Sonja Lyubomirsky
Biographic Data
| ID | 113534 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sonja Lyubomirsky |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sonja |
| FAMILY NAME | Lyubomirsky |
| SIGNATURE | LYUBOMIRSKY S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Riverside |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0727-5595 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 54 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1,088 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 54 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1993 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 13 |
Increasing Extraversion via Intervention
Research suggests that acting more extraverted (outgoing, assertive, and/or energetic) boosts subjective well‐being in the short term for most people; however, some work indicates that acting more extraverted could be aversive for those who are relatively more introverted. To further understand participants' experiences in extraverted behavior interventions, we analyzed free‐response data from a study in which undergraduate participants generated…
Does variety in hedonic spending improve happiness? Testing alternative causal mechanisms between hedonic variety and subjective well-being
Previous research has found only a small, inconsistent association between hedonic consumption and subjective well-being, often attributed to individuals adapting to the happiness gains from their purchases. Given that diverse experiences can reduce or avert hedonic adaptation, we hypothesized that variety in hedonic spending would be associated with greater well-being. This hypothesis was tested in four studies (total N = 2,920), using both self…
Examining the social in the prosocial
Experiments prompting people to engage in more prosocial behavior (e.g., acts of kindness) or simple social interactions (e.g., acting extraverted) have both shown promise in boosting well-being. However, little is known about how much the impact on well-being depends on the type of interpersonal interaction (i.e., social vs. prosocial) or on other proximal features (e.g., whether the interaction takes place online vs. in-person, the closeness of…
Toward a New Science of Psychedelic Social Psychology
Psychedelic science has generated hundreds of compelling published studies yet with relatively little impact on mainstream psychology. I propose that social psychologists have much to gain by incorporating psychoactive substances into their research programs. Here I use (±)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) as an example because of its documented ability in experiments and clinical trials to promote bonding, love, and warmth. Social connec…
Interpersonal Chemistry
Although chemistry is a well-known, sought-after interpersonal phenomenon, it has remained relatively unexplored in the psychological literature. The purpose of this article is to begin articulating a theoretically grounded and precise definition of interpersonal chemistry. To that end, we propose a conceptual model of interpersonal chemistry centered around the notion that when two or more individuals experience chemistry with one another, they …
Mental Health During the First Year of the Covid-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 has infected millions of people and upended the lives of most humans on the planet. Researchers from across the psychological sciences have sought to document and investigate the impact of COVID-19 in myriad ways, causing an explosion of research that is broad in scope, varied in methods, and challenging to consolidate. Because policy and practice aimed at helping people live healthier and happier lives requires insight from robust patte…
Current recommendations on the selection of measures for well-being
Measures of well-being have proliferated over the past decades. Very little guidance has been available as to which measures to use in what contexts. This paper provides a series of recommendations, based on the present state of knowledge and the existing measures available, of what measures might be preferred in which contexts. The recommendations came out of an interdisciplinary workshop on the measurement of well-being. The recommendations are…
The association between Extraversion and well‐being is limited to one facet
OBJECTIVE: Mõttus argues that effects should not be attributed to traits if they are driven by particular facets or items. We apply this reasoning to investigate the relationship between facets and items of Extraversion and well-being. METHOD: We analyzed five cross-sectional datasets (total N = 1,879), with facet- and item-level correlations and SEM. RESULTS: We found that the correlation between the energy level facet and well-being was solely …
Satisfied yet striving
Could 10 min of gratitude per week have the potential to change the trajectories of young students' lives? With over 1,000 ninth- and tenth-grade students, we tested whether a simple 4-week classroom-based gratitude intervention would prompt increases in well-being and motivate students to become better people and attain better grades. Over the course of 1 month, students were assigned to spend 10 min each week writing gratitude letters to their …
