psychology research papers 2021

• Search by keyword
• Search by citation

Page 1 of 40

Affective and cognitive factors associated with Chinese and Italian children’s arithmetic performance

This study aimed to investigate the cognitive and affective factors associated with cross-cultural differences in arithmetic tasks.

• View Full Text

Mediating role of alexithymia in relationship between cyberbullying and psychotic experiences in adolescents

Today, addressing issues related to the use of virtual space is of paramount importance due to its significant impact on mental well-being. This is especially crucial when the research community consists of te...

Workplace gossip erodes proactive work behavior: anxiety and neuroticism as underlying mechanisms

Services organizations highly value proactive employees. Managers are interested in promoting frontline employees’ proactive behavior because proactivity is crucial for organizational success. The mechanism of...

The links between symptom burden, illness perception, psychological resilience, social support, coping modes, and cancer-related worry in Chinese early-stage lung cancer patients after surgery: a cross-sectional study

This study aims to investigate the links between the clinical, demographic, and psychosocial factors and cancer-related worry in patients with early-stage lung cancer after surgery.

The Chinese version of Defensive Medicine Scale (DMS): reliability and validity test among physicians

Physicians are inclined to resort to defensive medicine (DM) for self-protection due to the increasing potential risk of medical litigation. DM is globally prevalent and has become an impediment to the develop...

An examination of the relationship between risk perceptions, cultural-religious beliefs and coping during COVID-19 pandemic control in South Asian countries: a systematic review

Covid 19 was declared as a public health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO) due to its rapid spread and catastrophic effects on health. It affected around 119 M people with mortality rate of 0.27...

Enhanced “learning to learn” through a hierarchical dual-learning system: the case of action video game players

In contrast to conventional cognitive training paradigms, where learning effects are specific to trained parameters, playing action video games has been shown to produce broad enhancements in many cognitive fu...

Attentional processes in response to emotional facial expressions in adults with retrospectively reported peer victimization of varying severity: Results from an ERP dot-probe study

Attentional processes are influenced by both stimulus characteristics and individual factors such as mood or personal experience. Research has suggested that attentional biases to socially relevant stimuli may...

Important aspects of experiences from patients and parents related to medications in Child and Adolescents Mental Health Services (CAMHS) - a qualitative study

Patient-reported experiences are a key source of information on quality in mental health care. Most patient experience surveys are limited to assessments from adults, including those conducted by parents or pr...

The relationship between socioeconomic status, medical accessibility, hope and psychological resilience of caregivers of children with chronic kidney disease in China: structural equation model

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the third most common cause of death after cancer and heart disease. The continuous treatment of children with CKD was greatly challenged during the COVID-19 pandemic, which sig...

Validation of the PCL-5 in Dutch trauma-exposed adults

The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) is an internationally widely used self-report questionnaire that can be used to screen for probable diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Information on the ps...

The effect of physical activity on the subjective well-being of rural left-behind children: the mediating role of discrimination perceptions and loneliness

This study explored the mediating role of perceptions of discrimination and loneliness on the relationship between physical exercise and subjective well-being in rural left-behind children.

Trauma exposure among young children in rural Pakistan: Associations with gender, mental health, and cognitive skills

The burden of childhood trauma (violence, injury/illness, loss) in low-resource settings is high, although the effect of trauma on children’s mental and cognitive health is under-researched. Child gender may mode...

The moderating effect of religiosity between climate change anxiety and death anxiety among a sample of Lebanese adults

Acknowledging the increasing worry over climate change and its psychological effects, the aim of this research is to clarify the dynamics between religiosity, climate anxiety and death anxiety, seeking to figu...

Football team quality and fans’ attachment: investigating the mediating role of emotional satisfaction in changchun yatai football club (CYFC) fans

Football, as a global phenomenon, intertwines team quality and fan attachment. This study, centered on Changchun Yatai Football Club (CYFC) fans, explores how emotional satisfaction acts as a mediator in this ...

Problematic anger among military personnel after combat deployment: prevalence and risk factors

Problematic anger, characterized by excessive frequency, intensity, and duration of anger which causes substantial emotional distress and functional interference, poses a marked challenge in military populatio...

Psychometric evaluation of the affiliate stigma scale for caregivers of people with mental illness in Uganda

Affiliate stigma is common among caregivers of people with mental illness and impacts negatively on the caregivers’ quality of life and their ability to care for the patients. Although there is evidence of aff...

Associations of physical activity and physical education enjoyment with self-concept domains among Hungarian adolescents

Sport enjoyment is one of the most important factors in physical activity (PA) and physical education (PE) domains. It is not only beneficial for regular participation but also has a positive effect on mental ...

Burden and satisfaction with social support in families with a history of problematic substance use or dementia – a comparison

Living in a family with a history of problematic substance use or dementia is a major stressful experience for family members and results often in an impaired health condition. Seeking and receiving social sup...

Increasing self-esteem among left-behind children in China: a cross-temporal meta-analysis from 2006 to 2020

Self-esteem serves as a fundamental indicator for assessing the mental health of left-behind children in China. Previous studies have placed more emphasis on investigating its current situation, while overlook...

The relationship between hope level and self-management behaviors in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a chain-mediated role of social support and disease perception

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease and one of the fastest- growing global health emergencies of the 21st century. The relationships between hope level, social support, disease perception, and self-m...

Getting even: chasing behavior, decision-making, and craving in habitual gamblers

Dysfunctional decision-making and intense craving represent pivotal aspects across all addictive behaviors, notably evident in gambling addiction where these factors significantly shape chasing behavior—contin...

Social marketing and happiness in employment. Evidences from Glassdoor

With the increasing role of the Internet and social media, there are more significant opportunities for employees to express their opinions about the companies they work for more directly. A recognized job rev...

The relationship between neuroticism and social aggression: a moderated mediation model

Neuroticism appears to be a factor that triggers social aggression, but the relationship between neuroticism and social aggression and its underlying mechanisms is unclear. Questionnaire data from 942 college ...

The moderating effect of altruism on the relationship between occupational stress and turnover intentions: a cross-sectional study of community rehabilitation workers in China

In China, community rehabilitation workers are facing a growing challenge related to heavy occupational stress, which is having an impact on employment turnover. Previous studies have explored the effect of th...

Attitudes towards depression and its treatment among white, hispanic, and multiracial adults

Depression is present in all societies and affects members of all racial and ethnic groups. However, attitudes about depression differ across groups and have been shown to impact help-seeking behaviors, prefer...

Physical activity and social anxiety symptoms among Chinese college students: a serial mediation model of psychological resilience and sleep problems

Social anxiety symptoms are common and harmful psychological illness in college students. Although some studies have illustrated that physical activity could reduce social anxiety symptoms, the specific mechan...

The relationship between perceived social support, coping style, and the quality of life and psychological state of lung cancer patients

Lung cancer has always a cancer that threatens human health. Quality of life also has been an important research topic. psychological state in patients can influence their quality of life, and perceived social...

Psychometric properties of the newly developed self-report environmental determinants of health questionnaire (EDH-Q): development and validation

The environmental determinants of health (EDH) have a significant impact on people’s physical, mental, and social wellbeing. Everyone needs access to environmental resources of all types, including food, mater...

Assessing the predictive validity of expectancy theory for academic performance

Despite expectancy theory’s widespread appeal and influence as a framework for motivation in organizational and educational settings, studies that have examined the theory’s validity for performance-based outc...

Exploring Mianzi consciousness congruence and its impact on unethical pro-organizational behavior

In Chinese culture, the concept of Mianzi holds significant importance in interpersonal interactions. Mianzi represents one’s social standing, dignity, and reputation, influencing behaviors and decisions withi...

A multidimensional tool to measure farm stressors: development and initial validation of the farmer stress assessment tool (FSAT)

Farming is a stressful occupation, and a growing body of research shows that farm stressors are associated with poor mental health. To date, there are few methodologically sound surveys that assess farm stress...

Investigating AVHs narratives through text analysis: the proposal of Dialogic Science for tackling stigmatization

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are a significant symptom of various psychological conditions, often stigmatized and misunderstood. Moving beyond traditional psychological, psychotherapeutic and psychiat...

Deconstructing stigmatising narratives: a qualitative analysis of contrast devices in interviews with mothers with a mental illness

In the context of stigma and mental health research, limited empirical studies examine stigma through the positioning of individuals within interview contexts. This study addresses this gap by investigating th...

“I’m not an anxious person”: end-of-life care workers constructing positive psychological states

Mental health is an issue of social and economic importance. Sociocultural and scholarly attention has largely focused on the negative aspects of mental health. That is, on mental disorders and illness and how...

The impact of differential pricing subject on consumer behavior

The escalating use of artificial intelligence in marketing significantly impacts all aspects of consumer life. This research, grounded in attribution theory and S–O-R theory, employs scenario-based experimenta...

