Url https://wou.omeka.net/s/repository/item/1170 Title Happiness Comes Naturally: Engagement with Nature as a Route to Positive Subjective Well-Being Creator Ethan A McMahan Subject nature natural environments subjective well-being happiness Publisher DEF Publishers Date 1/1/2018 Type Text Identifier fac_pubs/40 Language eng Abstract Empirical research consistently indicates that contact with the natural world is associated with broad psychological and physical benefit. Of particular interest are findings indicating that exposure to natural environments improves subjective well-being, suggesting that interacting with nature may be one route by which individuals may achieve and maintain a durable sense of happiness. In the current chapter, key concepts and influential theories concerning the effects of nature on well-being are described. Empirical research detailing the salutogenic effects of nature is then reviewed, with emphasis placed on four main areas of inquiry: (1) exposure to natural environments; (2) connectedness to nature and well-being; (3) physical proximity to nature; and (4) green exercise. Current limitations in the extant literature are discussed, and priorities for future research are outlined. Based on the present state of research in this domain, it is concluded that ample evidence documents the positive effects of nature on subjective well-being. However, additional research examining group differences in responses to nature, causal mechanisms accounting for the relationship between nature and well-being, and environmental factors impacting the effects of nature on well-being, among other topics, is necessary to develop a comprehensive and more nuanced understanding of the myriad ways in which happiness may be achieved through engagement with the natural world. Bibliographic Citation McMahan, E. A. (2018). Happiness comes naturally: Engagement with nature as a route to positive subjective well-being. In E. Diener, S. Oishi, & L. Tay (Eds.), Handbook of well-being. Salt Lake City, UT: DEF Publishers. DOI:nobascholar.com Department or school name within institution Psychological Sciences Note Book chapter published in Handbook of Well-Being. -- Url https://wou.omeka.net/s/repository/item/1167 Title Eudaimonic Conceptions of Well-being, Meaning in Life, and Self-Reported Well-Being: Initial Test of a Mediational Model Creator Ethan A McMahan Maggie D Renken Subject well-being eudaimonia beliefs meaning in life happiness mediation Publisher Elsevier Date 10/1/2011 Type Text Identifier fac_pubs/33 Source Personality and Individual Differences Language eng Abstract The current study examined relationships between eudaimonic dimensions of individual conceptions of well-being (e.g., self-development, contribution), meaning in life, and self-reported well-being, and whether meaning in life mediates associations between eudaimonic conception dimensions and well-being. A sample of 275 adult volunteers completed several instruments assessing the above constructs. Results from structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that eudaimonic conception dimensions were positively associated with both meaning in life and well-being. Further, the relationship between eudaimonic conception dimensions and self-reported well-being was found to be partially mediated by meaning in life. The findings of the current study thus suggest that the experience of meaning in life is one route through which eudaimonic conception of well-being dimensions are associated with self-reported well-being. Issue 5 Page end 594 Page start 589 Volume 51 Department or school name within institution Psychological Sciences Note This is the author's peer-reviewed accepted manuscript. The version of record is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/personality-and-individual-differences. -- Url https://wou.omeka.net/s/repository/item/1166 Title Hedonic versus Eudaimonic Conceptions of Well-Being: Evidence of Differential Associations with Self-Reported Well-Being Creator Ethan A McMahan David Estes Subject well-being lay conceptions hedonism eudaimonia pleasure happiness Publisher Springer Date 8/1/2011 Type Text Identifier fac_pubs/34 Source Social Indicators Research Language eng Abstract Conceptions of well-being are cognitive representations of the nature and experience of well-being. These conceptions can be described generally by the degree to which hedonic and eudaimonic dimensions are emphasized as important aspects of the experience of well-being. In two studies, the prediction that eudaimonic dimensions of individual conceptions of well-being are more robustly associated with self-reported well-being than hedonic dimensions was investigated. Correlational analyses indicated that both hedonic and eudaimonic dimensions were associated with well-being, with more robust associations observed between the eudaimonic dimension and each measure of well-being. In several regression analyses, only the eudaimonic dimension significantly predicted well-being, with the hedonic dimension failing to account for unique variance in well-being beyond that predicted by the eudaimonic dimension. Results thus generally suggest that conceptualizing well-being in eudaimonic terms may be relatively more important for positive psychological functioning. Issue 1 Page end 108 Page start 93 Volume 103 Department or school name within institution Psychological Sciences Note This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11205-010-9698-0 -- Url https://wou.omeka.net/s/repository/item/1165 Title Measuring Lay Conceptions of Well-Being: The Beliefs About Well-Being Scale Creator Ethan A McMahan David Estes Subject well-being happiness lay conceptions scale development measurement Publisher Springer Date 4/1/2011 Type Text Identifier fac_pubs/35 Source Journal of Happiness Studies Language eng Abstract A number of explicit conceptions of well-being have been provided by philosophers and psychologists, but little is known about laypersons’ conceptions of well-being. Two studies investigating the content and measurement of lay conceptions of well-being are presented. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic procedures, the 16-item Beliefs about Well-Being Scale (BWBS) was developed to measure lay conceptions of well-being along four theoretically-meaningful dimensions: (1) the Experience of Pleasure, (2) Avoidance of Negative Experience, (3) Self-Development, and (4) Contribution to Others. Initial evidence concerning the reliability and validity of the BWBS indicated that this new scale has acceptable psychometric properties. In both studies, associations between each subscale, representing the above four dimensions, and multiple self-report measures of experienced well-being were also examined. Each subscale was significantly associated with well-being, with Self-Development and Contribution to Others indicating stronger associations with measures of well-being than either Experience of Pleasure or Avoidance of Negative Experience. Implications for future research using this economical new scale are discussed. Issue 2 Page end 287 Page start 267 Volume 12 Department or school name within institution Psychological Sciences Note This is the authors' final accepted (peer-reviewed) manuscript. