Difference between revisions of "OCT 30"

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(Created page with "==16: OCT 30== ===Assigned=== :*Emmons C23, “Gratitutde, SWB, and the Brain” (17) ===Robert Emmons, Gratitude, Subjective Well-Being, and the Brain=== :*importance of...")
 
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==16: OCT 30==
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==17: OCT 30==
  
 
===Assigned===
 
===Assigned===
  
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:*Emmons C23, “Gratitutde, SWB, and the Brain” (17)
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:*Haybron, C5, “The Sources of Happiness” (24)
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:*Csiksentmihalyi, C2, “The Content of Experience’ (17)
  
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===Robert Emmons, Gratitude, Subjective Well-Being, and the Brain===
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===Haybron, “The Sources of Happiness”===
  
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:*importance of exchange of gifts, symbolic and material.  Note at 471, anthropological explanation. (Consider complexity of gift giving.)
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:*Acknowledges cultural relativity of what counts as happiness. (Note universality of happiness itself.)
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:*Broad range of gratitude:  from specific feeling about a particular event or circumstance to a general attitude toward life. From satisfying "civic courtesy" to Life as a gift.
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:*Focusing on things we don’t adapt to.  But also that we can change.
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:*Definitions: "positive recognition of benefits received".   "undeserved merit"  Note that it is dependent upon the ''recognition'' of the benefit. From Fitzgerald (470):  appreciation, goodwill, disposition that follows from appreciation and goodwill.
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:*Haybron’s list (expanding from Ryan Deci’s theory of basic needs)
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:*Gratitude can be a "virtue" if understood as a cultivated disposition to recognize undeserved merit.
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::*1. Security -
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:*Gratitude response is stronger if the beneficiary intends the benefit.
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:::*material, social, project, time. Rational approach to risk.
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::*2. Outlook -
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:::*the “internal strategy” -external H-makers vs internal H-making skills.
 +
:::*positivity (savoring, gratitude, pos focus) and acceptance (not passivity or low ambition)
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:::*caring for others. -volunteering next to dancing in joy. (But maybe not for you?)
 +
:::*extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation. 
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::*3. Autonomy - general human desire for self-determination.  
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:::*Option freedom v autonomy. (Paradox of Choice - still current)
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:::*Makes a case for autonomy as universal - takes diff shape in kin-culture.
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::*4. Relationships
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:::*Component h-makers: understanding, validation, caring, trust (also a security item)
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::*5. Skilled and meaningful activity.
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:::*development of skills, meaningful activity (work or not), appreciative engagement.
  
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:*Gratitude as Affective Trait
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:*Money —
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::*grateful people experience more positive emotion. 473  Direction of causation? If you're happy, you may be enjoying many benefits that allow for savoring and gratitude.
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::*shows an Easterlin graph.   
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::*other correlates. Hl.  health, optimism, exercising, empathic, prosocial,forgiving helpful, supportive, less materialistic.  
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::*income affects H-l more.
  
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:*Evolutionary Perspective
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===Csiksentmihalyi, Finding Flow, Chapter 2 ===
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::*"as a cognitive—emotional supplement serving to sustain reciprocal obligations.  -Simmel (471)  "Thus, during exchange of benefits, gratitude  prompts one person (a beneficiary) to be bound to another (a benefactor) during "exchange of benefits, thereby reminding beneficiaries of their reciprocity obligations." (Obligations are also bonds.)
 
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::*"Trivers viewed gratitude as an evolutionary adaptation that regulates people's responses to altruistic acts. Gratitude for altruistic acts is a reward for adherence to the universal norm of reciprocity and is a mediating mechanism that links the receipt of a favor to the giving of a return favor."  Gratitude enacts/promotes reciprocal altruism.  "places us" in social hierarchy defined by benefactor/beneficiary.
 
  
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::*Emmons: gratitude functions include: moral barometer, moral motive, moral reinforcer.
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====The Content of Experience====
  
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:*Correlates of gratitude: greater LS, hope, less depression, anxiety, envy, prosociality, empathy, forgivingness, less focused on material goods, more spiritual and religious. Later (481) - promotes positive memory bias!
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:*Theoretical position, p. 21:  In story of woman with two jobs: looking for patterns of human commitment to a life.  Wants to ask less for self-reports of happiness and more about the moods and affect that might be functionally related to happiness.  
  
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:*Gratitude as Affective Trait
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::*Two big points:
 +
:::*1. Happiness is positive emotion that might be driven by behavior. And,
 +
:::*2. It may be especially evident in a life of commitments and goals which reduce "psychic entropy."  (Negative emotions are “entropic” for C.)
  