A repeated cross-sectional pilot study of the relationship between perceived a community with shared future for doctor-patient and benefit finding: the mediating role of health self-consciousness and moderating role of anxiety

Since January 8, 2023, China has managed COVID-19 as a Class-B infectious disease, marking the epidemic's transition to a low-level stage. This study analyzes the relationship between the public's perceived a ...

Rates of, and factors associated with, common mental disorders in homeworking UK Government response employees’ during COVID-19: a cross-sectional survey and secondary data analysis

Working on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased risk to mental health and wellbeing in multiple occupations and contexts. The current study aimed to provide an insight ...

Mindfulness, teacher mental health, and well-being in early education: a correlational study

This study analyzed the relationship between mindfulness and variables considered relevant for teacher–student interactions: teacher burnout, general stress, anxiety, depression, and quality of life. We hypoth...

Relationships between work-family conflict and family structure in the lives of working mothers in Hungary – a pilot study

The family, as the basic socialization environment, is a complex dynamic system that - as a whole and through its subsystems - is in relationships with other social systems (Bagdy in Family socialization and p...

Mental health and meaning in life in Chinese military personnel: a cross-lagged analysis

The burgeoning field of research on the dual-factor model of mental health (DFM) has highlighted its significance, yet the applicability of the DFM in military personnel and its longitudinal relationships with...

Cyber dating abuse perpetration and victimization among Chinese college students with a history of peer phubbing: psychological resilience moderates the indirect effect of rejection sensitivity

As emerging adults are increasingly reliant on instant messaging applications for communication with romantic partners, cyber dating abuse perpetration (CDAP) and victimization (CDAV) have proliferated. This h...

Do changes in eating behaviors signal rising mental health concerns among Saudi high schoolers?

Deteriorated eating attitudes have emerged as a prominent psychiatric illness with increasing prevalence in industrialized societies. This research endeavors to investigate the relationships between deteriorat...

Work-family interface during COVID-19: a sociolinguistic study of working mums’ identity and mental health

The dramatic reconfigurations of work-family roles and social boundaries resulting from the social restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic led working mums to look for online sites as spaces of emoti...

The relationship between trait anger and reactive aggressive behavior in middle school students: the mediating role and intervention of hostile attribution bias

The reactive aggressive behavior in individuals typically shows a rapid growth trend as individuals enter adolescence, and peaks during middle-school period. According to the Comprehensive Cognitive Model of T...

Enhancing self-regulation and learner engagement in L2 speaking: exploring the potential of intelligent personal assistants within a learning-oriented feedback framework

Developing L2 speaking proficiency can be challenging for learners, particularly when it comes to fostering self-regulation and maintaining engagement. Intelligent Personal Assistants (IPAs) offer a potential ...

How to build resiliency in autistic individuals: an implication to advance mental health

Individuals on the autism spectrum (ASD) often experience poor mental health and coping strategies compared to their peers due to social exclusion and co-occurring conditions. Resiliency has been identified as...

Structural relationship of the social-ecological factors and psychological factors on physical activity

The present study examines the mediating effect of psychological factors in the structural relationships between social and physical environmental factors and the amount of physical activity among undergraduat...

Correction: Chinese version of the tendency to avoid physical activity and Sport (TAPAS) scale: testing unidimensionality, measurement invariance, concurrent validity, and known-group validity among Taiwanese youths

The original article was published in BMC Psychology 2024 12 :381

Motivational determinants of athletes’ self-realisation depending on their professional qualification

In the contemporary era, there is a growing emphasis on understanding the self-realization of personality, encompassing individual-psychological traits, abilities, knowledge, skills, and motivation, extensivel...

Important information

Editorial board

For authors

For editorial board members

For reviewers

• Manuscript editing services

Annual Journal Metrics

Citation Impact 2023 Journal Impact Factor: 2.7 5-year Journal Impact Factor: N/A Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP): 1.182 SCImago Journal Rank (SJR): 0.954

Speed 2023 Submission to first editorial decision (median days): 22 Submission to acceptance (median days): 163

Usage 2023 Downloads: 2,897,978 Altmetric mentions: 2,709

• More about our metrics

Peer-review Terminology

The following summary describes the peer review process for this journal:

Identity transparency: Single anonymized

Reviewer interacts with: Editor

Review information published: Review reports. Reviewer Identities reviewer opt in. Author/reviewer communication

More information is available here

• Follow us on Twitter

BMC Psychology

ISSN: 2050-7283

• General enquiries: [email protected]

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals

Psychology articles from across Nature Portfolio

Psychology is a scientific discipline that focuses on understanding mental functions and the behaviour of individuals and groups.

Related Subjects

• Human behaviour

Latest Research and Reviews

The mediating effect of maturity on anxiety and the motives for postponing parenthood

• Małgorzata Szcześniak
• Adam Falewicz
• Katarzyna Grodecka

Assessing driver distraction from in-vehicle information system: an on-road study exploring the effects of input modalities and secondary task types

Knowledge mapping and evolution of research on older adults’ technology acceptance: a bibliometric study from 2013 to 2023

• Xianru Shang
• Chengliang Wang

Development and validation of a higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) scale for major students in the interior design discipline for blended learning

• Xiaolei Fan
• Lingchao Meng

A measurement model of pedestrian tolerance time under signal-controlled conditions

• Nanhao Wang

Transcriptional patterns of amygdala functional connectivity in first-episode, drug-naïve major depressive disorder

News and Comment

Could video games be good for your health?

A large causal analysis based on a natural experiment suggests that gaming improves psychological well-being, but these benefits tapered off after more than 3 hours of gaming per day.

• Karen O’Leary

Own your narrative

Having a personal website or claiming online author profiles can increase a researcher’s visibility and reach.

Federal funding shapes knowledge in clinical science

Advances in clinical science often rely on federal funding, but an overly prescriptive funding agenda might limit the societal benefits of clinical research. Greater diversity in funding schemes is needed to ensure the highest clinical impact.

• Bunmi O. Olatunji
• Alexandra M. Adamis

Behavioural science can improve parenting interventions

• Marilyn N. Ahun
• Simon L. Bacon

Exploring children’s despair in the face of climate change

Interventions targeting children’s eco-anxiety have focused on fostering hope, however this is disconnected from children’s need to explore and express despair regarding the climate crisis. Adults can help by acknowledging and discussing these emotions with children.

• Catherine Malboeuf-Hurtubise
• David Lefrançois
• Catherine M. Herba

From the lab to a career in education research

Nature Reviews Psychology is interviewing individuals with doctoral degrees in psychology who pursued non-academic careers. We spoke with Dominic Gibson about his journey from a post-doctoral fellow to a senior researcher.

• Teresa Schubert

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Front Psychol
• PMC10015893

Study on positive psychology from 1999 to 2021: A bibliometric analysis

Feifei wang.

1 Department of Developmental Psychology of Armyman, School of Psychology, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China

2 Department of Financial Management, Chongqing Business Vocational College, Chongqing, China

Associated Data

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Positive psychology is a revolution in the science of psychology as well as a new milestone in the development of human society. The purpose of the study was to use bibliometrics and visual analysis to assess the current state and trends in positive psychology research.

The Web of Science Core Collection was searched for 4,378 papers on positive psychology between 1999 and 2021. The features of positive psychology research were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2013, VOSviewer (1.6.17), and CiteSpace (5.8.R1).

The findings demonstrate a steady growth in positive psychology publications from 1999 to 2021. The United States (1,780) and Harvard University (104), respectively, were the most productive nations and organizations in this subject. Frontiers in Psychology was the most productive journal (288), while the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology had the most co-citations (8,469). Seligman was the most influential author, with 3,350 citations and 5,020 co-citations. The top ten co-cited references, in terms of citation explosion, suggesting that these papers provide the foundation for the growth of this discipline. The systematic review, character strengths, positive psychology intervention, language pleasure, and the COVID-19 pandemic are the focal points of research and development developments in this discipline.

These findings have helped researchers in positive psychology find new ways to collaborate with partners, hot topics, and research frontiers.

1. Introduction

Positive psychology is a vibrant field of research, and concepts about the components of well-being predate the positive psychology movement. Diener (1984) evaluated the literature on subjective well-being (SWB) in 1984, then created and validated the Life Satisfaction Scale (SWLS) ( Diener et al., 1985 ). Ryff (1989 , 2014 , 2022) has studied psychological well-being for over 30 years in an effort to determine its fundamental components, find what conditions encourage or hinder it, and investigate how it impacts health. In 1998, Seligman was elected president of the American Psychological Society. He advocated that psychologists and practitioners concentrate on enjoyment rather than illness reduction. Many psychologists advocate a greater emphasis on positive psychological development. It discusses how to develop attributes such as imagination, optimism, foresight, interpersonal talents, moral judgment, patience, humor, and fearlessness, as well as how to promote pleasure and life satisfaction ( Gillham and Seligman, 1999 ). The Millennium issue of American Psychologist focuses on the emerging science of positive psychology. Psychologists are beginning to consider what advantages humans have at the end of the twentieth century. Positive Psychology , published in 2000 by Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) , marked the formal beginning of positive psychology. So this manuscript will focus on the development of positive psychology after its formal beginning. Therefore, Seligman (2019) is often called the “Father of Positive Psychology.”

