Effectiveness of Two Cognitive Interventions Promoting Happiness with Video-Based Online Instructions

Journal of Happiness Studies

Volumn 17, Issue 1, 2016, Pages 319-339

  Manthey, Leonie ^a   Vehreschild, Viktor ^a   Renner, Karl Heinz ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HAGEN   (Germany)

^b BUNDESWEHR UNIVERSITY MUNICH   (Germany)

Author keywords

Best possible selves; Cognitive intervention; Gratitude; Happiness; Internet based study; Subjective wellbeing

Indexed keywords

ADULT; CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL; CONTROLLED STUDY; EFFECT SIZE; EXERCISE; FOLLOW UP; HAPPINESS; HUMAN; MAJOR CLINICAL STUDY; MOTIVATION; MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE; RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL; VIDEORECORDING; WELLBEING; WRITING;

EID: 84957440962     PISSN: 13894978     EISSN: 15737780     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10902-014-9596-2     Document Type: Article

References (66)

1. Abbott, J., Klein, B., & Ciechomski, L. (2008). Best practices in online therapy. Journal of Technology in Human Services,26, 360–375. doi:10.1080/15228830802097257.
2. Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
3. Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,51, 1173–1182. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173.
4. Bennett, G. G., & Glasgow, R. E. (2009). The delivery of public health interventions via the Internet: Actualizing their potential. Annual Review of Public Health,30, 273–292. doi:10.1146/annurev.publhealth.031308.100235.
5. Bortz, J., & Schuster, C. (2010). Statistik für Human- und Sozialwissenschaftler (7th ed.). Berlin: Springer.
6. Brickman, P., Coates, D., & Janoff-Bulman, R. (1978). Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,36, 917–927. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.36.8.917.
7. Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
8. 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. doi:10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01.
9. Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin,95, 542–575. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.103.2.193.
10. Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment,49, 71–75. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13.
11. Diener, E., & Iran-Nejad, A. (1986). The relationship in experience between various types of affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,50, 1031–1038. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.50.5.1031.
12. Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., & Scollon, C. N. (2006). Beyond the hedonic treadmill: Revising the adaptation theory of well-being. American Psychologist,61, 305–314. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.61.4.305.
13. Diener, E., & Oishi, S. (2004). Are Scandinavians happier than Asians? Issues in comparing nations on subjective well-being. In F. Columbus (Ed.), Asian economic and political issues (pp. 1–25). New York, NY: Nova Science.
14. Diener, E., Sandvik, E., Pavot, W., & Fujita, F. (1992). Extraversion and subjective well-being in a U.S. national probability sample. Journal of Research in Personality,26, 205–215. doi:10.1016/0092-6566(92)90039-7.
15. Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin,125, 276–302. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276.
16. Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Biswas-Diener, R., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D.-W., et al. (2009). New measures of well-being. In E. Diener (Ed.), Assessing well-being: The collected works of Ed Diener (pp. 247–266). New York, NY: Springer.
17. Emmons, R. A. (1986). Personal strivings: An approach to personality and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,51, 1058–1068. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.5.1058.
18. Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,84, 377–389. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377.
19. Eysenbach, G. (2005). The law of attrition. Journal of Medical Internet Research,7, e11. doi:10.2196/jmir.7.1.e11.
20. Fastame, M. C., & Penna, M. P. (2013). Does social desirability confound the assessment of self-reported measures of well-being and metacognitive efficiency in young and older adults? Clinical Gerontologist: The Journal of Aging and Mental Health,36, 95–112. doi:10.1037/t00741-000.
21. Field, A. P. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS (3rd ed.). London: Sage.
22. Fleming, P. (2012). Social desirability, not what it seems: A review of the implications for self-reports. The International Journal of Educational and Psychological Assessment,11, 3–22. doi:10.1037/t08059-000.