Gratitude facilitates healthy eating behavior in adolescents and young adults
Everyday prosociality in the workplace
A functional analysis of prosociality considers how predispositions for prosocial behavior prompt, reinforce, and propagate kind behaviors in the real world. To examine the effects of practicing, receiving, and observing everyday prosociality-as well as the mechanisms underlying these effects-we randomly assigned employees in a Spanish corporate workplace (N = 111) to be Givers, Receivers, and Controls. Givers practiced 5 acts of kindness for a p…
State humility
Humility is a core psychological process theoretically marked by low self-focus, secure identity, and balanced awareness of strengths and weaknesses. We began with a consensual definition of humility before theoretically unpacking it. First, using 25 samples and 2622 adults, we developed the Brief State Humility Scale, which demonstrates strong construct validity and good reliability, is sensitive to experimental manipulation, and is uncorrelated…
Clustering by well-being in workplace social networks
Social interaction among employees is crucial at both an organizational and individual level. Demonstrating the value of recent methodological advances, 2 studies conducted in 2 workplaces and 2 countries sought to answer the following questions: (a) Do coworkers interact more with coworkers who have similar well-being? and, if yes, (b) what are the processes by which such affiliation occurs? Affiliation was assessed via 2 methodologies: a common…
Russians Inhibit the Expression of Happiness to Strangers
Cultural stereotypes and considerable psychological research suggest that Russians are less happy and more stoic than Americans and Westerners. However, a second possibility is simply that cultural norms deter Russians from displaying happiness that they actually feel. To test this second possibility, three studies compared the emotional inhibition tendencies in U.S. and Russian student samples. Although Russians and Americans were no different o…
More Happiness for Young People and Less for Mature Adults
Are Americans happier, or less happy, than they used to be? The answer may depend on life stage. We examined indicators of subjective well-being (SWB) in four nationally representative samples of U.S. adolescents (aged 13–18 years, n = 1.27 million) and adults (aged 18–96 years, n = 54,172). Recent adolescents reported greater happiness and life satisfaction than their predecessors, and adults over age 30 were less happy in recent years. Among ad…
How your bank balance buys happiness
Could liquid wealth, or "cash on hand"-the balance of one's checking and savings accounts-be a better predictor of life satisfaction than income? In a field study using 585 U.K. bank customers, we paired individual Satisfaction With Life Scale responses with anonymized account data held by the bank, including the full account balances for each respondent. Individuals with higher liquid wealth were found to have more positive perceptions of their …
Do unto others or treat yourself? The effects of prosocial and self-focused behavior on psychological flourishing
When it comes to the pursuit of happiness, popular culture encourages a focus on oneself. By contrast, substantial evidence suggests that what consistently makes people happy is focusing prosocially on others. In the current study, we contrasted the mood- and well-being-boosting effects of prosocial behavior (i.e., doing acts of kindness for others or for the world) and self-oriented behavior (i.e., doing acts of kindness for oneself) in a 6-week…
Subjective Wellbeing, Psychology of
An upward spiral between gratitude and humility
In two experiments and one diary study, we examined the relationship between self-and other-oriented processes by considering how gratitude can influence humility and vice versa.Humility is characterized by low self-focus, secure sense of self, and increased valuation of others.Gratitude is marked by a sense that one has benefited from the actions of another.In the first experiment, participants who wrote a gratitude letter showed higher state hu…
An Upward Spiral Between Gratitude and Humility
In two experiments and one diary study, we examined the relationship between self- and other-oriented processes by considering how gratitude can influence humility and vice versa. Humility is characterized by low self-focus, secure sense of self, and increased valuation of others. Gratitude is marked by a sense that one has benefited from the actions of another. In the first experiment, participants who wrote a gratitude letter showed higher stat…
The pains and pleasures of parenting
The relationship between parenthood and well-being has become a hot topic among scholars, media, and general public alike. The research, however, has been mixed-some studies indicate that parents are happier than nonparents, whereas others suggest the reverse. We suggest that the question of whether parents are more or less happy than their childless peers is not the most meaningful one. To reconcile the conflicting literature and expand understa…
How Do Simple Positive Activities Increase Well-Being?