The application of psychological ideas, research, and intervention strategies to comprehend the good, adaptable, imaginative, and emotionally satisfying elements of human behavior is known as positive psychology ( Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000 ). It shifts the research’s focus to “ordinary people” ( Sheldon and King, 2001 ). Positive psychologists, like other natural or social scientists, seek to understand psychological structure, phenomena, and functions. There has been significant progress in the theory of positive psychology, as evidenced by PERMA (the five elements of well-being; Seligman, 2011 ), the dual-factor model of mental health ( Suldo and Shaffer, 2008 ), the complete state model of health ( Keyes, 2005 ), and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions ( Fredrickson, 2001 ). Subsequently, positive psychology was widely used, including national psychological accounts of well-being ( Diener and Seligman, 2018 ), positive psychotherapy ( Seligman et al., 2006 ), a classification of strength and virtue ( Snow, 2018 ), comprehensive soldier fitness ( Lester et al., 2022 ), positive education ( Seligman et al., 2009 ), and so on. With the advancement of positive psychology studies, positive psychology intervention has attracted researchers’ attention. Positive psychological intervention (PPI) is defined as “building its intervention on positive psychology theory and employing its coherent theoretical model to achieve the objective of promoting happiness” ( Carr et al., 2020 ). Many positive psychology interventions have been shown to significantly boost well-being and minimize depressive symptoms ( Sin and Lyubomirsky, 2009 ; Bolier et al., 2013 ; Carr et al., 2020 ). As the COVID-19 global health crisis unfolds, positive psychology is critical for sustaining mental wellness ( Waters et al., 2021 ).

After more than two decades of development, many research papers have been published in the field of positive psychology research. Researchers systematically reviewed 1,336 articles published between 1999 and 2013 and found that positive psychology is a growing and dynamic subfield within the broader discipline of psychology ( Donaldson et al., 2014 ). However, the field has grown rapidly in recent years, adding a large body of literature that requires us to use scientometric methods for analysis. Therefore, we must pay more attention to the research hotspots and trends in positive psychology. Scientometrics is a powerful tool for identifying emerging trends and hotspots in the subject ( Chen, 2017 ; Hou et al., 2018 ). Bibliometric analysis is more objective and efficient than standard qualitative analysis approaches. In recent years, the advancement of scientific mapping techniques has increased ( Cobo et al., 2011 ). Scientific mapping technologies generally capture a bibliographic record of a group of study fields and create an overview of the underlying knowledge domains. Typical tools are CiteSpace ( Chen, 2006 ) and VOSviewer ( van Eck and Waltman, 2010 ; Ding and Yang, 2020 ). Computationally aided literature reviews are not intended to replace expert-written reviews; rather, they are intended to provide an additional point of reference with some advantages ( Chen et al., 2014b ). Bibliometric analysis is currently used extensively in a variety of research areas, including depression ( You et al., 2021 ; Zhou Y. et al., 2021 ); mindfulness research ( Baminiwatta and Solangaarachchi, 2021 ); COVID-19 ( Chen, 2020 ; Yu et al., 2020 ); and so on. The use of bibliometric analysis in clinical practice has become increasingly popular. Unlike typical expert-compiled evaluations, scientometrics covers a broader and more diverse range of critical issues. A collection of scholarly literature reflecting positive psychology research was used as input for this research. As a result, the purpose of this research is to conduct a bibliometric analysis of positive psychology research from 1999 to 2021 using the software packages CiteSpace and VOSviewer in order to better understand the field’s current condition, hotspots, and developmental trends.

2. Data and methods

2.1. data acquisition.

The study’s data source was the Web of Science database, which is the world’s most reliable citation database and has numerous high-quality papers ( Huertas González-Serrano et al., 2019 ; Luo et al., 2021 ). The data is gathered mostly from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), which includes SCI-Expanded, SSCI, ESCI, and A&HCI. Due to the WoSCC literature retrieval database’s ongoing updating, we only conducted a single search on April 18, 2022.

The elements of the field of positive psychology were initially outlined by Seligman (2019) in 1998. Additionally, the APA Thesaurus included the index phrase “positive psychology” ( Gallagher Tuleya, 2007 ) in June 2003. Positive psychology topics are also reflected by a variety of additional thesaurus phrases (for example, “well-being,” “life satisfaction,” “positive emotions,” “happiness,” and so on). It was challenging to establish the eligibility of the literature due to the abundance of terminology connected to the issue of positive psychology. This study focuses on the exact term “positive psychology” ( Schui and Krampen, 2010 ), as well as the time period 1999–2021.

2.2. Inclusion criteria

The search yielded approximately 5,374 publications. The language utilized is English, and the type of literature is limited to “article” or “review.” This advanced search process excludes 996 articles. Finally, 4,378 publications were obtained and analyzed.

2.3. Analysis methods

Analytics used in the study include Microsoft Excel 2013; VOSviewer (1.6.17); and CiteSpace (5.8.R1). We use Microsoft Excel 2013 to analyze the changes and trends in the number of documents ( Zhou T. et al., 2021 ). VOSviewer is a document analysis software package that has been developed by Van Eck and Waltman ( van Eck and Waltman, 2010 ). It has been proven to have excellent visualization and analysis results and is widely used for document analysis ( van Eck and Waltman, 2010 ; Liao et al., 2018 ). In this study, the software is used to analyze the features of positive psychology studies, such as Countries/Regions, institutions, journals, and authors. Using the method of full counting to construct a bibliometric network ( Perianes-Rodriguez et al., 2016 ). The size of the nodes represents the number of publications, while the overall connection strength value illustrates the degree of collaboration between a subject and others ( Zou and Sun, 2019 ).

CiteSpace is bibliometric analysis software ( Chen, 2006 ), which can be used for the analysis of co-citations, burst detection, and emerging research trends in the literature ( Chen et al., 2012 ; Hou et al., 2018 ). By developing a collection of visual knowledge maps, CiteSpace explores the states, hotspots, frontiers, and evolution processes in a scientific field.

The parameters of CiteSpace are as follows: time split between January 1999 and December 2021 (each slice is 1 year), the analysis items are selected as references, one node type is selected at a time, the selection criteria [g-index ( k  = 35)], and pruning (Pathfinder). A visual knowledge map is created using nodes and connections. In the map, each node represents one reference. The size of the nodes reveals the frequency of reference, while different colors of nodes stand for different years. In the center, the burst node as a red circle represents the number of co-occurrences or references that grow with time. Purple nodes represent the centrality and important knowledge exhibited by the data ( Chen, 2012 ). The line of connection between nodes is taken to be a co-occurrence or co-cited relation; the thickness of the line signifies the strength of the relationship, and the color corresponds to the time of the first node ( Liu and Chen, 2012 ). Cold to warm colors represent the early to recent. Betweenness centrality is another name for centrality. Nodes with high mental quality (>0.1) are frequently considered paradigmatic or pivotal moments in a discipline. An explosion of references to citations explores the trend and shows if the relevant writers have gotten significant attention on this subject ( Chen et al., 2014a ). Researchers may use this map to better understand new trends and identify hotspots by using burst detection and analysis ( Chen et al., 2014a ; Shi et al., 2022 ).

3.1. Time trend analysis of publication outputs

The search yielded a total of 4,378 publications, of which 4,021 were articles and 357 were reviews. This annual publication may demonstrate the trend in this field of research, which we portray as a broken line chart ( Figure 1 ). Figure 1 shows that the number of papers published between 1999 and 2021 continues to increase, indicating that related research areas are increasingly attracting academic interest. In particular, the literature on positive psychology has grown substantially in the last 3 years. The number of publications is expected to continue to grow.

Trends in annual publications in positive psychology research.

3.2. Analysis of countries/regions

Between 1999 and 2021, 96 countries/regions published research on positive psychology. We use the parameters of the number of publications (≥10) and the strength of the lines (≥1), generating 46 nodes and 428 links in the network of partner countries/regions ( Figure 2 ). In Figure 2 , we can see that the United States had the most publications (1,780), accounting for 40.66% (1,780/4,378), much outnumbering the rest, followed by England (420), Australia (388), the People’s Republic of China (361), and Canada (298). The table compares the top 10 countries/regions in terms of the number of publications, WoS citations, citations per study, and overall link strength ( Table 1 ). The United States was the leading country, ranking first in terms of publications, WoS citations, citations per article, and total link strength, indicating that the United States is absolutely dominant in the field of positive psychology.

