How Does More Attention to Subjective Well-Being Affect Subjective Well-Being?

Kai Ludwigs (), Richard Lucas, Martijn Burger, Ruut Veenhoven and Lidia Arends
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Kai Ludwigs: Happiness Research Organisation
Richard Lucas: Michigan State University
Lidia Arends: Erasmus University Rotterdam

Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2018, vol. 13, issue 4, No 12, 1055-1080

Abstract: Abstract There is an ongoing debate as to whether pursuing happiness is beneficial for people’s subjective well-being (SWB). To address this question, we tested whether attention to SWB – measured by participation in SWB surveys – is related to experienced SWB in two longitudinal studies. The initial study was conducted from November to December 2013 (N = 129), and the replication study, three years later from November to December 2016 (N = 120). The studies include two groups: one group (the control group) answered three SWB surveys over 4 weeks, and the other group (the experimental group) followed the same procedure but additionally tracked their SWB in detail using the experience sampling method four times a day and the day reconstruction method once a day using a smartphone application for two weeks to heighten their attention to their SWB. Both studies show higher SWB scores at later measurements compared to the first ones.

Keywords: Attention; Subjective Well-Being (SWB); Experience Sampling Method (ESM); Day Reconstruction Method (DRM); Mobile Application (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11482-017-9575-y

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