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::*More grateful people experience: more instances of G, more intense G, G over wider range of experience.  (Primed for G every day!)
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:*Discussion of emotions, goals, and thoughts in terms of the organization of "psychic entropy", 22 roughly, the cognitive / emotive state of order in my mind at a particular moment or during an activity.   
 +
:*Intentions and goals inform and order our psychic energy.  Most prefer intrinsic motivation, next extrinsic, finally least productive of positive affect is no goal state.  :*William James: self-esteem is a ratio of expectation (goals) to success.  Set goals too high, lowers success and self-esteem. 
  
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::*Core Emmons and McCullough gratitude research.  
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:*Note distinction between Eastern philosophical suspicion of origin of goals and "superficial reading" that suggests it counsels renunciation of goals.
  
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::* Developed the GQ-6 self-rating instrument.  Found some correlates for G, including negative correlation with envy and materialism. Positive with prosociality.  In personality model, G correlates with Extroversion.  G-people higher LS, more religious,
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:*Three contents of consciousness: emotions, intentions, and thoughts.  Their integration allows for flow.  Concentration is necessary for flow, but can be impaired by lack of motivation and emotion.   
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::*Acknowledge another instrument: GRAT
 
  
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:*Interventions to Promote Gratitude
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:*FLOW, p. 29ff. (What a quiet mind is getting ready for.)  
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:*Intervention studies:  Gratitude Journals with pre/post testing. gratitutde, hassles, and events conditions, 1. 1xwk 10 weeks, 2. daily for 2wks, 3. in adults with neuromuscular disease. results: higher LS, optimism, lower health complaints, more excercise.  results held up 6 months later.
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::*effortless action, being in the zone, altered time consciousness.
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::*clear set of goals, focusing attention.
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:*Some evidence in kids. Some discussion of level of maturity need for Theory of Mind (necessary for taking perspective).  Quasi-experiment in grades 6&7, “hassles group”.
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::*often at limits of skill and challenge level.
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::*absorption in task, dynamic feedback.  "All in."
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:*Why is Gratitude Good.  Mechanisms.
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:*Theoretical Problem about the Relation of Flow to Happiness:
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::*1. strengthen social relationships
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::*"It is the full involvement of flow, rather than happiness, that makes for excellence in life. When we are in flow, we are not happy, because to experience happiness we must focus on our inner states, and that would take away attention from the task at hand." [Theoretical note:  choice of "rather than happiness". Also could be "causes LS" or savoring model.]  Think about place of flow in hierarchy of daily goals.  Intensity of flow varies widely from extreme to mundane activity.  Note related states.  
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::*2. counters NA and depression (increases '''positive memory bias''' -- a form of positive illusion by foregrounding a selected reality!)
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::*Data on frequency of flow experiences, p. 33.  About 20% yes, often. 15% no, never. (Again, you need to ask how much flow you want or need.  Might depend upon how you feel when challenged.  Ok, to live life staying “inside your game”.)
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::*3. promotes resiliency (study of responses to disaster).  (Recall Bryant discussion of savoring and coping. Gratitude is a form of savoring.)
 
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:*Gratitude and the Brain
 
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::*Cognitive-affective neuroscience construct (What's happening to your brain when you experience gratitude?)
 
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::*Summary of other research, top of 483: read
 
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::*General hypothesis:  We have structures for both perceiving gratitude in others and expressing it.  
 
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::*Specific hypothesis:  Limbic prefontal networks involved:  "; (1) the fusiform face-processing areas near the temporal—occipital junctions, (2) the amygdala and Limbic emotional processing systems that support emotional states, and (3) interactions between these two subcortical centers with the prefrontal regions that control executive and evaluative processes." 483.   Like other prosocial emotions.
 
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::Specific hypothesis tested with studies of gratitude and mood induction in Parkinson's Disease patients, who have damage to prefrontal networks.  Hyposthesis: PD patients less likely to experience mood benefits of G-induction (by memory recall).   
 
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:*Gratitude and SWB
 
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::*Strong claim for long term effects of gratitude as a trait:  p. 476 -- participants show SWB boost 6 months later.
 
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:*Psychological attitudes at odds with gratitude:
 
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::*"A number of personal burdens and external obstacles block grateful thoughts. A number of attitudes are incompatible with a grateful outlook on life, including perceptions of victimhood, an in ability to admit one's shortcomings, a sense of entitlement, and an inability to admit that one is not self-sufficient. In a culture that celebrates self-aggrandizement and perceptions of deservingness, gratitude can be crowded out." 485 (Note again, a potential connection to the discussion of egoism from buddhism.)
 