Map of countries/regions in positive psychology research.

Top 10 prolific countries/regions researching positive psychology.

3.3. Analysis of institutions

We use the parameters of the number of publications (≥20) and the strength of the line (≥1), generating 61 nodes and 268 links in the network of partner universities ( Figure 3 ). The research institution knowledge map assists us in understanding the key research institutions in this subject as well as their collaborative links. Harvard University, the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Melbourne are all prominently displayed in Figure 3 . In terms of the number of publications, 11 universities rank in the top 10. Table 2 shows that each organization participated in at least 43 studies related to positive psychology. Seven of them are from the United States, with the others coming from Australia, Switzerland, South Africa, and Canada. Harvard University was placed first among these universities, with 104 studies completed, followed by the University of Michigan ( n  = 87) and the University of Pennsylvania ( n  = 84). The top 10 institutions, as shown in Table 2 , produced 15.50% of all publications. Among these institutions, the University of Michigan had the most WoS citations (13,234) and citations per article (152.11). The top 10 producing institutions are listed in Table 2 .

Map of institutions in positive psychology research.

Top 10 prolific institutions researching positive psychology.

3.4. Analysis of journals and co-cited journals

In Figure 4 , we use the parameters of the number of publications (≥20) and the strength of the line (≥1), generating 21 nodes and 156 links in the journal citation map. The top 10 academic journals that publish articles on positive psychology research are shown in Table 3 . These publications varied in IF from 0.917 to 4.614 (average IF: 3.228), and they are specialized journals in this field. Of these, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health has the highest factor of influence (4.614). The 10 journals published a total of 986 papers connected to positive psychology research, accounting for 22.52% of the 4,378 studies collected. At least 138 papers were published in the top three journals. In terms of link strength, the Journal of Positive Psychology ranked first ( n  = 1,431), followed by the Journal of Happiness Studies ( n  = 1,130) and Frontiers in Psychology ( n  = 1,096). On this subject, they are quite important.

Map of journals in positive psychology research.

Top 10 scholarly journals and co-cited journals in positive psychology research.

Table 3 displays the top 10 co-cited journals. The journals with the highest academic power and important positions in the field are those with a high co-citation count. In terms of IF, these journals ranged from 2.935 to 23.027 (average IF: 8.214), and they are professional journals in this field. The most influential of these is Psychological Bulletin (23.227), followed by American Psychologist (16.358) and Journal of Applied Psychology (11.802). The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology had the highest number of co-citations (8,469), followed by American Psychologist (7,341), and then the Journal of Positive Psychology (4,057). As a result of the examination of the co-citation count, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology has been recognized as the core journal in the positive psychology research area.

3.5. Analysis of authors and co-cited authors

For authors who posted more than 10 publications, generating a co-author map using VOSviewer resulted in 72 nodes and 107 links ( Figure 5 ). The largest network of partnerships we found included Huffman JC, Proyer RT, Fredrickson BL, Ruch W, and other lead authors ( Figure 6 ). In terms of publications, Ruch W published most of the research (51), followed by Huffman JC (40), Celano CM (30), and Proyer RT (30). In terms of citations, the top three authors are Seligman MEP (3,350), Wood AM (3,284), and Maltby J (2,432). Author Maltby J published most of the citations per paper (221.09) in terms of the number of citations per paper, followed by Wood AM (218.93) and Seligman MEP (159.52). Table 4 displays the top 10 authors in terms of publications, citations, and citations per paper in positive psychology research. They are well-known and active authors in this discipline. The top 10 co-cited authors are also shown in Table 4 . The most co-cited author is Seligman MEP (5,020), followed by Diener E (2,809) and Fredrickson BL (2,434). These authors have made remarkable contributions to the field of positive psychology.

The authors’ map of positive psychology research.

The largest author collaboration network in positive psychology research.

Top 10 active authors and co-authors in positive psychology research.

3.6. Analysis of co-cited references

Essentially, science is a dynamic accumulation process. This means that when scholars write scientific papers, they need to cite others’ academic works ( Shafique, 2013 ). The basis of this field of study is represented by the co-citations, which relate to the references that are also listed in the reference lists of other works. CiteSpace allows for automatic labeling of clustering, greatly reducing the subjectivity of the study of search bounds ( Hou et al., 2018 ).

Figure 7 depicts a cluster visualization of the CiteSpace software-generated coreference network, which was split into 28 clusters, only the 11 largest of which were retrieved from the references based on indexing terms and determined by a log-likelihood ratio algorithm. They are depicted in the image with various convex hulls, including systematic review (cluster #0), character strength (cluster #1), positive psychology intervention (cluster #2), level matrix model (cluster #3), positive psychology perspective (cluster #4), foreign language enjoyment (cluster #5), adolescent athlete well-being (cluster #6), coronary heart disease (cluster #7), employee well-being (cluster #8), the second wave (cluster #9), and subjective wellbeing questionnaire (cluster #10). The authors of each node in the map are identified in red, and each node indicates a referenced reference. The reference co-citation map’s cluster representation is shown in Figure 7 . Table 5 displays the characteristics of the top 11 reference clusters in the co-citation network. The configuration’s overall clarity is stronger the closer each cluster’s silhouette score is to one ( Chen, 2020 ). Each cluster had an average silhouette greater than 0.9348 and an overall Q -value of 0.8649, indicating that the quality of the cluster was extremely reliable.

Reference co-citation network analysis of publications in positive psychology research. Cluster visualization of the reference co-citation map.

The largest 11 clusters of references in the co-citation network.

We can map the same group of words to the same horizontal axis in the timeline view, with the document located below the horizontal axis; the closer to the left, the newer the document ( Figure 8 ). The figure allows us to see the temporal characteristics of each cluster and the extent of clustering. A total of seven clusters lasting until 2020 are shown in the figure, including systematic review (cluster #0), character strength (cluster #1), foreign language enjoyment (cluster #5), health behavior (cluster #11), COVID-19 pandemic (cluster #14), theoretical model (cluster #18), and momentary blip (cluster #27). Indicating that these fields of research are still receiving scholarly attention.

Timeline view in positive psychology research.

The top five references in positive psychology research were listed according to their characteristics (see Supplementary material for details). They are regarded as the cornerstone research for the field of positive psychology. The top-ranked paper was published by Seligman MEP, with 1,619 co-citations. The articles with the most co-citations are usually key foundational works in this discipline. Positive Psychology: an Introduction received the most co-citations, making it the most important reference. The research concludes by defining the positive psychology scientific framework, pointing out knowledge gaps, and predicting the future of science careers in the twenty-first century. Furthermore, the authors noted that it enables individuals, communities, and society to thrive ( Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000 ).

While the strongest reference citation burst is considered the primary knowledge of the trend. As can be seen, Seligman MEP led the reference burst in 2000, and the burst was 52.03. The top 30 most potent citation bursts from 1999 through 2021 are shown in Figure 9 . Additionally, the number of red squares corresponds to the time of the epidemic in the literature, and each red square indicates a year. Figure 9 lists a few important works of literature. It demonstrates that the red arrow’s target reference is a crucial one with a powerful explosion. Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) , Peterson (2004) , Seligman et al. (2005) , Sin and Lyubomirsky (2009) , Seligman (2011) , and Lyubomirsky and Layous (2013) are a few examples of references. Hayes (2017) and Rashid (2014) are still bursting and need our high attention.

Top 30 references with strong citation bursts in positive psychology research.

Important references are also included in Table 6 . Bolier et al. (2013) is the highest-ranked object per burst in Cluster #2, with bursts of 57.41. The second is Seligman et al. (2005) in Cluster #4, with bursts of 56.59. The third is Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) in Cluster #248, with bursts of 52.03. The 4th is Sin and Lyubomirsky (2009) in Cluster #2, with bursts of 49.35. Peterson (2004) is the 5th in Cluster #3, with a burst number of 37.29. More detailed information is shown in Table 6 .

Top 10 co-cited references in positive psychology research in terms of citation bursts.

4. Discussion

4.1. general information in positive psychology research.