Theory and research suggest that people can increase their happiness through simple intentional positive activities, such as expressing gratitude or practicing kindness. Investigators have recently begun to study the optimal conditions under which positive activities increase happiness and the mechanisms by which these effects work. According to our positive-activity model, features of positive activities (e.g., their dosage and variety), feature…
In Defense of Parenthood
Recent scholarly and media accounts paint a portrait of unhappy parents who find remarkably little joy in taking care of their children, but the scientific basis for these claims remains inconclusive. In the three studies reported here, we used a strategy of converging evidence to test whether parents evaluate their lives more positively than do nonparents (Study 1), feel relatively better than do nonparents on a day-to-day basis (Study 2), and d…
The myths of happiness
Lyubomirsky isolates the major turning points of adult life, looking to both achievements and failures to reveal that our misconceptions about the impact of such events is perhaps the greatest threat to our long-term well-being
Culture Matters When Designing a Successful Happiness-Increasing Activity
Research shows that performing positive activities, such as expressing gratitude and doing acts of kindness, boosts happiness. But do specific positive activities work equally well across cultures? Our study examined the role of culture-activity fit by testing two positive activities across two cultures. Participants from the United States ( n = 250) and South Korea ( n = 270) were randomly assigned to express gratitude, perform kind acts, or eng…
A Measure of Subjective Happiness
The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect
Numerous studies show that happy individuals are successful across multiple life domains, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health. The authors suggest a conceptual model to account for these findings, arguing that the happiness-success link exists not only because success makes people happy, but also because positive affect engenders success. Three classes of evidence--crosssectional, longitudinal, and experimental--a…
The pains and pleasures of parenting
The relationship between parenthood and well-being has become a hot topic among scholars, media, and general public alike. The research, however, has been mixed-some studies indicate that parents are happier than nonparents, whereas others suggest the reverse. We suggest that the question of whether parents are more or less happy than their childless peers is not the most meaningful one. To reconcile the conflicting literature and expand understa…
Maximizing versus satisficing
Can people feel worse off as the options they face increase? The present studies suggest that some people--maximizers--can. Study 1 reported a Maximization Scale, which measures individual differences in desire to maximize. Seven samples revealed negative correlations between maximization and happiness, optimism, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, and positive correlations between maximization and depression, perfectionism, and regret. Study 2 f…
Why are some people happier than others? The role of cognitive and motivational processes in well-being
Addressing the question of why some people are happier than others is important for both theoretical and practical reasons and should be a central goal of a comprehensive positive psychology. Following a construal theory of happiness, the author proposes that multiple cognitive and motivational processes moderate the impact of the objective environment on well-being. Thus, to understand why some people are happier than others, one must understand…
What are the Differences between Happiness and Self-Esteem
Effects of self-focused rumination on negative thinking and interpersonal problem solving
Hypotheses about the effects of self-focused rumination on interpretations of events and interpersonal problem solving were tested in 3 studies with dysphoric and nondysphoric participants. Study 1 supported the hypothesis that dysphoric participants induced to ruminatively self-focus on their feelings and personal characteristics would endorse more negative, biased interpretations of hypothetical situations than dysphoric participants induced to…
The costs and benefits of writing, talking, and thinking about life's triumphs and defeats
Three studies considered the consequences of writing, talking, and thinking about significant events. In Studies 1 and 2, students wrote, talked into a tape recorder, or thought privately about their worst (N = 96) or happiest experience (N = 111) for 15 min each during 3 consecutive days. In Study 3 (N = 112), students wrote or thought about their happiest day; half systematically analyzed, and half repetitively replayed this day. Well-being and…
Hedonic consequences of social comparison
Why ruminators are poor problem solvers
Self-perpetuating properties of dysphoric rumination
Hypotheses about the self-perpetuating properties of ruminative responses to depressed mood were tested in 2 laboratory studies and 2 questionnaire studies with dysphoric and nondysphoric Ss. Studies 1 and 2 supported the hypothesis that dysphorics induced to engage in self-focused rumination would report reduced willingness to engage in pleasant, distracting activities that could lift their moods, even if they believed they would enjoy such acti…
Testing for Measurement Invariance in the Satisfaction with Life Scale
Changes in attractiveness of elected, rejected, and precluded alternatives
In 3 studies the authors compared the responses of self-rated happy and unhappy students in situations involving choice. In Study 1, high school seniors evaluated colleges after applying for admission and then later after making their selections. Happy students tended to be more satisfied than unhappy ones with the colleges they ultimately chose and those they ultimately rejected, and they more sharply devalued the colleges that rejected them. St…
Effects of ruminative and distracting responses to depressed mood on retrieval of autobiographical memories
