Do illusionary positive memories cast a shadow on current happiness? Evaluations of the present and the past in relation to subjective well-being
Keywords:
evaluation of the past, present and past selves, evaluation of the societal conditions, life satisfaction, subjective well-beingAbstract
Studies on Subjective Well-being (SWB) show that the the Republic of Macedonia and other ex-communist developing countries are at the bottom of lists measuring this variable. One possible determinant is how the evaluation of present living conditions compared to socialism era 20 years ago, is related to the way people evaluate their current SWB. We hypothesize that the higher the difference in evaluation of the past compared to the evaluation of the present, the lower the subjective well-being will be. Participants were 443 adults, all 50 to 65 years of age. SWB was measured using Satisfaction with Life Scale and PANAS. Appropriate questionnaires were developed to measure evaluation of the present and past self, as well as present and past societal conditions, focusing on perceived opportunities, uncertainty and hopelessness. The results support our assumptions that the higher the difference between the evaluations of past and present self, the lower the SWB is. This difference is included in a regression analysis as a significant predictor of SWB, but present self and past social conditions are the strongest factors. The model explains 37.5% of the variance. It could be interpreted that this specific “shadow” of the past thwarts people to see and benefit from present opportunities. This additionally worsens their present living conditions and present SWB.References
Baumeister, R. F. (1999). Introduction. In: R. F. Baumeister, (Ed.), The Self in Social Psychology. En Arbor, MI: Taylor & Francis Group.
Baumeister, R. F. & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497-529.
Biswas-Diener, R. M. (2008). Material Wealth and Subjective Well-Being. In: M. Eid, R. J. Larsen, (Eds.), The Science of Subjective Well-Being. London: Guilford Press.
Brdar, I. (2006). Životni ciljevi i dobrobit: je li za sreču važno što želimo? Društvena istraživanja, 4-5, 671-691. [Life goals and well-being: Is for happiness important what we want? Societal Research, 4-5, 671-691].
Boniwell, I., Zimbardo, P. G. (2004). Balancing Time perspective in pursuit of optimal functioning. In: P. A. Linley, S. Joseph (Eds.). Positive Psychology in Practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227-268.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1991). A motivational approach to self: Integration in personality. In: R. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation: Vol. 38. Perspectives on motivation (pp. 237-288). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75.
Diener E., Suh E., Oishi S. (1997). Recent Findings on Subjective Well-Being. Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Diener, E., Lucas, R. E. (2000). Subjective Emotional Well-Being. In: M. Lewis, & J. M. Haviland, (Eds.). Handbook of Emotions (2nd Ed.) (pp. 325-337). New York: Guilford.
Diener, E., & Suh, E. (2000). Measuring subjective well-being to compare the quality of life of cultures. In: E. Diener, & E. M. Suh (Eds.), Culture and Subjective well-being. London: The MIT Press.
European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) (2012). From Yugoslavia to the European Union: 20 Years after 1991 - The Tale of Two Generations. Retrieved 13.10.2013 from: http://www.scribd.com/doc/112834204/20-Years-After-1991-The-Tale-of-Two-Generations.
Frost, K. M., & Frost J. C. (2000). Romanian and American Life Aspirations in Relation to Psychological Well-Being. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31, 726-751.
Ilardi, B. C., Leone, D., Kasser, R., & Ryan R. M. (1993). General Need Satisfaction Scale. Retrieved 20.03.2008 from http://www.psych.rochester.edu/SDT/measures/bpns_scale.php.
Inglehart, R., Klingemann, H.-D. (2000). Genes, Culture, Democracy and Happiness. In: E. Diener, & E. M. Suh (Eds.), Culture and Subjective Well-Being (s. 165-184). London: The MIT Press.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Ferrar, Straus and Giroux.
Kahneman, D. (1999). Objective happiness. In: D. Kahneman, E. Diener & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology (pp. 3-25). New York: Russel Sage Foundation.
Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1993). A dark side of the American dream: Correlates of financial success as a central life aspiration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 410-422.
Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1996). Further examining the American dream: Differential correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 280-287.
Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Be careful what you wish for: Optimal functioning and the relative attainment of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. In: P. Schmuck, K. M. Sheldon (Eds.). Life Goals and Well-Being: Towards a Positive Psychology of Human Striving (pp. 116-131). Goettingen: Hogrefe & Huber.
Kim, Y-H., Cai, H., Gilliland, M., Chiu, C.-Y., Xia, S., Tam, K.-P. (2012). Standing in the glory or shadow of the past self. Emotion, 12(5), 1111-1117.