In this study, a bibliometric analysis of positive psychology research was conducted from 1999 to 2021. Based on the overall analysis of publications, productive countries/regions, institutions, journals, and authors, we can provide further research suggestions for researchers. The summary is as follows:

• Publications in the field of positive psychology have continued to grow since 1999. The annual output of positive psychology publications from 1999 to 2021 was divided into three phases. Less than 100 publications were generated annually during the first phase, which lasted from 1999 to 2007. The second phase lasted from 2008 until 2018. The number of publications has been steadily increasing. For the first time, more than 100 papers were published in 2008, and that number climbed to 378 articles in 2018. The third phase lasted from 2019 to 2021. In the past 3 years, there has been a considerable growth in the number of articles published; all of them have exceeded 500 articles. In general, positive psychology is still a popular area of study.
• With global communication, the physical distance between collaborators in research becomes increasingly irrelevant ( Ruhl and Priede, 2011 ), and researchers in the field of positive psychology are also engaged in extended cooperation ( Figures 2 , ​ ,3). 3 ). Based on the number of publications, positive psychology publications from the United States are more influential than those from other countries. Seven of the top 10 institutions are from the United States, which demonstrates that American institutions have significant influence in this field. In addition, in a model for developing countries, China ranked fourth with 361 studies published, and South Africa ranked eighth with 158.
• Analysis of co-cited journals and journals has shown that scholars may focus on all three of these journals when publishing papers, namely, Frontiers in Psychology (288), Journal of Positive Psychology (253), and Journal of Happiness Studies (138). And when referring to articles, scholars can focus on these journals, for example, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (8,469), American Psychologist (7,341), Journal of Positive Psychology (4,057), Journal of Happiness Studies (3,589), and Psychological Bulletin (3,085).
• In the co-author map, Ruch has the most publications, Seligman has the most citations, and Maltby J has the most citations per paper. These three authors are thus important influences in positive psychology research. The most co-cited author is Seligman (5,020), followed by Diener (2,809) and Fredrickson (2,434). Seligman is a well-known and extensively quoted author on positive psychology. In 1999, he released an essay describing the significance of positive psychology research ( Gillham and Seligman, 1999 ), which also served as the inception of the discipline.

4.2. Emerging trends and hotpots in positive psychology research

The co-cited references are what make up the knowledge base. A key component of CiteSpace is co-citation analysis. The time slice used in this study was 1 year; the selection criteria used a modified g index ( k  = 35); and the period is from 1999 to 2021 years. CiteSpace describes the trends and patterns of change in the co-citation reference map, which can be used to capture the research focus of the prospective scientific community. The node in Figure 7 represents a single reference, and the line indicates that the two references are connected in some way.

The most representative articles of the cluster list in Supplementary material . For example, in cluster #0, the papers cited that are most related to the cluster are Hendriks et al. (2020) , which cited 19% of the contributions of the cluster; Neumeier et al. (2017) , Moskowitz et al. (2020) , Hausler et al. (2017) , which cited 17%; and Job and Williams (2020) , which cited 14% of the literature.

4.2.1. Clustering visualization of the reference co-citation map

CiteSpace divides the co-citation network into clusters of many co-citation references so that connections across clusters are weak but strong inside each cluster. The 11 major clusters are listed in Table 5 according to their size, or the total number of persons in each cluster. Large-membership clusters are displayed. If the silhouette score is close to 1, it indicates that the cluster has better homogeneity or coherence. Table 5 shows that all clusters had a high silhouette score, indicating better homogeneity or coherence. Based on the labels selected for the clusters by the log-likelihood ratio test method (LLR) ( Chen et al., 2010 ). The three largest clusters were analyzed, and the results are as follows:

With 150 members and a silhouette value of 0.872, cluster #0 is the biggest cluster. All references were across 14 years, from 2007 to 2020, and the median year was 2014. It is labeled “systematic review” by LLR. Hendriks et al. (2020) published an article that cited the most references in cluster #0. Through a detailed review and meta-analysis, this paper aims to determine if MPPIs are effective. These findings show that MPPI is successful in enhancing mental health. Further good research in different populations is needed to strengthen the claim for the effectiveness of MPPI. While the label for this cluster is “systematic review,” which states that the article type is “review,” the focus of the article is primarily on positive psychology interventions. Neumeier et al. recently developed an online intervention program aimed at improving employees’ well-being ( Neumeier et al., 2017 ). Moskowitz et al. reviewed emotion measurement in positive psychology interventions ( Moskowitz et al., 2020 ), and Job and Williams reviewed the role of online positive psychology interventions in sexual and gender minorities (SGM) ( Job and Williams, 2020 ). From many reviews, it is also found that there has been a lot of research on positive psychology intervention, which is a hot spot in the field of positive psychology.

With 117 members and a silhouette value of 0.898, cluster #1 is the second-largest cluster. For all references across 10 years (from 2011 to 2020), the median year was 2014. It is labeled as a character strength by LLR. Waters et al. (2021) published an article that cited the most references in cluster #1. The authors underline that strengthening mental health during COVID-2019 and developing positive processes and capacities will benefit the future development of mental health. This study covers the research and applied positive psychology themes of meaning, coping, self-compassion, courage, gratitude, personality advantage, positive emotion, a positive interpersonal process, and high-quality connection to help individuals cope with the epidemic. Apart from this paper, other papers also satisfy the clustering theme of “character strength.” Miglianico et al. (2019) review the literature on the use and development of strengths in the workplace. Strecker et al. (2020) will discover the circumstances for the use of individual character strengths in the workplace, resulting in enhanced job engagement and well-being. Mayerson (2020) proposed a model for the role of character strengths in the success of individuals, groups, and species. Hausler et al. (2017) examined the individual relationships between 24 different aspects of personality strengths, subjective well-being (SWB), and psychological well-being (PWB). Overall, the correlation between “good personality” and PWB was significantly stronger than that of SWB. As can be seen in Cluster #1, not only is “character strength” research emphasized, but more researchers are paying attention to “character strength” in the workplace.

With 104 members and a silhouette value of 0.886, cluster #2 is the third-largest cluster. All references were across 14 years, from 2005 to 2018, and the median year was 2011. It is labeled as a positive psychology intervention by LLR. Bolier et al. (2013) published an article that cited the most references in cluster #2. The goal of this meta-analysis is to look into the effectiveness of a positive psychology intervention on the general population as well as on those who have specific psychosocial issues. Overall, the paper shows that positive psychology interventions can successfully improve subjective and psychological well-being while also assisting in the reduction of depressive symptoms. Figure 7 shows that clusters #2 and #0 partially overlap, there are some similarities between the two clusters, and there are many papers cited to investigate positive psychology intervention. Schueller and Parks (2014) summarized the current state of positive psychology interventions as they relate to self-help and that the next stage in research necessitates the application of these tactics in ways that allow them to be used in real-world circumstances. Gander et al. (2012) conclude that some “strengths-based” therapies can improve happiness. Likewise, Proyer et al. (2014) conducted a positive psychology intervention on older people over 50 years of age, and the results showed that the intervention was effective. The results of the Hone et al. (2014) meta-analysis show that positive psychology interventions have a clear effect on promoting well-being. To maximize the potential of PPI to promote population health, there is a need to extend the efficacy trial report in the future. Positive psychology intervention is a hotspot for positive psychology research. A great deal of research has been conducted by researchers from the perspectives of meta-analysis, literature reviews, and intervention experiments.

4.2.2. Co-citation clusters timeline map

Figure 8 depicts the age span of the literature in each cluster. The clusters are placed vertically in decreasing size order, and each cluster is presented from left to right ( Chen, 2017 ). Based on the timeline map, we should focus on larger and more recent clusters. The three largest clusters are #0, #1, and #2, which were analyzed earlier in this paper. Clusters #5, #14, #18, and #27 are relatively recent in terms of time and require further attention. Since clusters #18 and #27 contain few articles and are not representative, we retain only clusters #5 and #14 for the analysis. The results are as follows:

Cluster #5 consists of 79 members with a silhouette value of 0.981. All references covered over 9 years, from 2012 to 2020, and the median year was 2017. It is labeled “foreign language enjoyment” by LLR. Elahi Shirvan et al. (2021) published an article that cited the most references in cluster #5. In response to the dynamic change in the SLA domain and the necessity for the creation of appropriate methodologies to evaluate the dynamics of developing notions in the field such as grit and pleasure, the current study sought to investigate the rise of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and L2 grit over time. Wang X. et al. (2021) investigate Chinese university students’ enjoyment of a web-based language learning environment. In L2 education, Li and Xu (2019) found that an intervention focused on emotional intelligence has a good effect on promoting positive emotions. At the same time, as a result of the positive impact of second language acquisition (SLA) on the promotion of academic achievement and language learners’ well-being ( Guo, 2021 ). Recently, Wang Y. L. et al., (2021) reviewed the role of positive psychology in promoting second language learning. Accordingly, until recently, with the emergence and rapid development of positive psychology in general education ( Dewaele, 2014 ), there has been a clear positive revival in the area of L2 education ( Lake, 2015 ; Kruk, 2019 ), which has also emerged as a hotspot for study and a trend in the discipline of positive psychology.