23. Fordyce, M. W. (1977). Development of a program to increase personal happiness. Journal of Counseling Psychology,24, 511–521. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.24.6.511.
24. Fordyce, M. W. (1983). A program to increase happiness: Further studies. Journal of Counseling Psychology,30, 483–498. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.30.4.483.
25. Froh, J. J., Sefick, W. J., & Emmons, R. A. (2008). Counting blessings in early adolescents: An experimental study of gratitude and subjective well-being. Journal of School Psychology,46, 213–233. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2007.03.005.
26. Gander, F., Proyer, R. T., Ruch, W., & Wyss, T. (2013). Strength-based positive interventions: Further evidence for their potential in enhancing well-being and alleviating depression. Journal of Happiness Studies,14, 1241–1259. doi:10.1007/s10902-012-9380-0.
27. Glaesmer, H., Grande, G., Braehler, E., & Roth, M. (2011). The German version of the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS). Psychometric properties, validity, and population-based norms. European Journal of Psychological Assessment,27, 127–132. doi:10.1027/1015-5759/a000058.
28. Headey, B., & Wearing, A. J. (1989). Personality, life events, and subjective well-being: Toward a dynamic equilibrium model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,57, 731–739. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.57.4.731.
29. King, L. A. (2001). The health benefits of writing about life goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,27, 798–807. doi:10.1177/0146167201277003.
30. Larsen, R. J., & Ketelaar, T. (1991). Personality and susceptibility to positive and negative emotional states. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,61, 132–140. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.61.1.132.
31. Laux, L., Hock, M., Bergner-Köther, R., Hodapp, V., & Renner, K.-H. (2013). Das state-trait-angst-depressions-inventar (STADI). Göttingen: Hogrefe.
32. Lucas, R. E., Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1996). Discriminant validity of well-being measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,71, 616–628. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.71.3.616.
33. Lykken, D., & Tellegen, A. (1996). Happiness is a stochastic phenomenon. Psychological Science,7, 186–189. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1996.tb00355.x.
34. Lyubomirsky, S., & Layous, K. (2013). How do simple positive activities increase well-being? Current Directions in Psychological Science,22, 57–62. doi:10.1177/0963721412469809.
35. Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005a). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin,131, 803–855. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803.
36. Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005b). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology,9, 111–131. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111.
37. Lyubomirsky, S., Dickerhoof, R., Boehm, J. K., & Sheldon, K. M. (2011). Becoming happier takes both a will and a proper way: An experimental longitudinal intervention to boost well-being. Emotion,11, 391–402. doi:10.1037/t01588-000.
38. Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist,41, 954–969. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.41.9.954.
39. Martínez-Martí, M. L., Avia, M. D., & Hernández-Lloreda, M. J. (2010). The effects of counting blessings on subjective well-being: A gratitude intervention in a Spanish sample. The Spanish Journal of Psychology,13, 886–896.
40. Mayer, R. E. (2003). The promise of multimedia learning: Using the same instructional design methods across different media. Learning and Instruction,13, 125–139. doi:10.1016/S0959-4752(02)00016-6.
41. Mitchell, J., Stanimirovic, R., Klein, B., & Vella-Brodrick, D. (2009). A randomised controlled trial of a self-guided internet intervention promoting well-being. Computers in Human Behavior,25, 749–760. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2009.02.003.
42. Mitchell, J., Vella-Brodrick, D., & Klein, B. (2010). Positive psychology and the internet: A mental health opportunity. E-Journal of Applied Psychology,6, 30–41.
43. Norrish, J. M., & Vella-Brodrick, D. A. (2008). Is the study of happiness a worthy scientific pursuit? Social Indicators Research,87, 393–407. doi:10.1007/s11205-007-9147-x.
44. O’Connor, B. P. (1998). SIMPLE: All-in-one programs for exploring interactions in moderated multiple regression. Educational and Psychological Measurement,58, 836–840. doi:10.1177/0013164498058005009.
45. Omodei, M. M., & Wearing, A. J. (1990). Need satisfaction and involvement in personal projects: Toward an integrative model of subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,59, 762–769. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.4.762.
