Matching Items (9)
Filtering by
- Creators: Arizona State University
- Creators: LePine, Marcie
Description
Previous research indicates that difficulties in emotion regulation and greater dissociation from one's emotions are often observed among trauma survivors. Further, trauma survivors often show greater negative emotions such as anger, and diminished positive emotions such as happiness. Relatively less is known about the relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms, dissociation, emotion regulation difficulties, and non-trauma related emotional experiences in daily life. This study examined whether greater reports of posttraumatic stress symptoms, difficulties in emotion regulation, and dissociative tendencies were associated with greater intensity of anger and lower intensity of happiness during a relived emotions task (i.e., recalling and describing autobiographical memories evoking specific emotions). Participants were 50 individuals who had experienced a traumatic event and reported a range of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Participants rated how they felt while recalling specific emotional memories, as well as how they remembered feeling at the time of the event. Results showed that dissociative tendencies was the best predictor of greater intensity of anger and, contrary to the hypothesis, dissociative tendencies was predictive of greater happiness intensity as well. These findings are consistent with previous research indicating a paradoxical effect of heightened anger reactivity among individuals with dissociative tendencies. In addition, researchers have argued that individuals with a history of traumatization do not report lower positive emotional experiences. The present findings may suggest the use of dissociation as a mechanism to avoid certain trauma related emotions (e.g, fear and anxiety), in turn creating heightened experiences of other emotions such as anger and happiness.
ContributorsTorres, Dhannia L (Author) / Robinson Kurpius, Sharon (Thesis advisor) / Roberts, Nicole A. (Committee member) / Homer, Judith (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Introduction: Less than half of U.S. adults meet the aerobic physical activity guidelines to exercise at least 150 minutes a week. An individual's decision to be physically active is influenced by their perceptions of physical activity. To address perceptions, interventions need to be implemented where adults spend one third of their day; the workplace. A number of physical activity interventions have been conducted and few have been successful at improving physical activity; therefore, there is a need to explore novel approaches to improve physical activity in the worksite. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the impact of a seven-day gratitude intervention on perceptions of physical activity and happiness in the workplace. Methods: Full-time employees at two worksites participated in a seven-day online journaling study. Participants were randomized into the intervention (gratitude) or control group and were assessed for perceptions of physical activity and happiness at baseline, immediate post-test (day 7) and one-week follow-up (day 14). Results: Results of this study indicate that the seven-day gratitude intervention may not significantly improve perceptions of physical activity or increase happiness. Future research should consider assessing the individual's readiness for change at baseline, increasing the length of the intervention, testing participant level of gratitude at baseline and employing a larger sample size.
ContributorsRowedder, Lacey (Author) / Huberty, Jennifer (Thesis advisor) / Chisum, Jack (Committee member) / Lee, Chong (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The purpose of this thesis is to explore if any correlation exists between the proposed components of happiness with overall self-perceived happiness. This thesis also explores how introversion and extraversion, gender, and working status affects the proposed components of happiness for college students and how their happiness influences engagement, motivation, preference of organizational culture, and the activities that they engage in. This research was gathered from secondary sources and a survey that was given to undergraduate students at Arizona State University. We found that well-being, gratitude, achievement, psychological empowerment, and affection contribute to both extraverts and introverts' happiness. In addition, we found that extraverts reported higher means than introverts in each factor; including happiness in general and what contributes to it. Contrary to popular belief, our research shows that autonomy either had no correlation or negatively correlates with happiness. In addition, we found that both extraverts and introverts participate in social and nonsocial activities rather than solely on their expected type of activity. Our research also shows that females reported higher means than males on gratitude, achievement, and autonomy. One significant implication of this study is that it can help individuals to better understand themselves and people they interact with.
ContributorsVasquez, Delia (Co-author) / Lopez, Miguel (Co-author) / LePine, Marcie (Thesis director) / Arce, Alma (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Research has long supported the idea that parks contribute to physical and mental well-being. Evidence has shown that the presence of parks reduces stress, positively impacts health, and can lower the risk of crime in neighborhoods. There have been studies that discuss variables that impact the accessibility and quality of parks in neighborhoods such as ethnicity, income, and gender. More recently, research has delved into the impact of parks on individual's happiness. Findings imply that the desire for happiness may be satisfied by park visitation and provide evidence that suggests the diversity of park activities is a significant contributor to happiness. This study aims to identify how varying park designs contribute to individual happiness. Three hypotheses are presented: 1) frequency of park visits is positively correlated with life satisfaction, 2) park structure impacts efficacy of parks to promote happiness, and 3) adults travel to parks specifically to improve their mood. Hypothesis 1 is used to understand the relationship between park visitation and overall satisfaction, hypothesis 2 aims to identify how the physical structure of the park contributes to personal happiness, and hypothesis 3 provides an understanding for what motivates adults to visit parks. This study's results indicate that there is no significant correlation between frequency of park visits and life satisfaction, nor is there a significant correlation between physical park structure and increased happiness. While an insignificant amount of participants reported traveling to parks specifically to enhance their mood, the majority of participants indicated traveling to the park to participate in an activity that positively affects their happiness. This study can act as a tool for urban planners to get an idea of why people visit parks and which features they use while they're there. This information can provide guidance when deciding what to include in future parks, utilizing their budget in a way that maximizes community use and happiness.