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10902-010-9194-x -- Url https://wou.omeka.net/s/repository/item/1164 Title Individual Conceptions of Well-Being Predict Psychological and Subjective Well-Being: Beyond the Big Five (Book Chapter) Creator Ethan A McMahan Maggie D Renken Andre Kehn Martina Nitkova Subject well-being happiness lay conceptions hedonics eudaimonia personality Publisher Nova Science Publishers Date 1/1/2013 Type Text Identifier fac_pubs/36 Language eng Abstract Lay conceptions of well-being are multidimensional cognitive representations of the nature and experience of well-being and an important component of individuals’ worldview. Previous research indicates that these lay conceptions are composed of both hedonic (i.e., pleasure-focused) and eudaimonic (i.e., virtue- and meaning-focused) dimensions, and the degree to which one conceptualizes well-being in hedonic and eudaimonic terms has been found to be associated with multiple indicators of experienced well-being. Previous research is limited, however, in that it has often defined and operationalized experienced well-being using indicators of subjective well-being (SWB) and has not addressed associations between lay conceptions of well-being and psychological well-being (PWB). Additionally, previous research is further limited in that it has not considered more complex relationships between conceptions of well-being and general personality traits, specifically the Big Five, in predicting well-being. To address these limitations, this chapter presents research examining (1) whether hedonic and eudaimonic dimensions of individual conceptions of well-being predict both PWB and SWB and (2) whether individual conceptions of well- being predict unique variance in PWB and SWB beyond that predicted by the Big Five personality traits. Correlational analyses indicated more numerous and typically more robust associations between eudaimonic dimensions, compared to hedonic dimensions, and both PWB and SWB. Further, individual conceptions of well-being predicted unique variance in several dimensions of PWB and SWB when controlling for the Big Five, with eudaimonic dimensions being positively associated with well-being and hedonic dimensions being negatively associated with well-being. These findings thus complement a growing body of literature suggesting that eudaimonic approaches to well-being may be particularly important for positive psychological functioning. Bibliographic Citation McMahan, E. A., Renken, M. D., Kehn, A., & Nitkova, M. (2013). Individual conceptions of well-being predict psychological and subjective well-being: Beyond the Big Five. In F. Sarracino (Ed.), The Happiness Compass: Theories, Actions, and Perspectives for Well-Being (pp. 3-16). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers. Page end 16 Page start 3 Funded by This research was funded in part by a 2011 Research Grant from the Center for Happiness Studies at Seoul National University to Ethan A. McMahan. Department or school name within institution Psychological Sciences Note This is the authors' accepted manuscript and may not contain copyediting. Used with permission from the publisher. -- Url https://wou.omeka.net/s/repository/item/1163 Title The Effect of Contact With Natural Environments on Positive and Negative Affect: A Meta-Analysis Creator Ethan A McMahan David Estes Subject biophilia emotion happiness meta-analysis nature well-being Publisher Taylor & Francis Date 11/2/2015 Type Text Identifier fac_pubs/30 Source The Journal of Positive Psychology Language eng Abstract A growing body of empirical research suggests that brief contact with natural environments improves emotional well-being. The current study synthesizes this body of research using meta-analytic techniques and assesses the mean effect size of exposure to natural environments on both positive and negative affect. Thirty-two studies with a total of 2,356 participants were included. Across these studies, exposure to natural environments was associated with a moderate increase in positive affect and a smaller, yet consistent, decrease in negative affect relative to comparison conditions. Significant heterogeneity was found for the effect of nature on positive affect, and type of emotion assessment, type of exposure to nature, location of study, and mean age of sample were found to moderate this effect. The implications of these findings for existing theory and research are discussed, with particular emphasis placed on potential avenues for fruitful future research examining the effects of nature on well-being. Issue 6 Page end 519 Page start 507 Volume 10 Department or school name within institution Psychological Sciences Note The Version of Record of this manuscript has been published and is available in JOURNAL OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, 2015-11-02, http://www.tandfonline.com/ DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2014.994224 -- Url https://wou.omeka.net/s/repository/item/1123 Title Some Implications of Believing that Happiness Involves the Absence of Pain: Negative Hedonic Beliefs Exacerbate the Effects of Stress on Well-Being Creator Ethan A McMahan Incheol Choi Yuri Kwon Jongan Choi Joshua Fuller Patrick Josh Subject Happiness Well-being Beliefs Emotion Stress Publisher Springer Date 12/11/2015 Type Text Identifier fac_pubs/11 Source Journal of Happiness Studies Language eng Abstract One common belief about happiness, espoused to varying degrees by both researchers and laypeople alike, is that happiness involves a lack of negative hedonic experiences. In the current investigation, we examine whether individual differences in endorsement of this belief, termed negative hedonic belief, moderate the effects of stress on happiness and several indicators of well-being. It was predicted that because stress involves the experience of negative hedonic states, increased stress would be more robustly associated with decreased happiness and well-being among those endorsing negative hedonic beliefs. Results from three studies utilizing both retrospective and prospective research designs generally support this prediction and suggest that endorsing the belief that happiness involves a lack of negative hedonic experiences is associated with more negative outcomes in response to the experience of heightened life stress. Bibliographic Citation McMahan, E. A., Choi, I., Kwon, Y., Choi, J., Fuller, J., & Josh, P. (2015, December 11). Some implications of believing hedonic beliefs exacerbate theeffects of sress on well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies. doi:10.1007/s10902-015-9707-8 Funded by This research was funded in part by a research grant from the Center for Happiness Studies at Seoul National University to the first author. Department or school name within institution Psychological Sciences Note This is the authors' final accepted (peer-reviewed) manuscript. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10902-015-9707-8. --