Larsen, R. J., & Eid, M. (2008). Ed Diener and the science of subjective well-being. In: M. Eid, R. J. Larsen, (Eds.), The Science of Subjective Well-Being. London: Guilford Press.
Oishi, S., Diener E. (2001). Pressures and subjective well-being. European Journal of Personality, 15(2), 153-167.
Reis, H. T., Sheldon, K. M., Gable, S. L., Roscoe, J., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). Daily well-being: The role of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 419-435.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). The darker and brighter sides of human existence: Basic psychological needs as a unifying concept. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 319-338.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On Happiness and Human Potentials: A Review of Research on Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141-166.
Schmuck, P., Sheldon, K. M. (2001). Life Goals and Well-Being: Towards a Positive Psychology of Human Striving. Goettingen: Hogrefe & Huber.
Sheldon, K. M., & Kasser, T. (1995). Coherence and congruence: Two aspects of personality integration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 531-543.
Sheldon, K. M. & Kasser, T. (1998). Pursuing personal goals: Skills enable progress, but all progress is beneficial. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 1319-1331.
Sheldon, K. M., Kasser, T. (2001). Goals, Congruence, and Positive Well-Being: New Empirical Support. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 41(1), 30-50.
Spasovski, O. (2013). The Relation of Basic Psychological Needs, Intrinsic and Extrinsic Life Goals and Collectivism with Subjective Well-Being: A Case in Macedonia. In: H. H. Knoop, A. Delle Fave (Eds.), Well-Being and Cultures: A Positive Psychology Perspective (pp. 71-81). Springer.
Spasovski, O. (2011). Subjective Well-being in Student Teachers: Relation with Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation, Self-esteem, Competence and Collectivism. In: R. Miljkovic (Eds.). Positive Psychology in Education - Book of selected paper (pp. 103-116). Zagreb: Učiteljski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu.
Veenhoven, R. (2000). Freedom and Happiness: A Comparative Study in Forty-four Nations in Early 1990s. In: E. Diener & E. M. Suh (Eds.), Culture and Subjective Well-being (pp. 257-288). London: The MIT Press.
Veenhoven, R. (2006). Average happiness in 95 nations 1995-2005, World Database of Happiness, RankReport 2006-1d, Retrieved 15.04.2008 from www.worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl.
Veenhoven, R. (2009). Average Happiness in 149 Nations 2000-2009. World Database of Happiness, RankReport Retrieved 15.4.2008, www.worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A. (1994). The PANAS-X: Manual for the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule - Expanded From. The University of Iowa.
Zimbardo, P., & Boyd, J. (2008). The Time Paradox. New York: Free Press.
Baumeister, R. F. & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497-529.
Biswas-Diener, R. M. (2008). Material Wealth and Subjective Well-Being. In: M. Eid, R. J. Larsen, (Eds.), The Science of Subjective Well-Being. London: Guilford Press.
Brdar, I. (2006). Životni ciljevi i dobrobit: je li za sreču važno što želimo? Društvena istraživanja, 4-5, 671-691. [Life goals and well-being: Is for happiness important what we want? Societal Research, 4-5, 671-691].
Boniwell, I., Zimbardo, P. G. (2004). Balancing Time perspective in pursuit of optimal functioning. In: P. A. Linley, S. Joseph (Eds.). Positive Psychology in Practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227-268.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1991). A motivational approach to self: Integration in personality. In: R. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation: Vol. 38. Perspectives on motivation (pp. 237-288). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75.
Diener E., Suh E., Oishi S. (1997). Recent Findings on Subjective Well-Being. Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Diener, E., Lucas, R. E. (2000). Subjective Emotional Well-Being. In: M. Lewis, & J. M. Haviland, (Eds.). Handbook of Emotions (2nd Ed.) (pp. 325-337). New York: Guilford.
Diener, E., & Suh, E. (2000). Measuring subjective well-being to compare the quality of life of cultures. In: E. Diener, & E. M. Suh (Eds.), Culture and Subjective well-being. London: The MIT Press.
European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) (2012). From Yugoslavia to the European Union: 20 Years after 1991 - The Tale of Two Generations. Retrieved 13.10.2013 from: http://www.scribd.com/doc/112834204/20-Years-After-1991-The-Tale-of-Two-Generations.