Cluster #14 consists of 31 members and has a silhouette value of 1. This cluster has the highest homogeneity or coherence, indicating that the degree of coherence in the literature in this cluster is the highest. All references were over 9 years from, 2012 to 2020, and the median year was 2018. It is labeled as a COVID-19 pandemic by LLR. Waters et al. (2021) published an article that cited the most references in cluster #14. Although almost all of the papers cited within the cluster were published recently, the topics covered were COVID-19 and positive psychology, demonstrating that positive psychology plays a crucial role in the epidemic ( Quiroga-Garza et al., 2021 ). The COVID-19 epidemic had a significant impact on people’s lives and mental health ( Luo et al., 2020 ). Researchers should concentrate more on applying positive psychology to COVID-19.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, our bibliometric analysis of positive psychology found that positive psychology is a rapidly growing discipline with some achievements that warrant further research. In this study, Microsoft Excel 2013, VOS viewer (1.6.17), and CiteSpace (5.8.R1) software were used to analyze the annual number of documents, cooperation networks (countries/regions, institutions, journals and cited journals, authors and cited authors), and total cited documents. By analyzing data from the large-scale literature, we can gain a comprehensive understanding of the development of the field of positive psychology research and the research trends in the field.

We can understand the general information in this field. Firstly, the number of papers published on this topic continues to grow, indicating that it is a research hotspot in the field of psychology. Secondly, in the analysis of the cooperation network, we can find that the United States and the institutions of the United States occupy a dominant position in this field; in journals, we should pay attention to several major journals, such as Frontiers in Psychology , Journal of Positive Psychology , Journal of Happiness Studies , and so on; In terms of an author analysis, authors such as Ruch W, Huffman JC, Celano CM, Proyer RT, Fredrickson BL have more output, while authors such as Seligman MEP, Diener, ED, Fredrickson BL, Peterson C, Snyder CR have been cited more and have a greater impact.

Analysis of the cited literature allows us to understand the research base and research frontier in this field. First, jointly cited literature forms the research base for a research field. Documents such as Bolier et al. (2013) , Seligman et al. (2005) , Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) , Sin and Lyubomirsky (2009) , and Peterson (2004) can be found to be highly explosive in nature, indicating that these papers are the foundation for the development of this field, to which we must pay close attention. Second, through cluster analysis of co-citations, we can find research hotspots and development trends in this field. The systematic review, character strengths, positive psychology intervention, language enjoyment, and the COVID-19 pandemic are the foci of research and developmental trends in this field that need our high attention.

6. Strengths and limitations

This is the first large-scale data analysis of positive psychology papers utilizing CiteSpace and VOSviewer software. Furthermore, our findings offer a clear visual analysis, and so forth, of positive psychology publications. In addition, the co-citation analysis can also capture the research base and hot trends in this field, providing a reference for researchers to fully understand this field.

This study used the scientometric method for literature analysis, which has objectivity but also some limitations. First, the results of the software analysis are somewhat mechanical and require us to select meaningful results. At the same time, there is a possibility of ignoring some meaningful literature. For example, in considering the role of positive psychology in global issues, some researchers suggest that positive psychology may benefit from the integration of spirituality to better support people’s well-being ( Bellehumeur et al., 2022 ); others have found that positive psychology has a considerable impact on employees’ green behavior ( Meyers and Rutjens, 2022 ). Second, we did not conduct an in-depth assessment of the literature, only those in WoSCC; other databases, such as Scopus, MEDLINE, and PubMed, are available. We analyzed the type of literature and selected only papers and reviews, ignoring other types of literature. We also analyzed only English literature and ignored literature in other languages, which may have led to a lack of attention to other cultures. Related to this is the need to recognize the parochial nature of positive psychology, which seems to be US-centric, especially in terms of leadership ( Ryff, 2022 ). All of these may have biased the data. For example, in studies across cultures, Appiah et al. (2020) found that positive psychology interventions promote mental health among rural Ghanaian adults; a study in Hong Kong, China, found that a multifaceted positive psychology program was effective in reducing adolescent anxiety and increasing subjective well-being ( Kwok et al., 2022 ). Finally, potential bias in the data may be caused by duplicate author names of authors, or the use of different names by the same author; or by irregularities in literature citation, where different authors cite the same literature in different formats in the analysis of co-cited literature. This is where the practice of some researchers is worthy of consideration; for example, Donaldson et al. (2014) coded all articles in their review by raters using a systematic coding scheme.

Data availability statement

Author contributions.

FW and JG contributed to the study design, acquisition of research data, and drafted the manuscript. FW conducted the data analysis. GY contributed to critical revising of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

This study was supported by the National Social Science Fund Project of China (No. 19XSH018).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary material

The Supplementary material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1101157/full#supplementary-material