Four studies explored the effects of self-focused rumination vs. distraction on dysphoric and nondysphoric students' retrieval of autobiographical memories. Dysphorics induced to ruminate subsequently recalled more negatively biased autobiographical memories in free recall (Study 1) and in response to prompts for memories (Study 2) than either dysphorics who first distracted themselves from their mood or nondysphoric controls. In Study 3, dysphor…
Gratitude facilitates healthy eating behavior in adolescents and young adults
Culture Matters When Designing a Successful Happiness-Increasing Activity
Research shows that performing positive activities, such as expressing gratitude and doing acts of kindness, boosts happiness. But do specific positive activities work equally well across cultures? Our study examined the role of culture-activity fit by testing two positive activities across two cultures. Participants from the United States ( n = 250) and South Korea ( n = 270) were randomly assigned to express gratitude, perform kind acts, or eng…
Russians Inhibit the Expression of Happiness to Strangers
Cultural stereotypes and considerable psychological research suggest that Russians are less happy and more stoic than Americans and Westerners. However, a second possibility is simply that cultural norms deter Russians from displaying happiness that they actually feel. To test this second possibility, three studies compared the emotional inhibition tendencies in U.S. and Russian student samples. Although Russians and Americans were no different o…
Responses to hedonically conflicting social comparisons
Two laboratory studies explored how self‐rated unhappy and happy students balance hedonically conflicting social comparison information, and tested whether unhappy students would be relatively more sensitive to hedonically consistent unfavorable information. In both studies, students working in teams of four competed against one other team on a novel verbal task. First, unhappy participants showed relatively greater sensitivity to undiluted unfav…
What Triggers Abnormal Eating in Bulimic and Nonbulimic Women?; The Role of Dissociative Experiences, Negative Affect, and Psychopathology
Dissociative experiences and abnormal eating were examined in 92 non-eating-disordered women and 61 age-matched bulimic women. In the nonclinical sample of women, dissociative experiences were associated with abnormal eating attitudes and behavior, even after controlling for other forms of psychopathology; furthermore, dissociation mediated the relationships between abnormal eating and sexual abuse, abnormal eating and emotional distress, and abn…
Self-perpetuating properties of dysphoric rumination
Hypotheses about the self-perpetuating properties of ruminative responses to depressed mood were tested in 2 laboratory studies and 2 questionnaire studies with dysphoric and nondysphoric Ss. Studies 1 and 2 supported the hypothesis that dysphorics induced to engage in self-focused rumination would report reduced willingness to engage in pleasant, distracting activities that could lift their moods, even if they believed they would enjoy such acti…
Effects of self-focused rumination on negative thinking and interpersonal problem solving
Hypotheses about the effects of self-focused rumination on interpretations of events and interpersonal problem solving were tested in 3 studies with dysphoric and nondysphoric participants. Study 1 supported the hypothesis that dysphoric participants induced to ruminatively self-focus on their feelings and personal characteristics would endorse more negative, biased interpretations of hypothetical situations than dysphoric participants induced to…
Hedonic consequences of social comparison
Effects of ruminative and distracting responses to depressed mood on retrieval of autobiographical memories
Four studies explored the effects of self-focused rumination vs. distraction on dysphoric and nondysphoric students' retrieval of autobiographical memories. Dysphorics induced to ruminate subsequently recalled more negatively biased autobiographical memories in free recall (Study 1) and in response to prompts for memories (Study 2) than either dysphorics who first distracted themselves from their mood or nondysphoric controls. In Study 3, dysphor…
Changes in attractiveness of elected, rejected, and precluded alternatives
In 3 studies the authors compared the responses of self-rated happy and unhappy students in situations involving choice. In Study 1, high school seniors evaluated colleges after applying for admission and then later after making their selections. Happy students tended to be more satisfied than unhappy ones with the colleges they ultimately chose and those they ultimately rejected, and they more sharply devalued the colleges that rejected them. St…
Why ruminators are poor problem solvers
A Measure of Subjective Happiness
What Triggers Abnormal Eating in Bulimic and Nonbulimic Women?; The Role of Dissociative Experiences, Negative Affect, and Psychopathology
Dissociative experiences and abnormal eating were examined in 92 non-eating-disordered women and 61 age-matched bulimic women. In the nonclinical sample of women, dissociative experiences were associated with abnormal eating attitudes and behavior, even after controlling for other forms of psychopathology; furthermore, dissociation mediated the relationships between abnormal eating and sexual abuse, abnormal eating and emotional distress, and abn…
Responses to hedonically conflicting social comparisons
Two laboratory studies explored how self‐rated unhappy and happy students balance hedonically conflicting social comparison information, and tested whether unhappy students would be relatively more sensitive to hedonically consistent unfavorable information. In both studies, students working in teams of four competed against one other team on a novel verbal task. First, unhappy participants showed relatively greater sensitivity to undiluted unfav…
Why are some people happier than others? The role of cognitive and motivational processes in well-being
