Kostadin Kushlev
Biographic Data
| ID | 763009 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kostadin Kushlev |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kostadin |
| FAMILY NAME | Kushlev |
| SIGNATURE | KUSHLEV K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Virginia |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1025-3258 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 170 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 20 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
The Promise and Peril of Mental Health Apps
Can mental health apps be a tool in tackling the declining mental health in the United States and around the globe? Our review of the literature shows that mental health apps can improve symptoms of some disorders, such as depression and anxiety, when compared to no treatment. Such evidence of efficacy, however, is lacking in populations that are underserved by existing mental health services, including youth, seniors, men, and racial minorities.…
Antecedents and consequences of smartphone self-extension
The psychological connection between mobile media (e.g., smartphones) and the self is a central consideration of mobile communication scholarship.Using a two-wave panel design (N = 227), we tested potential antecedents and consequences of a key construct that indexes this connection smartphone self-extension.Both functionality and identity self-extension predicted perceiving smartphone use as more enjoyable.Moreover, functionality self-extension …
Well-Being Science for Teaching and the General Public
Research on well-being has exploded in recent years to more than 55,000 relevant publications annually, making it difficult for psychologists—including key communicators such as textbook authors—to stay current with this field. Moreover, well-being is a daily concern among policymakers and members of the general public. Well-being science is relevant to the lives of students—illustrating the diverse methods used in the behavioral sciences, presen…
Subjective Well-Being and Prosociality Around the Globe
Subjective well-being (SWB) is positively related to prosocial giving and helping others, but so far, research has not explored the association of individual aspects of well-being with prosocial behavior across the world. We used a representative sample from the Gallup World Poll across 163 countries from 2006 to 2017 to explore the relationship between each aspect of well-being and prosocial behavior ( N = 1,797,630). We found that different asp…
Long-distance texting
Due to the widespread use of smartphones, romantic couples can connect with their partners from virtually anywhere, at any time. Remote communication may be particularly important to long-distance relationships (LDRs), compared to geographically close relationships (GCRs). The goals of the current research were to examine differences between LDRs and GCRs in (1) the patterns of remote communication (video calls, voice calls, and texting), and (2)…
The effects of smartphones on well-being
The psychologically rich life questionnaire
Smartphones distract parents from cultivating feelings of connection when spending time with their children
In the U.S., 95% of smartphone users admit to having used their smartphones during their latest social gathering. Although smartphones are designed to connect us with others, such smartphone use may create a source of distraction that disconnects us from the people in our immediate social environment. Focusing on one fundamental social relationship-between parents and their children-we examined whether smartphones made parents feel distracted, th…
Put the Phone Down
If there ever was a key to happiness, this key would open a door that leads straight to a rich social life. And in the era of smartphones, this key to social connection is in our pockets anytime and anywhere. Or is it? Using the experience sampling method (ESM), we explore the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the context of face-to-face (FtF) social interactions, testing two competing hypotheses: (1) a complementarity hypothesis st…
Progressive taxation, income inequality, and happiness
Income inequality has become one of the more widely debated social issues today. The current article explores the role of progressive taxation in income inequality and happiness. Using historical data in the United States from 1962 to 2014, we found that income inequality was substantially smaller in years when the income tax was more progressive (i.e., a higher tax rate for higher income brackets), even when controlling for variables like stock …
The declining marginal utility of social time for subjective well-being
Findings all psychologists should know from the new science on subjective well-being.
Smartphone use undermines enjoyment of face-to-face social interactions
Income Reliably Predicts Daily Sadness, but Not Happiness
Kushlev, Dunn, and Lucas (2015) found that income predicts less daily sadness—but not greater happiness—among Americans. The present study used longitudinal data from an approximately representative German sample to replicate and extend these findings. Our results largely replicated Kushlev et al.’s results: Income predicted less daily sadness (albeit with a smaller effect size) but was unrelated to happiness. Moreover, the association between in…
Higher Income Is Associated With Less Daily Sadness but not More Daily Happiness
Although extensive previous research has explored the relationship between income and happiness, no large-scale research has ever examined the relationship between income and sadness. Yet, happiness and sadness are distinct emotional states, rather than diametric opposites, and past research points to the possibility that wealth may have a greater impact on sadness than happiness. Using data from a diverse cross section of the U.S. population ( N…
Shame and the motivation to change the self
A central question of human psychology is whether and when people change for the better. Although it has long been assumed that emotion plays a central role in self-regulation, the role of specific emotions in motivating a desire for self-change has been largely ignored. We report 2 studies examining people's lived experiences of self-conscious emotions, particularly shame, in motivating a desire for self-change. Study 1 revealed that when partic…
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…
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…
Parents Reap What They Sow
A controversial feature of modern parenting is “child-centrism,” the tendency for parents to prioritize their children’s well-being above their own. It has been suggested that child-centric parenting in its various forms may undermine parental well-being. Contrary to popular belief, more child-centric parents reported deriving more happiness and meaning from parenthood (Study 1). Study 2 employed the day reconstruction method (Kahneman, Krueger, …
Does affluence impoverish the experience of parenting
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…
Smartphone use undermines enjoyment of face-to-face social interactions
Smartphones distract parents from cultivating feelings of connection when spending time with their children
In the U.S., 95% of smartphone users admit to having used their smartphones during their latest social gathering. Although smartphones are designed to connect us with others, such smartphone use may create a source of distraction that disconnects us from the people in our immediate social environment. Focusing on one fundamental social relationship-between parents and their children-we examined whether smartphones made parents feel distracted, th…