• Appiah R., Wilson-Fadiji A., Schutte L., Wissing M. P. (2020). Effects of a community-based multicomponent positive psychology intervention on mental health of rural adults in Ghana . Appl. Psychol. Health Well Being 12 , 828–862. doi: 10.1111/aphw.12212, PMID: [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Baminiwatta A., Solangaarachchi I. (2021). Trends and developments in mindfulness research over 55 years: A bibliometric analysis of publications indexed in web of science . Mindfulness 12 , 2099–2116. doi: 10.1007/s12671-021-01681-x, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Bellehumeur C. R., Bilodeau C., Kam C. (2022). Integrating positive psychology and spirituality in the context of climate change . Front. Psychol. 13 :970362. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.970362, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Bolier L., Haverman M., Westerhof G. J., Riper H., Smit F., Bohlmeijer E. (2013). Positive psychology interventions: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies . BMC Public Health 13 :119. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-119, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Cameron K. S., Bright D., Caza A. (2004). Exploring the relationships between organizational virtuousness and performance . Am. Behav. Sci. 47 , 766–790. doi: 10.1177/0002764203260209 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Carr A., Cullen K., Keeney C., Canning C., Mooney O., Chinseallaigh E., et al.. (2020). Effectiveness of positive psychology interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis . J. Posit. Psychol. 16 , 749–769. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2020.1818807 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chen C. M. (2006). CiteSpace II: detecting and visualizing emerging trends and transient patterns in scientific literature . J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. Technol. 57 , 359–377. doi: 10.1002/asi.20317 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chen C. M. (2012). Predictive effects of structural variation on citation counts . J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. Technol. 63 , 431–449. doi: 10.1002/asi.21694 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chen C. M. (2017). Science mapping: A systematic review of the literature . J. Data Inform. Sci. 2 , 1–40. doi: 10.1515/jdis-2017-0006 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chen C. (2020). A glimpse of the first eight months of the COVID-19 literature on Microsoft academic graph: themes, citation contexts, and uncertainties . Front. Res. Metr. Anal. 5 :607286. doi: 10.3389/frma.2020.607286, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chen C. M., Dubin R., Kim M. C. (2014a). Emerging trends and new developments in regenerative medicine: a scientometric update (2000 - 2014) . Expert. Opin. Biol. Ther. 14 , 1295–1317. doi: 10.1517/14712598.2014.920813, PMID: [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chen C. M., Dubin R., Kim M. C. (2014b). Orphan drugs and rare diseases: a scientometric review (2000-2014) . Expert Opin. Orphan Drugs 2 , 709–724. doi: 10.1517/21678707.2014.920251 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chen C. M., Hu Z. G., Liu S. B., Tseng H. (2012). Emerging trends in regenerative medicine: a scientometric analysis in CiteSpace . Expert. Opin. Biol. Ther. 12 , 593–608. doi: 10.1517/14712598.2012.674507, PMID: [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chen C. M., Ibekwe-Sanjuan F., Hou J. H. (2010). The structure and dynamics of Cocitation clusters: A multiple-perspective Cocitation analysis . J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. Technol. 61 , 1386–1409. doi: 10.1002/asi.21309 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Cobo M. J., López-Herrera A. G., Herrera-Viedma E., Herrera F. (2011). Science mapping software tools: review, analysis, and cooperative study among tools . J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. Technol. 62 , 1382–1402. doi: 10.1002/asi.21525 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Dewaele J. M. (2014). The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom . SSLLT 4 , 237–274. doi: 10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.5 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Diener E. (1984). Subjective well-being . Psychol. Bull. 95 , 542–575. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.95.3.542 [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Diener E., Emmons R. A., Larsen R. J., Griffin S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale . J. Pers. Assess. 49 , 71–75. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13 [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Diener E., Seligman M. E. P. (2018). Beyond money: Progress on an economy of well-being . Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 13 , 171–175. doi: 10.1177/1745691616689467, PMID: [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ding X., Yang Z. (2020). Knowledge mapping of platform research: a visual analysis using VOSviewer and CiteSpace . Electron. Commer. Res. 22 , 787–809. doi: 10.1007/s10660-020-09410-7 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Donaldson S. I., Dollwet M., Rao M. A. (2014). Happiness, excellence, and optimal human functioning revisited: examining the peer-reviewed literature linked to positive psychology . J. Posit. Psychol. 10 , 185–195. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2014.943801 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Elahi Shirvan M., Taherian T., Shahnama M., Yazdanmehr E. (2021). A longitudinal study of foreign language enjoyment and L2 grit: A latent growth curve modeling . Front. Psychol. 12 :720326. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.720326, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Fredrickson B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions . Am. Psychol. 56 , 218–226. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Gallagher Tuleya L. (2007). Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms (11th Edn), Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [ Google Scholar ]
• Gana K., Bailly N., Saada Y., Joulain M., Trouillet R., Herve C., et al.. (2013). Relationship between life satisfaction and physical health in older adults: A longitudinal test of cross-lagged and simultaneous effects . Health Psychol. 32 ,896–904. doi: 10.1037/a0031656, PMID: [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Gander F., Proyer R. T., Ruch W., Wyss T. (2012). Strength-based positive interventions: further evidence for their potential in enhancing well-being and alleviating depression . J. Happiness Stud. 14 , 1241–1259. doi: 10.1007/S10902-012-9380-0 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Gillham J. E., Seligman M. E. (1999). Footsteps on the road to a positive psychology . Behav. Res. Ther. 37 , S163–S173. doi: 10.1016/S0005-7967(99)00055-8, PMID: [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Guo Y. (2021). Exploring the dynamic interplay between foreign language enjoyment and learner engagement with regard to EFL achievement and absenteeism: A sequential mixed methods study . Front. Psychol. 12 :766058. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.766058, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hausler M., Strecker C., Huber A., Brenner M., Hoge T., Hofer S. (2017). Distinguishing relational aspects of character strengths with subjective and psychological well-being . Front. Psychol. 8 :1159. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01159, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hayes A. F. (2017). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach (2nd Edn), New York, Guilford Press. [ Google Scholar ]
• Hendriks T., Schotanus-Dijkstra M., Hassankhan A., De Jong J., Bohlmeijer E. (2020). The efficacy of multi-component positive psychology interventions: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials . J. Happiness Stud. 21 , 357–390. doi: 10.1007/s10902-019-00082-1 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hone L. C., Jarden A., Schofield G. M. (2014). An evaluation of positive psychology intervention effectiveness trials using the re-aim framework: A practice-friendly review . J. Posit. Psychol. 10 , 303–322. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2014.965267 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hou J. H., Yang X. C., Chen C. M. (2018). Emerging trends and new developments in information science: a document co-citation analysis (2009-2016) . Scientometrics 115 , 869–892. doi: 10.1007/s11192-018-2695-9 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Huertas González-Serrano M., Jones P., Llanos-Contrera O. (2019). An overview of sport entrepreneurship field: a bibliometric analysis of the articles published in the web of science . Sport Society 23 , 296–314. doi: 10.1080/17430437.2019.1607307 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Job S. A., Williams S. L. (2020). Translating online positive psychology interventions to sexual and gender minorities: A systematic review . Psychol. Sex. Orientat. Gend. Divers. 7 , 455–503. doi: 10.1037/sgd0000365 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Keyes C. L. M. (2005). Mental illness and/or mental health? Investigating axioms of the complete state model of health . J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 73 , 539–548. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.73.3.539 [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kruk M. (2019). Dynamicity of perceived willingness to communicate, motivation, boredom and anxiety in second life: the case of two advanced learners of English . Comput. Assist. Lang. Learn. 35 , 190–216. doi: 10.1080/09588221.2019.1677722 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kwok S. Y. C. L., Gu M., Tam N. W. Y. (2022). A multiple component positive psychology intervention to reduce anxiety and increase happiness in adolescents: the mediating roles of gratitude and emotional intelligence . J. Happiness Stud. 23 , 2039–2058. doi: 10.1007/s10902-021-00487-x [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Lake J. (2015). Positive Psychology and Second Language Motivation: Empirically Validating a Model of Positive L2 self . Philadelphia, PA: Temple University. [ Google Scholar ]
• Lester P. B., Stewart E. P., Vie L. L., Bonett D. G., Seligman M. E. P., Diener E. (2022). Happy soldiers are highest performers . J. Happiness Stud. 23 , 1099–1120. doi: 10.1007/s10902-021-00441-x [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Li C., Xu J. (2019). Trait emotional intelligence and classroom emotions: A positive psychology investigation and intervention among Chinese EFL learners . Front. Psychol. 10 :2453. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02453, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Liao H., Tang M., Luo L., Li C., Chiclana F., Zeng X.-J. (2018). A bibliometric analysis and visualization of medical big data research . Sustainability 10 :166. doi: 10.3390/su10010166 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Liu S. B., Chen C. M. (2012). The proximity of co-citation . Scientometrics 91 , 495–511. doi: 10.1007/s11192-011-0575-7 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Luo H. F., Cai Z. L., Huang Y. Y., Song J. T., Ma Q., Yang X. W., et al.. (2021). Study on pain catastrophizing from 2010 to 2020: A bibliometric analysis via CiteSpace . Front. Psychol. 12 :12. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.759347 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Luo M., Guo L., Yu M., Jiang W., Wang H. (2020). The psychological and mental impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on medical staff and general public - A systematic review and meta-analysis . Psychiatry Res. 291 :113190. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113190, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Luthans F., Avolio B. J. (2009). The “point” of positive organizational behavior . J. Organ. Behav. 30 , 291–307. doi: 10.1002/job.589 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Lyubomirsky S., Dickerhoof R., Boehm J. K., Sheldon K. M. (2011). Becoming happier takes both a will and a proper way: An experimental longitudinal intervention to boost well-being . Emotion . 11 , 391–402. doi: 10.1037/a0022575 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Lyubomirsky S., Layous K. (2013). How do simple positive activities increase well-being? Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci. 22 , 57–62. doi: 10.1177/0963721412469809 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Magyar-Moe J. L., Owens R. L., Conoley C. W. (2015). Positive psychological interventions in counseling: What every counseling psychologist should know . Couns. Psychol. 43 , 508–557. doi: 10.1177/0011000015573776 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Mayerson N. H. (2020). The character strengths response: an urgent call to action . Front. Psychol. 11 :2106. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02106, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Meyers M. C., Rutjens D. (2022). Applying a positive (organizational) psychology lens to the study of employee green behavior: A systematic review and research agenda . Front. Psychol. 13 :840796. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.840796, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Miglianico M., Dubreuil P., Miquelon P., Bakker A. B., Martin-Krumm C. (2019). Strength use in the workplace: A literature review . J. Happiness Stud. 21 , 737–764. doi: 10.1007/s10902-019-00095-w [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Moskowitz J. T., Cheung E. O., Freedman M., Fernando C., Zhang M. W., Huffman J. C., et al.. (2020). Measuring positive emotion outcomes in positive psychology interventions: A literature review . Emot. Rev. 13 , 60–73. doi: 10.1177/1754073920950811 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Neumeier L. M., Brook L., Ditchburn G., Sckopke P. (2017). Delivering your daily dose of well-being to the workplace: a randomized controlled trial of an online well-being programme for employees . Eur. J. Work Organ. Psy. 26 , 555–573. doi: 10.1080/1359432X.2017.1320281 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Perianes-Rodriguez A., Waltman L., Van Eck N. J. (2016). Constructing bibliometric networks: A comparison between full and fractional counting . J. Informet. 10 , 1178–1195. doi: 10.1016/j.joi.2016.10.006 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Peterson C. (2004). Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification , New York, NY: American Psychological Association, Oxford University Press. [ Google Scholar ]
• Proyer R. T., Gander F., Wellenzohn S., Ruch W. (2014). Positive psychology interventions in people aged 50-79 years: long-term effects of placebo-controlled online interventions on well-being and depression . Aging Ment. Health 18 , 997–1005. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2014.899978, PMID: [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Quiroga-Garza A., Cepeda-Lopez A. C., Villarreal Zambrano S., Villalobos-Daniel V. E., Carreno D. F., Eisenbeck N. (2021). How having a clear why can help us cope with almost anything: meaningful well-being and the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico . Front. Psychol. 12 :648069. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648069, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Rashid T. (2014). Positive psychotherapy: A strength-based approach . J. Posit. Psychol. 10 , 25–40. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2014.920411 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ruhl H. A., Priede I. G. (2011). Open up monitoring of deep-sea drilling . Nature 473 :154. doi: 10.1038/473154b, PMID: [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ryff C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it-explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being . J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 57 , 1069–1081. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ryff C. D. (2014). Psychological well-being revisited: advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia . Psychother. Psychosom. 83 , 10–28. doi: 10.1159/000353263, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ryff C. D. (2022). Positive psychology: looking back and looking forward . Front. Psychol. 13 :840062. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.840062, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Schueller S. M., Parks A. C. (2014). The science of self-help translating positive psychology research into increased individual happiness . Eur. Psychol. 19 , 145–155. doi: 10.1027/1016-9040/a000181 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Schui G., Krampen G. (2010). Bibliometric analyses on the emergence and present growth of positive psychology . Appl. Psychol. Health Well Being 2 , 52–64. doi: 10.1111/j.1758-0854.2009.01022.x [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Seligman M. E. P. (2011). Flourish , New York, Free Press. [ Google Scholar ]
• Snow N. E. (2018). Positive psychology, the classification of character strengths and virtues, and issues of measurement . J. Posit Psychol. 14 , 20–31. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2018.1528376 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Seligman M. E. P. (2019). “ Positive psychology: A personal history ” in Annual Review of Clinical Psychology . eds. Widiger T., Cannon T. D., Vol. 15 (Palo Alto: Annual Reviews; ), 1–23. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Seligman M. E., Csikszentmihalyi M. (2000). Positive psychology. An introduction . Am. Psychol. 55 , 5–14. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.5 [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Seligman M. E. P., Ernst R. M., Gillham J., Reivich K., Linkins M. (2009). Positive education: positive psychology and classroom interventions . Oxf. Rev. Educ. 35 , 293–311. doi: 10.1080/03054980902934563 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Seligman M. E. P., Rashid T., Parks A. C. (2006). Positive psychotherapy . Am. Psychol. 61 , 774–788. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.61.8.774 [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Seligman M. E., Steen T. A., Park N., Peterson C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions . Am. Psychol. 60 , 410–421. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410, PMID: [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Shafique M. (2013). Thinking inside the box? Intellectual structure of the knowledge base of innovation research (1988-2008) . Strateg. Manag. J. 34 , 62–93. doi: 10.1002/smj.2002 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sheldon K. M., King L. (2001). Why positive psychology is necessary . Am. Psychol. 56 , 216–217. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.216 [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Shi Y. M., Luo J. M., Wang X. Q., Zhang Y. Q., Zhu H., Su D. S., et al.. (2022). Emerging trends on the correlation between neurotransmitters and tumor progression in the last 20 years: A bibliometric analysis via CiteSpace . Front. Oncol. 12 :800499. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.800499 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sin N. L., Lyubomirsky S. (2009). Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: a practice-friendly meta-analysis . J. Clin. Psychol. 65 , 467–487. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20593, PMID: [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Strecker C., Huber A., Hoge T., Hausler M., Hofer S. (2020). Identifying thriving workplaces in hospitals: work characteristics and the applicability of character strengths at work . Appl. Res. Qual. Life 15 , 437–461. doi: 10.1007/s11482-018-9693-1, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Suldo S. M., Shaffer E. J. (2008). Looking beyond psychopathology: the dual-factor model of mental health in youth . Sch. Psychol. Rev. 37 , 52–68. doi: 10.1080/02796015.2008.12087908 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Van Eck N. J., Waltman L. (2010). Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping . Scientometrics 84 , 523–538. doi: 10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang Y. L., Derakhshan A., Zhang L. J. (2021). Researching and practicing positive psychology in second/foreign language learning and teaching: the past, current status and future directions . Front. Psychol. 12 :10. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.731721 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang X., Wang Y., Yang Y., Wang L. (2021). Investigating Chinese university students’ enjoyment in a web-based language learning environment: validation of the online foreign language enjoyment scale . Percept. Mot. Skills 128 , 2820–2848. doi: 10.1177/00315125211041714, PMID: [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Waters L., Algoe S. B., Dutton J., Emmons R., Fredrickson B. L., Heaphy E., et al.. (2021). Positive psychology in a pandemic: buffering, bolstering, and building mental health . J. Posit. Psychol. 17 , 303–323. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2021.1871945 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wissing M. P., Khumalo I. P., Chigeza S. C. (2014). Meaning as perceived and experienced by an African student group . J. Psychol. Afr. 24 , 92–101. doi: 10.1080/14330237.2014.904101 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wood A. M., Froh J. J., Geraghty A. W. A. (2010). Gratitude and well-being: A review and theoretical integration . Clin. Psychol. Rev. 30 , 890–905. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.005 [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• You Y. W., Wang D. Z., Wang Y. N., Li Z. P., Ma X. D. (2021). A Bird's-eye view of exercise intervention in treating depression among teenagers in the last 20 years: A bibliometric study and visualization analysis . Front. Psych. 12 :17. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.661108 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Yu Y., Li Y., Zhang Z., Gu Z., Zhong H., Zha Q., et al.. (2020). A bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer of publications on COVID-19 . Ann. Transl. Med. 8 :816. doi: 10.21037/atm-20-4235, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Zhou T., Qu J. L., Sun H. P., Xue M. X., Shen Y. J., Liu Y. B. (2021). Research trends and hotspots on Montessori intervention in patients with dementia from 2000 to 2021: A bibliometric analysis . Front. Psych. 12 :737270. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.737270 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Zhou Y., Zhu X. P., Shi J. J., Yuan G. Z., Yao Z. A., Chu Y. G., et al.. (2021). Coronary heart disease and depression or anxiety: A bibliometric analysis . Front. Psychol. 12 :669000. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.669000 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Zou L. X., Sun L. (2019). Global diabetic kidney disease research from 2000 to 2017: A bibliometric analysis . Medicine (Baltimore) 98 :e14394. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000014394, PMID: [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

