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Studies

Goodhart (1985): study US 1983

Publication

Author(s):
Goodhart, D.E.
Title:
Some Psychological Effects Associated with Positive and Negative Thinking about Stressful Event Outcomes: Was Pollyanna Right?
Source:
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1985, Vol. 48, 216 - 232

Investigation

Public
Students in stress, followed 8 weeks, Illinois, USA, 1983
Sample
Respondents
N = 173
Non Response
1.7% dropout
Assessment
Questionnaire: Paper & Pencil Interview (PAPI)
Questionnaire administered in class. T1: pretest, T2: post- test; after 8 weeks.

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report on single question:

How do you feel about your life as a whole.....?
7  delighted
6  pleased
5  mostly satisfied
4  mixed
3  mostly dissatisfied
2  unhappy
1  terrible

Name: Andrews & Withey's `Delighted-Terrible Scale'  (original version)
Classification:
O-DT-u-sq-v-7-a
Author's label:
Global satisfaction

Correlational Findings

Author's label Subject Description Finding Stress Major life-change or not Happiness Recent happiness (< 1 year ago)
O-DT by O-DT
Positive thinking Current coping-style
Earlier positive thinking
Positive reacting
Negative thinking Current coping-style
Earlier positive thinking
Positive reacting