46. Palys, T. S., & Little, B. R. (1983). Perceived life satisfaction and the organization of personal project systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,44, 1221–1230. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.44.6.1221.
47. Parks, A. C. (2009). Positive psychotherapy: Building a model of empirically supported self-help. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania.
48. Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the satisfaction with life scale. Psychological Assessment,5, 164–172. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.5.2.164.
49. Pham, L. B., & Taylor, S. E. (1999). From thought to action: Effects of process- versus outcome-based mental simulations on performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,25, 250–260. doi:10.1177/0146167299025002010.
50. Prentice, D. A., & Miller, D. T. (1992). When small effects are impressive. Psychological Bulletin,112, 160–164. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.160.
51. Ritterband, L. M., Gonder-Frederick, L. A., Cox, D. J., Clifton, A. D., West, R. W., & Borowitz, S. M. (2003). Internet interventions: In review, in use, and into the future. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice,34, 527–534. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.34.5.527.
52. Rosenthal, R., Rosnow, R. L., & Rubin, D. B. (2000). Contrasts and effect sizes in behavioral research: A correlational approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
53. Schimmack, U. (2008). The structure of subjective well-being. In M. Eid & R. J. Larsen (Eds.), The science of subjective well-being (pp. 97–123). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
54. Schueller, S. M., & Parks, A. C. (2012). Disseminating self-help: Positive psychology exercises in an online trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research,14(3), 8–18. doi:10.1037/t02942-000.
55. Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist,60, 410–421. doi:10.1037/t03521-000.
56. Senf, K., & Liau, A. K. (2013). The effects of positive interventions on happiness and depressive symptoms, with an examination of personality as a moderator. Journal of Happiness Studies,14, 591–612. doi:10.1037/t12353-000.
57. Shapira, L. H., & Mongrain, M. (2010). The benefits of self-compassion and optimism exercises for individuals vulnerable to depression. Journal of Positive Psychology,5, 377–389.
58. Sheldon, K. M., & Elliot, A. J. (1999). Goal striving, need satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being: The self-concordance model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,76, 482–497. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.76.3.482.
59. Sheldon, K. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2006). How to increase and sustain positive emotion: The effects of expressing gratitude and visualizing best possible selves. The Journal of Positive Psychology,1, 73–82. doi:10.1037/t06070-000.
60. Sin, N., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2009). Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: A practice-friendly meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology,65, 467–487. doi:10.1002/jclp.20593.
61. Smyth, J. M. (1998). Written emotional expression: Effect sizes, outcome types, and moderating variables. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,66, 174–184. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.66.1.174.
62. Suh, E., Diener, E., & Fujita, F. (1996). Events and subjective well-being: Only recent events matter. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,70, 1091–1102. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.70.5.1091.
63. Toepfer, S. M., Cichy, K., & Peters, P. (2012). Letters of gratitude: Further evidence for author benefits. Journal of Happiness Studies,13, 187–201. doi:10.1037/t01588-000.
64. van Eimeren, B., & Frees, B. (2012). 76 Prozent der Deutschen online—neue Nutzungssituationen durch mobile Endgeräte [76% of the Germans online—new usage situation through mobile end device]. Media Perspektiven, (7–8), 362–379. Retrieved from http://www.media-perspektiven.de/uploads/tx_mppublications/0708-2012_Eimeren_Frees_01.pdf.
65. Watkins, P. C., Woodward, K., Stone, T., & Kolts, R. L. (2003). Gratitude and happiness: development of a measure of gratitude, and relationships with subjective well-being. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal,31, 431–452. doi:10.2224/sbp.2003.31.5.431.
66. Wood, A. M., Froh, J. J., & Geraghty, A. W. A. (2010). Gratitude and well-being: A review and theoretical integration. Clinical Psychology Review,30, 890–905. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.005.