Subjective Well-Being (2)

1. Subjective Well-Being (2) CiciliaEviGradDiplSc., M. Psi

2. Leisure • How we spend our spare time, what we do to relax, the activities we engage in to have fun and how we exercise our passions and interests • Adventurous? Traditional activities? Quiet activities?

3. Leisure & Life Satisfaction • Time Warner/CNN poll (1992)  70% people would like to slow down and live a more relaxed life with their families • “Life outside work”  strong predictor of WB • At least one leisure activity is associated with changes in mood • ↓ damaging effects of Alzheimer’s disease • Aerobic = ↓ symptoms of depression and anxiety

4. But, the association is not direct/automatic • Important to choose activities that are personally meaningful  connected at emotional level • When activities turn into leisure (Argyle, 1987): • Fulfilled needs for autonomy • Allowed the enjoyment of family life • Provided for relaxation • Offered escape from routine

5. “Be in the Zone” • MihalyCsikszentmihalyi • Flow  the holistic sensation when we act with total involvement • Reading for pleasure, sports, religious rituals, using computer, teaching, driving, being with family, solitary retreat, cramming for exams • Microflow  leisurely involved in a relatively simple, almost automatic activity  doodling

6. Characteristics of Flow • The merging of action and awareness • Complete concentration on the task at hand • Lack of Worry about Losing Control that, Paradoxically, Results in a Sense of Control • A Loss of Self-Consciousness • Time no longer seems to pass in Ordinary ways • Autotelic Nature of the Experience • Flow accompanies a challenging activity that requires skill • The activity has clear goals and immediate feedback

7. Flow is innate and universal  only need to learn on how to express flow • Four stages from microflow to very intense flow experiences: • Paying attention  physiological processes • Interested attention  stay and enjoy • Absorbed attention  won’t be distracted • Merging  self = activity

8. Flow and Subjective WB • Flow  significant component of many pleasurable leisure activities • Even without recognition or money • Flowlike experiences  related to leisure and satisfaction • Lack of internal conflict between competing goals • Ability to stay absorbed and interested in our daily experience is one of the key ingredients of a happy and fulfilling life

9. Produce More Flow • Not entirely controllable, but we can increase the likelihood in certain circumstances • All that required is to find a way to challenge oneself, make the task more interesting and pay attention to what one is doing • Two conditions: • High demands  force us to concentrate • Demands  move beyond a state of self-consciousness  task and self-evaluation are one!

10. Not directly associated with better performance  but being engaged with the activities • Happiness and flow often go together, but NOT always • Someone is experiencing positive experiences with the flow of his/her work, but feel less happy at work, compare to other contexts

11. Peak Performance • Gayle Privette (1981, 1983) • Those moments when we perform at a level that is beyond our normal level of functioning  being more efficient, more creative, more productive, better than ordinary behavior  in intellectual, emotional or physical activities • It is a superior behavior at a task  NOT a subjective experience doing the task (Flow)

12. Four Parameters • Clear focus on self, object, and relationship • Intense involvement in the experience • A strong intention to complete a task • A spontaneous expression of power

13. Understanding Peak Performance • Two types: • In a crisis situation  spontaneous  in a fire • Train to master specific skills to induce a moment of peak performance • Most often found in activities or situations that a person is deeply involved with, committed to, absorbed in, or emotionally connected with

14. Eight Conditions • Mentally relaxed, a sense of calm, high concentration and a sense that time has slowed down • Physical relaxation with loose and fluid movements • Self-confidence and optimism • Focus on the present and a sense that one’s body performs automatically • High energy level along with positive emotions • Extraordinary awareness of one’s own body • A sense of total control without effort to create/maintain that control • “In the cocoon”

15. Differences with flow  not just what it feels to be ‘in the zone’ but what it takes to perform better • Once a certain skill level is achieved, then 40-90% of athletic success is due to psychological factors (Williams & Krane, 1993) • Peak performance = • psychological factors of commitment + dedication + intellectual and emotional involvement (obsession)

16. Mindfulness • Paying attention to one’s own on-going experience in a way that allows openness and flexibility  being fully present and aware during our daily activities, rather than the goals and hoped for accomplishments • Mindlessness  found in habit, premature cognitive commitments to categories, and in focus on future goals rather than immediate processes

17. Savoring • An awareness of pleasure along with a quite deliberate attempt to focus attention on the sensation and relish it • Four basic types of savoring: • Basking – receiving praise and congratulations • Marveling – getting lost in the moment • Luxuriating – indulging in a sensation • Thanksgiving – expressing gratitude

18. Five basic ways to enhance savoring and promote the possibilities of savoring: • Absorption – allowing oneself to be immersed in the experience • Sharpening the senses – focusing on one sensation and blocking our others • Memory building – do something to remember the experience later on • Sharing with others • Self-congratulations

19. Summary • Focus on an appreciation of our current experience  decreased self-focused attention and internal dialogue • Antiflow is associated frustration and boredom  increase in negative “inner chatter” • Two alternate pathways  greater WB: • Self-enhancement process (peak performance) • Temporarily forgetting awareness of self and appreciating the moment (flow, mindfulness and savoring)