Long-distance texting
Due to the widespread use of smartphones, romantic couples can connect with their partners from virtually anywhere, at any time. Remote communication may be particularly important to long-distance relationships (LDRs), compared to geographically close relationships (GCRs). The goals of the current research were to examine differences between LDRs and GCRs in (1) the patterns of remote communication (video calls, voice calls, and texting), and (2)…
Does affluence impoverish the experience of parenting
The psychologically rich life questionnaire
The declining marginal utility of social time for subjective well-being
Does affluence impoverish the experience of parenting
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…
Parents Reap What They Sow
A controversial feature of modern parenting is “child-centrism,” the tendency for parents to prioritize their children’s well-being above their own. It has been suggested that child-centric parenting in its various forms may undermine parental well-being. Contrary to popular belief, more child-centric parents reported deriving more happiness and meaning from parenthood (Study 1). Study 2 employed the day reconstruction method (Kahneman, Krueger, …
Shame and the motivation to change the self
A central question of human psychology is whether and when people change for the better. Although it has long been assumed that emotion plays a central role in self-regulation, the role of specific emotions in motivating a desire for self-change has been largely ignored. We report 2 studies examining people's lived experiences of self-conscious emotions, particularly shame, in motivating a desire for self-change. Study 1 revealed that when partic…
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…
Higher Income Is Associated With Less Daily Sadness but not More Daily Happiness
Although extensive previous research has explored the relationship between income and happiness, no large-scale research has ever examined the relationship between income and sadness. Yet, happiness and sadness are distinct emotional states, rather than diametric opposites, and past research points to the possibility that wealth may have a greater impact on sadness than happiness. Using data from a diverse cross section of the U.S. population ( N…
Income Reliably Predicts Daily Sadness, but Not Happiness
Kushlev, Dunn, and Lucas (2015) found that income predicts less daily sadness—but not greater happiness—among Americans. The present study used longitudinal data from an approximately representative German sample to replicate and extend these findings. Our results largely replicated Kushlev et al.’s results: Income predicted less daily sadness (albeit with a smaller effect size) but was unrelated to happiness. Moreover, the association between in…
Findings all psychologists should know from the new science on subjective well-being.
Smartphone use undermines enjoyment of face-to-face social interactions
Put the Phone Down
If there ever was a key to happiness, this key would open a door that leads straight to a rich social life. And in the era of smartphones, this key to social connection is in our pockets anytime and anywhere. Or is it? Using the experience sampling method (ESM), we explore the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the context of face-to-face (FtF) social interactions, testing two competing hypotheses: (1) a complementarity hypothesis st…
Progressive taxation, income inequality, and happiness
Income inequality has become one of the more widely debated social issues today. The current article explores the role of progressive taxation in income inequality and happiness. Using historical data in the United States from 1962 to 2014, we found that income inequality was substantially smaller in years when the income tax was more progressive (i.e., a higher tax rate for higher income brackets), even when controlling for variables like stock …
The declining marginal utility of social time for subjective well-being
The psychologically rich life questionnaire
Smartphones distract parents from cultivating feelings of connection when spending time with their children
In the U.S., 95% of smartphone users admit to having used their smartphones during their latest social gathering. Although smartphones are designed to connect us with others, such smartphone use may create a source of distraction that disconnects us from the people in our immediate social environment. Focusing on one fundamental social relationship-between parents and their children-we examined whether smartphones made parents feel distracted, th…
The effects of smartphones on well-being
Long-distance texting
Due to the widespread use of smartphones, romantic couples can connect with their partners from virtually anywhere, at any time. Remote communication may be particularly important to long-distance relationships (LDRs), compared to geographically close relationships (GCRs). The goals of the current research were to examine differences between LDRs and GCRs in (1) the patterns of remote communication (video calls, voice calls, and texting), and (2)…
Well-Being Science for Teaching and the General Public
Research on well-being has exploded in recent years to more than 55,000 relevant publications annually, making it difficult for psychologists—including key communicators such as textbook authors—to stay current with this field. Moreover, well-being is a daily concern among policymakers and members of the general public. Well-being science is relevant to the lives of students—illustrating the diverse methods used in the behavioral sciences, presen…
Subjective Well-Being and Prosociality Around the Globe
Subjective well-being (SWB) is positively related to prosocial giving and helping others, but so far, research has not explored the association of individual aspects of well-being with prosocial behavior across the world. We used a representative sample from the Gallup World Poll across 163 countries from 2006 to 2017 to explore the relationship between each aspect of well-being and prosocial behavior ( N = 1,797,630). We found that different asp…
Antecedents and consequences of smartphone self-extension
The psychological connection between mobile media (e.g., smartphones) and the self is a central consideration of mobile communication scholarship.Using a two-wave panel design (N = 227), we tested potential antecedents and consequences of a key construct that indexes this connection smartphone self-extension.Both functionality and identity self-extension predicted perceiving smartphone use as more enjoyable.Moreover, functionality self-extension …
The Promise and Peril of Mental Health Apps
Can mental health apps be a tool in tackling the declining mental health in the United States and around the globe? Our review of the literature shows that mental health apps can improve symptoms of some disorders, such as depression and anxiety, when compared to no treatment. Such evidence of efficacy, however, is lacking in populations that are underserved by existing mental health services, including youth, seniors, men, and racial minorities.…
Psychology (18 works) · Social Psychology (17 works) · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction (12 works) · Developmental psychology (8 works) · Happiness (8 works) · Impact of Technology on Adolescents (6 works) · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics (4 works) · Computer Science (4 works)