Addressing the question of why some people are happier than others is important for both theoretical and practical reasons and should be a central goal of a comprehensive positive psychology. Following a construal theory of happiness, the author proposes that multiple cognitive and motivational processes moderate the impact of the objective environment on well-being. Thus, to understand why some people are happier than others, one must understand…
Maximizing versus satisficing
Can people feel worse off as the options they face increase? The present studies suggest that some people--maximizers--can. Study 1 reported a Maximization Scale, which measures individual differences in desire to maximize. Seven samples revealed negative correlations between maximization and happiness, optimism, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, and positive correlations between maximization and depression, perfectionism, and regret. Study 2 f…
Pursuing Happiness
The pursuit of happiness is an important goal for many people. However, surprisingly little scientific research has focused on the question of how happiness can be increased and then sustained, probably because of pessimism engendered by the concepts of genetic determinism and hedonic adaptation. Nevertheless, emerging sources of optimism exist regarding the possibility of permanent increases in happiness. Drawing on the past well-being literatur…
The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect
Numerous studies show that happy individuals are successful across multiple life domains, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health. The authors suggest a conceptual model to account for these findings, arguing that the happiness-success link exists not only because success makes people happy, but also because positive affect engenders success. Three classes of evidence--crosssectional, longitudinal, and experimental--a…
How to increase and sustain positive emotion
A 4-week experimental study (N = 67) examined the motivational predictors and positive emotion outcomes of regularly practicing two mental exercises: counting one's blessings (“gratitude”) and visualizing best possible selves (“BPS”). In a control exercise, participants attended to the details of their day. Undergraduates performed one of the three exercises during Session I and were asked to continue performing it at home until Session II (in 2 …
How Do People Pursue Happiness?
Testing for Measurement Invariance in the Satisfaction with Life Scale
The costs and benefits of writing, talking, and thinking about life's triumphs and defeats
Three studies considered the consequences of writing, talking, and thinking about significant events. In Studies 1 and 2, students wrote, talked into a tape recorder, or thought privately about their worst (N = 96) or happiest experience (N = 111) for 15 min each during 3 consecutive days. In Study 3 (N = 112), students wrote or thought about their happiest day; half systematically analyzed, and half repetitively replayed this day. Well-being and…
Happiness
What are the Differences between Happiness and Self-Esteem
Health benefits
This research synthesis integrates findings from 150 experimental, ambulatory and longitudinal studies that tested the impact of well-being on objective health outcomes. Results demonstrated that well-being positively impacts health outcomes (r=0.14). Well-being was found to be positively related to short-term health outcomes (r=0.15), long-term health outcomes (r=0.11), and disease or symptom control (r=0.13). Results from the experimental studi…
Does Happiness Promote Career Success?
Past research has demonstrated a relationship between happiness and workplace success. For example, compared with their less happy peers, happy people earn more money, display superior performance, and perform more helpful acts. Researchers have often assumed that an employee is happy and satisfied because he or she is successful. In this article, the authors review evidence in support of an alternative hypothesis—namely, that happiness is a sour…
Rethinking Rumination
The response styles theory ( Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991 ) was proposed to explain the insidious relationship between rumination and depression. We review the aspects of the response styles theory that have been well-supported, including evidence that rumination exacerbates depression, enhances negative thinking, impairs problem solving, interferes with instrumental behavior, and erodes social support. Next, we address contradictory and new findings. Sp…
Enhancing well‐being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions
Do positive psychology interventions—that is, treatment methods or intentional activities aimed at cultivating positive feelings, positive behaviors, or positive cognitions—enhance well‐being and ameliorate depressive symptoms? A meta‐analysis of 51 such interventions with 4,266 individuals was conducted to address this question and to provide practical guidance to clinicians. The results revealed that positive psychology interventions do indeed …
Happiness and memory
Three studies (two conducted in Israel and one in the United States) examined associations between self-rated dispositional happiness and tendencies to treat memories of positive and negative events as sources of enhanced or attenuated happiness through the use of "endowment" and "contrast." Although participants generally endorsed items describing happiness-enhancing tendencies more than happiness-diminishing ones, self-reported happiness was as…
Opening up in the classroom
Our study sought to determine whether experimental disclosure could improve exam performance and psychological health in students taking a graduate school entrance exam. Students preparing for the GRE, MCAT, LSAT, or PCAT were randomly assigned to write expressively about their upcoming exam or to a neutral writing condition. Participants completed measures of depressive symptoms and test anxiety before and after writing, and exam scores were col…
Psychology (51 works) · Social Psychology (46 works) · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction (33 works) · Happiness (23 works) · Social Psychology (23 works) · Developmental psychology (19 works) · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being (15 works) · Well-being (14 works) · Clinical Psychology (12 works) · Positive psychology (11 works)