PSYC 201W - Assignment 4

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Simon Fraser University *

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201W

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Psychology

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Oct 30, 2023

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Uploaded by ChancellorMusic12489

Sheldon and Schkade’s Model for Happiness Sheldon and Schkade’s model for happiness argues that people can intentionally change their personal happiness through their own behavior (Ferguson & Kennon, 2013). An example drawn in the article that supports this theory is that individual efforts to motivate in pursuit of goals can elevate happiness effectively. The model regards multiple factors that affect happiness in individuals, including heritability and life circumstances, making happiness a difficult emotion to control due to unpredictability. However, a person can still intentionally behave in a way that promotes their happiness according to the model. This model relates to the present study in that the researchers seek whether it is possible to become happier through personal willingness. The study was also designed to discover how people can become happier, extending the arguments that the model makes about human ability to pursue goals that increase happiness. The Intentions Condition Researchers devised the intentions variable to see whether an individual can actively pursue a more positive mood, when their mindset is geared toward the pursuit of such mood, or whether this intent causes the person to have a less positive mood, and therefore be less happy. The Variable had two conditions, as participants were placed in two groups. One group was told to listen to the music variable with the intent to try and feel a more positive mood, and the other to listen normally. The variable was measured by six positive mood descriptions rated from 15 (extremely) to 1 (not at all). The variable was also measured through participants marking how much their mood was negative or positive on one end of a line. Participants were randomly

assigned to one of the two conditions, making this study a between-subjects design, and the variable being an independent groups variable. Type of Music These pieces of music were selected to act as an activity to boost the participant’s happiness. The songs were distinguished by Stravinsky’s being very ambiguous in the feeling it conveyed due to its varying musical structure, in contrast with Copland’s, which portrayed an overtly positive feeling. Participants who were selected to intend on increasing their positive mood listened to the Copland piece, and participants who were told to not have intentions heard the Stravinsky tune. An issue with the validity of this variable is that the style of music being a classical piece, could potentially not resonate with the participants, doing little to improve their mood, thus becoming an issue of content validity. I do not think this variable did achieve the desired goal because it was not an ecologically valid goal, as it was based on how the experimenters told them to try to feel during their task, which is unnatural to increase well-being. Working on an assignment and subsequently getting a good score, is a natural example. Anova, Main Effects and Interaction The two factors affecting the participants’ positive mood in the experiment were the piece of music they listened to and what their intentions were when they were listening to the music. These are called main effects. In two factor ANOVA, each variable is assessed based on its two different levels. This means that the effects of the two independent variables, specifically

their two conditions (4 in total), are measured to see if they affect each other when affecting participant responses in the study. In the study, the ANOVA seeks to discover what are the differences in participant’s moods across the four conditions. The results of the study showed that both levels of the two main effects, being the type of music and level of participant intentions were significant predictors of the positive mood the participant would experience at the end of the experiment. The results also showed that there was not an interaction between the Stravinsky song and the participant’s level of intentions in that differences in mood were not predicted. There was interaction between the Copland song and level of intentions, as participant’s mood differed on either level of intention. Word Count: 648 References Yuna L. Ferguson & Kennon M. Sheldon (2013) Trying to be happier really can work: Two experimental studies, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8:1, 23-33, DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2012.747000

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