Ned's posterous

Right now is the only moment guaranteed to you. Right now is life. Don’t miss it.

Human Happiness - SONJA LYUBOMIRSKY, Professor - Stanford Univ: PAPERS & PUBLICATIONS

Human Happiness -
SONJA LYUBOMIRSKY, Professor - Stanford Univ:

http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~sonja/images/SonjaLyubomirsky.jpg

 

http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~sonja/

 

PAPERS & PUBLICATIONS (links)

http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~sonja/papers.html

Selected Publications (with PDF)

Op-Eds/Popular Press

  • Lyubomirsky, S. (2005, January 17). Eight steps toward a more satisfying life. Time, 165, A8-A9. Pg 1 Pg 2
  • Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Happiness. In G. Stone (Ed.), The 12-step Bush recovery program (pp. 118-120). New York: Villard.

In Press

  • Boehm, J. K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (in press). The promise of sustainable happiness. In S. J. Lopez (Ed.), Handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Kurtz, J. L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (in press). Towards a durable happiness. In S. J. Lopez & J. G. Rettew (Eds.), The Positive Psychology Perspective Series (Vol. 4). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Under Review

  • Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). Surmounting a critical barrier to becoming happier: Hedonic adaptation to positive experience. Manuscript under review. [View Abstract]
  • Lyubomirsky, S., Dickerhoof, R., Boehm, J. K., & Sheldon, K. M. (2008). Becoming happier takes both a will and a proper way: Two experimental longitudinal interventions to boost well-being. Manuscript under review. [View Abstract]

  • Lyubomirsky, S., Boehm, J. K., Kasri, F., & Zehm, K. (2008). The cognitive and hedonic costs of dwelling on negative experiences. Manuscript under review. [View Abstract]
  • Frattaroli, J., Thomas, M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Opening up in the classroom: Effects of expressive writing on graduate school entrance exam performance. Manuscript under review. [Abstract]
  • Liberman, V., Boehm, J. K., Lyubomirsky, S., & Ross, L. D. (2008). Happiness and memory: Affective consequences of endowment and contrast. Manuscript under review. [Abstract]
  • Sin, N. L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: A meta-analysis. To appear in Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session. [Abstract]
  • Lyubomirsky, S., & Della Porta, M. (2008). Boosting happiness, buttressing resilience: Results from cognitive and behavioral interventions. To appear in J. W. Reich, A. J. Zautra, & J. Hall (Eds.), Handbook of adult resilience: Concepts, methods, and applications. New York: Guilford Press. [Abstract]

(Download Sonja Lyubomirsky's CV)

 

Sonja Lyubomirsky

Professor - Ph.D. - Stanford University

(951) 827-5041 (msg only)

sonja.lyubomirsky@ucr.edu

http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~sonja/

The majority of my research career has been devoted to studying human happiness. Why is the scientific study of happiness important? In short, because most people believe happiness is meaningful, desirable, and an important, worthy goal, because happiness is one of the most salient and significant dimensions of human experience and emotional life, because happiness yields numerous rewards for the individual, and because it makes for a better, healthier, stronger society.

Along these lines, my current research addresses three critical questions -

1) What makes people happy?

2) Is happiness a good thing?

3) How can we make people happier still?

Why Are Some People Happier Than Others?
I have always been struck by the capacity of some individuals to be remarkably happy, even in the face of stress, trauma, or adversity. Thus, my earlier research efforts had been focused on trying to understand why some people are happier than others. To this end, my approach has been to explore the cognitive and motivational processes that distinguish individuals who show exceptionally high and low levels of happiness. These processes include social comparison (how people compare themselves to peers), dissonance reduction (how people justify both trivial and important choices in their lives), self-evaluation (how people judge themselves), and person perception (how people think about others). All of these processes, it turns out, have hedonic implications - that is, positive or negative consequences for happiness and self-regard - and thus are relevant to elucidating individual differences in enduring well-being. My empirical findings over the years have revealed that chronically happy and unhappy individuals differ systematically and in a manner supportive of their differing temperaments in the particular cognitive and motivational strategies they use. For example, my students and I have found that truly happy individuals construe life events and daily situations in ways that seem to maintain their happiness, while unhappy individuals construe experiences in ways that seem to reinforce unhappiness. In essence, our research shows that happy individuals experience and react to events and circumstances in relatively more positive and more adaptive ways.

-----------

I finally figured out ... the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it.

Ned Snyder   

-----------