonic Treadmill Habituation: After we get money, we want more and it becomes a constant struggle. This is why money does not contribute a lot to SWB.  Materialism: A value system that emphasizes the pursuit and acquisition of material goods and luxuries, typically perceived by the individual as a measure of personal worth and achievement, often at the expense of moral, psychological, and social considerations Materialism can be found among persons at all levels of wealth. Many people of great wealth are not materialistic in the least.  Materialism is associated with lower SWB.  Materialism is also correlated with lower mental and physical well-being Higher levels of materialistic values were associated with more anxiety, less happiness, and lower-quality social relationships.  A study of situational manipulated materialismo Study 1 – Show students pictures of luxury goods or natural scenes. Then ask then to fill out a scale that measures materialistic concerns. Exposure to luxury goods increased materialistic concerns. o Study 2 – Exposure to luxury goods made students rate themselves as less satisfied with themselves, more anxious and depressed.o Study 3: Manipulating materialism increased competitivenesso Study 4: Creating a materialistic mindset led to more selfish behavior in that people tookmore resources from a common pool than was their fair share Clark Study – People may value possessions because they provide a