ContributorsTapia, Isabella Andrea (Author) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis director) / LePine, Marcie (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The purpose of this thesis is to explore the effectiveness of a mindful and interdependent approach to success and happiness. I believe our happiness should be a constant priority of ours. To achieve happiness, I argue that we should always be thoughtfully considering our own perspectives as well as the perspectives of others. I begin by explaining the components of the Happiness Chain, which I've developed through my examination of literature on mindfulness, the treatment of others, positivity, stress, and other interrelated areas. The Happiness Chain starts with an internal analysis of ourselves as individuals. The components of this section include mindfulness, stress, and positivity. The second section of the Happiness Chain deals with how we treat with others. In this section we use what we've learned in the first section to acknowledge how our actions affect the happiness of other people. Ultimately, the emotional state of one individual affects the emotional state of the individuals they interact with, so it is in our best interest to increase the happiness of those around us as well and not just ourselves. I then discuss the importance of the Happiness Chain to the organization by comparing it with emotional intelligence, which is necessary for an effective leader to have. I specifically discuss how each component of the Happiness Chain relates to the five characteristics of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill. Lastly, I provide specific tools that individuals, managers, or leaders, can use to achieve mindfulness and positivity for themselves and for others for a happier, more successful life overall.
ContributorsJerome, Zoe Kristine (Author) / LePine, Marcie (Thesis director) / Waymire, Cara (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Positive psychology focuses on the promotion of well-being (Seligman, & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Positive psychology interventions (PPIs) have been developed to help facilitate the development of skills needed to flourish and current research suggests that PPIs can help individuals improve their happiness, reduce stress, and become more resilient (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005). National surveys highlight that students in higher education are in dire need of interventions aimed at helping them cope with the negative impact of stress (Douce & Keeling, 2014; Marks & Wade, 2015). Research among the graduate student population is scant even though they report high levels of stress and work even more hours than undergraduate students (Wyatt & Oswalt, 2013). PPIs implemented in the graduate student population focus heavily on psychologically-based programs, like psychology and social work, whose students may already be receiving assistance in self-care (Botta, Cadet, & Maramaldi, 2015; Burkhart, 2014; Nelson, Dell'Oliver, Koch, & Buckler, 2001). Thus, this current study is a randomized controlled trial testing an online PPI, adapted from Achor's work in the business industry (2012, 2014), compared with an online informative stress group and a wait list control group among graduate students from various disciplines at a large, public university in the Southwest. Participants were administered pre-, post-, and three-month follow-up tests to determine the impact of the interventions on their levels of perceived stress, happiness, and resilience. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used with covariates of age, gender, race, program of study, and graduate level of study (masters versus doctoral). The main findings of the study included: the students in the PPI group reported significantly higher resilience at the end of the three weeks than did the students in the informative stress or wait list control groups, even though measures of happiness or perceived stress were not impacted; and students from psychologically based programs received the most benefit from treatment, especially from the PPI intervention. All findings, implications, and suggestions for future directions are discussed.
ContributorsVenieris, Pauline (Author) / Kinnier, Richard (Thesis advisor) / Rund, James (Committee member) / Homer, Judith (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Background: College students face a particularly high prevalence of body dissatisfaction and weight instability increasing the risk of being unhappy and having a poor quality of life. Time-restricted feeding, a type of intermittent fasting, has gained popularity recently for sustainable weight loss without the characteristic dietary restrictions of most fad diets. A limited number of randomized control trials have looked at the effects of time-restricted feeding in humans, but none have looked at how this dietary regimen impacts happiness and quality of life. Objective: The goal was to examine the effects of an 18-hour daily fasting regimen compared to an 8-hour daily fasting regimen on happiness and quality of life in college students in Arizona.
Methods: Participants included 29 healthy, non-smoking, non-vaping students attending college in Arizona between October 2020 to March 2021. Of the 16 participants allocated to the time-restricted feeding intervention, 8 completed the trial. Of the 13 participants allocated to the control group, 10 completed the trial. The eating window began within one hour of waking up with a 6-hour eating window for the intervention group and 16-hour window for the control group. They could do one cheat day per week. No dietary restrictions were enforced. Participants completed the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and the WHOQOL-BREF quality of life questionnaire at baseline, week 4, and week 8. Week 8 data were not reported due to data collection changes and cancellations related to the new safety protocols for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Results: Quality of life related to social relationships improved significantly in the intervention group (p=0.026). There was a trend favoring the intervention group as well showing a possible improvement in happiness related to perceived energy levels (p=0.088). No other significant data were reported.
