Wanting to be Happy Fosters Happiness by Promoting Savoring: A Daily Diary Study

Jean-Baptiste Pavani (), Marguerite Larmanou, Sophie Holtzer and Desirée Colombo
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Jean-Baptiste Pavani: Center for Research On the Psychology of Cognition, Language and Emotion (PsyCLE), Aix Marseille University
Marguerite Larmanou: CLIPSYD, Paris Ouest Nanterre University
Sophie Holtzer: Center for Research On the Psychology of Cognition, Language and Emotion (PsyCLE), Aix Marseille University
Desirée Colombo: Universitat Jaume I

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2025, vol. 26, issue 3, No 23, 16 pages

Abstract: Abstract The present study examined the effect of happiness goals (i.e., the degree to which individuals want to be happy) on experiences of happiness. A daily diary study was conducted among 100 French participants. Each evening over a 1-month period, participants reported their experience of happiness during the day, their engagement in savoring and rumination during the day, and their wish to be happy tomorrow. Two main results were obtained. First, as expected, at the between-individual level, individuals with higher happiness goals were more likely to experience intense happiness, partly because they engaged more in savoring. Second, as expected, at the within-individual level, when an individual displayed higher happiness goals for tomorrow than usual, the individual was more likely to experience intense happiness during the next day than usual, partly due to stronger engagement in savoring. The results suggest that, on average, happiness goals foster happiness experiences by eliciting happiness-promoting behaviors.

Keywords: Happiness; Well-being; Goals; Cybernetic; Emotion regulation; Strategy; Savoring (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-025-00878-4

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