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====Option 3: Gratitude and Journal.====
 
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:*This exercise involves keeping a gratitude journal for a period of three weeks. You don't necessarily turn that in (it's likely to include some personal things), but you do turn in three journal entries (one for each week) based on the guidelines for this exercise from the leading researchers on this, Emmons & McCullough.
 
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::*Your daily gratitude journal is both an occasion for expressing gratitude and reporting moments during the day when you engaged in a gratitude behavior (something more extended or involved than "thanks!").  Gratitude behaviors include all of the verbal behaviors by which you can show appreciation to others or in the presence of others for benefits enjoyed. This ranges from telling people ''explicitly'' what you appreciate about what they did for you.  (examples: call centers, someone correcting you or informing you, someone doing more for you than they had to.) G behaviors can include ''requesting'' a benefit (Could you help me with this?...) that you already intend to be really grateful.  "I'd be ever so grateful if...."
 

Revision as of 16:48, 30 October 2024

17: OCT 30

Assigned

  • Haybron, C5, “The Sources of Happiness” (24)
  • Csiksentmihalyi, C2, “The Content of Experience’ (17)

Haybron, “The Sources of Happiness”

  • Acknowledges cultural relativity of what counts as happiness. (Note universality of happiness itself.)
  • Focusing on things we don’t adapt to. But also that we can change.
  • Haybron’s list (expanding from Ryan Deci’s theory of basic needs)
  • 1. Security -
  • material, social, project, time. Rational approach to risk.
  • 2. Outlook -
  • the “internal strategy” -external H-makers vs internal H-making skills.
  • positivity (savoring, gratitude, pos focus) and acceptance (not passivity or low ambition)
  • caring for others. -volunteering next to dancing in joy. (But maybe not for you?)
  • extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation.
  • 3. Autonomy - general human desire for self-determination.
  • Option freedom v autonomy. (Paradox of Choice - still current)
  • Makes a case for autonomy as universal - takes diff shape in kin-culture.
  • 4. Relationships
  • Component h-makers: understanding, validation, caring, trust (also a security item)
  • 5. Skilled and meaningful activity.
  • development of skills, meaningful activity (work or not), appreciative engagement.
  • Money —
  • shows an Easterlin graph.
  • income affects H-l more.

Csiksentmihalyi, Finding Flow, Chapter 2

The Content of Experience

  • Theoretical position, p. 21: In story of woman with two jobs: looking for patterns of human commitment to a life. Wants to ask less for self-reports of happiness and more about the moods and affect that might be functionally related to happiness.
  • Two big points:
  • 1. Happiness is positive emotion that might be driven by behavior. And,
  • 2. It may be especially evident in a life of commitments and goals which reduce "psychic entropy." (Negative emotions are “entropic” for C.)
  • Discussion of emotions, goals, and thoughts in terms of the organization of "psychic entropy", 22 roughly, the cognitive / emotive state of order in my mind at a particular moment or during an activity.
  • Intentions and goals inform and order our psychic energy. Most prefer intrinsic motivation, next extrinsic, finally least productive of positive affect is no goal state. :*William James: self-esteem is a ratio of expectation (goals) to success. Set goals too high, lowers success and self-esteem.
  • Note distinction between Eastern philosophical suspicion of origin of goals and "superficial reading" that suggests it counsels renunciation of goals.
  • Three contents of consciousness: emotions, intentions, and thoughts. Their integration allows for flow. Concentration is necessary for flow, but can be impaired by lack of motivation and emotion.
  • FLOW, p. 29ff. (What a quiet mind is getting ready for.)
  • effortless action, being in the zone, altered time consciousness.
  • clear set of goals, focusing attention.
  • often at limits of skill and challenge level.
  • absorption in task, dynamic feedback. "All in."
  • Theoretical Problem about the Relation of Flow to Happiness:
  • "It is the full involvement of flow, rather than happiness, that makes for excellence in life. When we are in flow, we are not happy, because to experience happiness we must focus on our inner states, and that would take away attention from the task at hand." [Theoretical note: choice of "rather than happiness". Also could be "causes LS" or savoring model.] Think about place of flow in hierarchy of daily goals. Intensity of flow varies widely from extreme to mundane activity. Note related states.
  • Data on frequency of flow experiences, p. 33. About 20% yes, often. 15% no, never. (Again, you need to ask how much flow you want or need. Might depend upon how you feel when challenged. Ok, to live life staying “inside your game”.)
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