Frost, K. M., & Frost J. C. (2000). Romanian and American Life Aspirations in Relation to Psychological Well-Being. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31, 726-751.
Ilardi, B. C., Leone, D., Kasser, R., & Ryan R. M. (1993). General Need Satisfaction Scale. Retrieved 20.03.2008 from http://www.psych.rochester.edu/SDT/measures/bpns_scale.php.
Inglehart, R., Klingemann, H.-D. (2000). Genes, Culture, Democracy and Happiness. In: E. Diener, & E. M. Suh (Eds.), Culture and Subjective Well-Being (s. 165-184). London: The MIT Press.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Ferrar, Straus and Giroux.
Kahneman, D. (1999). Objective happiness. In: D. Kahneman, E. Diener & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology (pp. 3-25). New York: Russel Sage Foundation.
Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1993). A dark side of the American dream: Correlates of financial success as a central life aspiration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 410-422.
Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1996). Further examining the American dream: Differential correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 280-287.
Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Be careful what you wish for: Optimal functioning and the relative attainment of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. In: P. Schmuck, K. M. Sheldon (Eds.). Life Goals and Well-Being: Towards a Positive Psychology of Human Striving (pp. 116-131). Goettingen: Hogrefe & Huber.
Kim, Y-H., Cai, H., Gilliland, M., Chiu, C.-Y., Xia, S., Tam, K.-P. (2012). Standing in the glory or shadow of the past self. Emotion, 12(5), 1111-1117.
Larsen, R. J., & Eid, M. (2008). Ed Diener and the science of subjective well-being. In: M. Eid, R. J. Larsen, (Eds.), The Science of Subjective Well-Being. London: Guilford Press.
Oishi, S., Diener E. (2001). Pressures and subjective well-being. European Journal of Personality, 15(2), 153-167.
Reis, H. T., Sheldon, K. M., Gable, S. L., Roscoe, J., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). Daily well-being: The role of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 419-435.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). The darker and brighter sides of human existence: Basic psychological needs as a unifying concept. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 319-338.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On Happiness and Human Potentials: A Review of Research on Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141-166.
Schmuck, P., Sheldon, K. M. (2001). Life Goals and Well-Being: Towards a Positive Psychology of Human Striving. Goettingen: Hogrefe & Huber.
Sheldon, K. M., & Kasser, T. (1995). Coherence and congruence: Two aspects of personality integration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 531-543.
Sheldon, K. M. & Kasser, T. (1998). Pursuing personal goals: Skills enable progress, but all progress is beneficial. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 1319-1331.
Sheldon, K. M., Kasser, T. (2001). Goals, Congruence, and Positive Well-Being: New Empirical Support. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 41(1), 30-50.
Spasovski, O. (2013). The Relation of Basic Psychological Needs, Intrinsic and Extrinsic Life Goals and Collectivism with Subjective Well-Being: A Case in Macedonia. In: H. H. Knoop, A. Delle Fave (Eds.), Well-Being and Cultures: A Positive Psychology Perspective (pp. 71-81). Springer.
Spasovski, O. (2011). Subjective Well-being in Student Teachers: Relation with Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation, Self-esteem, Competence and Collectivism. In: R. Miljkovic (Eds.). Positive Psychology in Education - Book of selected paper (pp. 103-116). Zagreb: Učiteljski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu.
Veenhoven, R. (2000). Freedom and Happiness: A Comparative Study in Forty-four Nations in Early 1990s. In: E. Diener & E. M. Suh (Eds.), Culture and Subjective Well-being (pp. 257-288). London: The MIT Press.
Veenhoven, R. (2006). Average happiness in 95 nations 1995-2005, World Database of Happiness, RankReport 2006-1d, Retrieved 15.04.2008 from www.worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl.
Veenhoven, R. (2009). Average Happiness in 149 Nations 2000-2009. World Database of Happiness, RankReport Retrieved 15.4.2008, www.worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A. (1994). The PANAS-X: Manual for the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule - Expanded From. The University of Iowa.
Zimbardo, P., & Boyd, J. (2008). The Time Paradox. New York: Free Press.
Downloads
Published
2014-12-01
How to Cite
Spasovski, O., Kenig, N. ., & Kim, Y.-H. (2014). Do illusionary positive memories cast a shadow on current happiness? Evaluations of the present and the past in relation to subjective well-being. Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis Studia Psychologica, 7(1), 69–81. Retrieved from https://studia-psychologica.uken.krakow.pl/article/view/5603
Issue
Section
Articles