Conclusion: Adherence to an 18-hour time-restricted feeding regimen for 8 weeks may improve quality of life related to social relationships in college students in Arizona. The results of this trial do not suggest a significant impact on overall quality of life or happiness in this population.
ContributorsDe León, Anateresa (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis advisor) / Shepard, Christina (Committee member) / Grant, Shauna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
According to hedonism about happiness, all and only enjoyable experiences are the basic constituents of one’s happiness, and these experiences contribute to one’s happiness just to the extent that they have a greater intensity or duration. After defending this view, I show that it must be amended to count as an equally plausible theory of what constitutes one’s well-being. I then present two such amended versions of hedonism about well-being. The first, which I call objective hedonism, adds the claim that the objective worth of the things one enjoys also makes a difference to the extent to which an enjoyable experience contributes to one’s well-being. The second, which I call reliabilist hedonism, adds the claim that one’s evaluative intuitions about which things are good for one track which things have proven themselves to one to reliably lead to enjoyable experience. I conclude that reliabilist hedonism constitutes a revival of hedonism about well-being.
ContributorsFanciullo, James (Author) / Portmore, Douglas W. (Thesis advisor) / Calhoun, Cheshire (Committee member) / DesRoches, Tyler (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Predominant sustainability pedagogy and science largely focus on fixing existingproblems via solutions external to humans (e.g. carbon sequestration, renewable energy).
While external or outer interventions can support a transition to a sustainable future,
internal or inner developments should also be highly valued. For this dissertation, I define
sustainability as the ability of any individual, community or country to meet their needs
and live happily without compromising the ability of other individuals, communities,
countries and future generations to meet their needs and live happily. Framed this way, a
sustainable and happy life should focus on both outer and inner development, the latter
largely unconsidered in sustainability science and scholarship.
I propose that emphasizing spiritual wellbeing and spiritual practices can support
individuals and communities to act with mindfulness, awareness, compassion,
connection, and love, transitioning to a more sustainable existence. This dissertation
consists of three studies: (1) the development of a theoretical framework identifying
spirituality as the missing link between sustainability and happiness, (2) an empirical
pilot study testing the theoretical framework via contemplative practices in a
sustainability classroom, and (3) an autoethnography exploring my inner development
and transformation as a sustainability and spirituality researcher over the past four years.
The theoretical framework found and posits, based on existing literature, that
spirituality indeed may be the missing link between an unsustainable existence and a
sustainably and happy future. Results from the empirical study suggest that a focus on
spirituality leads students to develop inner traits necessary for sustainable behavior and a
deeper understanding of sustainability. My autoethnography demonstrates the spiritual
ii
transformation possible from integrating spiritual well-being and intellect, while striving
to embody sustainability as a spiritual journey. My research supports further studies and a
greater understanding of the importance of spiritual well-being to sustainability and the
incorporation of contemplative practices in sustainability classrooms. Finally, I hope this
dissertation will (1) inspire sustainability scientists, researchers, and students to integrate
spiritual well-being as an important part of their lives and work, and (2) encourage deeper
conversations about the radical inner shift we need to achieve lasting sustainability for all
beings.
While external or outer interventions can support a transition to a sustainable future,
internal or inner developments should also be highly valued. For this dissertation, I define
sustainability as the ability of any individual, community or country to meet their needs
and live happily without compromising the ability of other individuals, communities,
countries and future generations to meet their needs and live happily. Framed this way, a
sustainable and happy life should focus on both outer and inner development, the latter
largely unconsidered in sustainability science and scholarship.
I propose that emphasizing spiritual wellbeing and spiritual practices can support
individuals and communities to act with mindfulness, awareness, compassion,
connection, and love, transitioning to a more sustainable existence. This dissertation
consists of three studies: (1) the development of a theoretical framework identifying
spirituality as the missing link between sustainability and happiness, (2) an empirical
pilot study testing the theoretical framework via contemplative practices in a
sustainability classroom, and (3) an autoethnography exploring my inner development
and transformation as a sustainability and spirituality researcher over the past four years.
The theoretical framework found and posits, based on existing literature, that
spirituality indeed may be the missing link between an unsustainable existence and a
sustainably and happy future. Results from the empirical study suggest that a focus on
spirituality leads students to develop inner traits necessary for sustainable behavior and a
deeper understanding of sustainability. My autoethnography demonstrates the spiritual
ii
transformation possible from integrating spiritual well-being and intellect, while striving
to embody sustainability as a spiritual journey. My research supports further studies and a
greater understanding of the importance of spiritual well-being to sustainability and the
incorporation of contemplative practices in sustainability classrooms. Finally, I hope this
dissertation will (1) inspire sustainability scientists, researchers, and students to integrate
spiritual well-being as an important part of their lives and work, and (2) encourage deeper
conversations about the radical inner shift we need to achieve lasting sustainability for all
beings.
ContributorsBerejnoi Bejarano, Erica Anahi (Author) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis advisor) / Ulluwishewa, Rohana (Committee member) / Fonow, Mary Margaret (Committee member) / Afinowich, Robin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020