Effectiveness of Two Cognitive Interventions Promoting Happiness with Video-Based Online Instructions

Abstract

A 3-month experimental online study examined the short-term and 1 month follow-up effects of regularly practicing one of two cognitive interventions on subjective well-being. Participants were 435 self-selected adults (366 female, 69 male, aged 18-63) randomly assigned to one of three conditions: writing about best possible selves in the future (n = 135), making gratitude lists (n = 150) or writing to-do-lists as a control condition (n = 150). The study was fully self-administered and exercise instructions were given in online videos. Repeated-measures MANOVA revealed that both interventions significantly increased subjective well-being in comparison to the control condition. Effect sizes for the different components of subjective well-being ranged from r = .09-.13 (g 2 = .01-.02) for the 2 months intervention period. These effects were maintained until the 1-month follow-up. Enjoyment and interest regarding the exercise as indicators of perceived person-intervention-fit moderated the effect; participants of the happiness interventions who perceived a better fit showed greater increases in subjective well-being. These findings confirm previous research on these interventions and encourage further studies on online interventions, especially regarding possibilities to increase participants' motivation and reduce dropout attrition.

Building personal resources through interventions: An integrative review

“…A few studies report evidence for physiological resource gains (e.g., Bono et al, ; Jackowska, Brown, Ronaldson, & Steptoe, ), but the vast majority examine a narrow set of psychological resources, with the most common being happiness (e.g., Mongrain & Anselmo‐Matthews, ; Seligman et al, ), life satisfaction (e.g., Manthey, Vehreschild, & Renner, ; Rust et al, ), positive mood or affect (e.g., Emmons & McCullough, ; Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, ), and optimism (e.g., Meevissen, Peters, & Alberts, ). Several meta‐analyses have reported on the average effect sizes across intervention types: Sin and Lyubomirsky () reported an average effect of r = .29 for well‐being, whereas Bolier et al (), using stricter inclusion criteria and only randomized controlled trials, reported somewhat smaller standardized mean differences: d = 0.34 for subjective well‐being (e.g., life satisfaction and positive affect) and d = 0.20 for psychological well‐being (positive psychological functioning) at posttest.…”

“…A few studies report evidence for physiological resource gains (e.g., Bono et al, 2013;Jackowska, Brown, Ronaldson, & Steptoe, 2015), but the vast majority examine a narrow set of psychological resources, with the most common being happiness (e.g., Mongrain & Anselmo-Matthews, 2012;Seligman et al, 2005), life satisfaction (e.g., Manthey, Vehreschild, & Renner, 2016;Rust et al, 2009), positive mood or affect (e.g., Emmons & McCullough, 2003;Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006), and optimism (e.g., Meevissen, Peters, & Alberts, 2011). Several meta-analyses have reported on the average effect sizes across intervention types: Sin and Lyubomirsky (2009) (Bolier et al, 2013;Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009) show that self-selected volunteers derived greater well-being benefits (average r = .35) than did participants who were assigned (average r = .20).…”

The effectiveness of email-based exercises in promoting psychological wellbeing and healthy lifestyle: a two-year follow-up study

“…In a randomized controlled trial using a cognitive-behavioral tool, Powell et al [ 30 ] showed improvement in well-being in a 12-week follow-up in the intervention group compared to controls. In a study with 435 self-selected adults, both writing about best possible selves and making gratitude lists improved subjective well-being compared to writing to-do-lists, and the effect was maintained in the one-month follow-up [ 31 ]. A study with a 6-month follow-up noticed that self-compassion and optimism exercises were able to increase happiness in persons vulnerable to depression [ 32 ].…”

Gratitude – more than just a platitude? The science behind gratitude and health

“…Gratitude interventions often take the form of compiling a list of things to be grateful for in a journal (gratitude journals/lists; Wood et al, 2010), brief grateful contemplation (Watkins, Woodward, Stone, & Kolts, 2003), or writing letters of gratitude (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005). Others, notably when contrasting gratitude with another positive psychology intervention (e.g., writing about best possible selves), have found little evidence that gratitude interventions were superior (Kerr, O'Donovan, & Pepping, 2015;Manthey, Vehreschild, & Renner, 2016), begging the question of whether gratitude interventions are distinct from other positive psychology interventions (Dickens, 2017). Some gratitude interventions or PPIs with a gratitude component have demonstrated improvements in psychological well-being (e.g., increases in positive affect, reductions in depression; Seligman et al, 2005;Watkins, Uhder, & Pichinevskiy, 2014;Wood et al, 2010) and, more recently, in improved biological functioning (e.g., blood pressure) in healthy populations (Jackowska, Brown, Ronaldson, & Steptoe, 2016).…”

“…Some gratitude interventions or PPIs with a gratitude component have demonstrated improvements in psychological well-being (e.g., increases in positive affect, reductions in depression; Seligman et al, 2005;Watkins, Uhder, & Pichinevskiy, 2014;Wood et al, 2010) and, more recently, in improved biological functioning (e.g., blood pressure) in healthy populations (Jackowska, Brown, Ronaldson, & Steptoe, 2016). Others, notably when contrasting gratitude with another positive psychology intervention (e.g., writing about best possible selves), have found little evidence that gratitude interventions were superior (Kerr, O'Donovan, & Pepping, 2015;Manthey, Vehreschild, & Renner, 2016), begging the question of whether gratitude interventions are distinct from other positive psychology interventions (Dickens, 2017).…”