The art of happiness: an explorative study of a contemplative program for subjective well-being.

• 1 Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
• 2 Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
• 3 Institute Lama Tzong Khapa, Pisa, Italy

In recent decades, psychological research on the effects of mindfulness-based interventions has greatly developed and demonstrated a range of beneficial outcomes in a variety of populations and contexts. Yet, the question of how to foster subjective well-being and happiness remains open. Here, we assessed the effectiveness of an integrated mental training program The Art of Happiness on psychological well-being in a general population. The mental training program was designed to help practitioners develop new ways to nurture their own happiness. This was achieved by seven modules aimed at cultivating positive cognition strategies and behaviors using both formal (i.e., lectures, meditations) and informal practices (i.e., open discussions). The program was conducted over a period of 9 months, also comprising two retreats, one in the middle and one at the end of the course. By using a set of established psychometric tools, we assessed the effects of such a mental training program on several psychological well-being dimensions, taking into account both the longitudinal effects of the course and the short-term effects arising from the intensive retreat experiences. The results showed that several psychological well-being measures gradually increased within participants from the beginning to the end of the course. This was especially true for life satisfaction, self-awareness, and emotional regulation, highlighting both short-term and longitudinal effects of the program. In conclusion, these findings suggest the potential of the mental training program, such as The Art of Happiness , for psychological well-being.

Introduction

People desire many valuable things in their life, but—more than anything else—they want happiness ( Diener, 2000 ). The sense of happiness has been conceptualized as people's experienced well-being in both thoughts and feelings ( Diener, 2000 ; Kahneman and Krueger, 2006 ). Indeed, research on well-being suggests that the resources valued by society, such as mental health ( Koivumaa-Honkanen et al., 2004 ) and a long life ( Danner et al., 2001 ), associate with high happiness levels. Since the earliest studies, subjective well-being has been defined as the way in which individuals experience the quality of their life in three different but interrelated mental aspects: infrequent negative affect, frequent positive affect, and cognitive evaluations of life satisfaction in various domains (physical health, relationships, and work) ( Diener, 1984 , 1994 , 2000 ; Argyle et al., 1999 ; Diener et al., 1999 ; Lyubomksky et al., 2005 ; Pressman and Cohen, 2005 ). A growing body of research has been carried out aimed at identifying the factors that affect happiness, operationalized as subjective well-being. In particular, the construct of happiness is mainly studied within the research fields of positive psychology or contemplative practices, which are grounded in ancient wisdom traditions. Positive psychology has been defined as the “the scientific study of human strengths and virtues” ( Sheldon and King, 2001 ), and it can be traced back to the reflections of Aristotle about different perspectives on well-being ( Ryan and Deci, 2001 ). On the other end, contemplative practices include a great variety of mental exercises, such as mindfulness, which has been conceived as a form of awareness that emerges from experiencing the present moment without judging those experiences ( Kabat-Zinn, 2003 ; Bishop et al., 2004 ). Most of these exercises stem from different Buddhist contemplative traditions such as Vipassana and Mahayana ( Kornfield, 2012 ). Notably, both perspective share the idea of overcoming suffering and achieving happiness ( Seligman, 2002 ). Particularly, Buddhism supports “the cultivation of happiness, genuine inner transformation, deliberately selecting and focusing on positive mental states” ( Lama and Cutler, 2008 ). In addition, mindfulness has been shown to be positively related to happiness ( Shultz and Ryan, 2015 ), contributing to eudemonic and hedonic well-being ( Howell et al., 2011 ).

In fact, although the definition of happiness has a long history and goes back to philosophical arguments and the search for practical wisdom, in modern times, happiness has been equated with hedonism. It relies on the achievement of immediate pleasure, on the absence of negative affect, and on a high degree of satisfaction with one's life ( Argyle et al., 1999 ). Nonetheless, scholars now argue that authentic subjective well-being goes beyond this limited view and support an interpretation of happiness as a eudemonic endeavor ( Ryff, 1989 ; Keyes, 2006 ; Seligman, 2011 ; Hone et al., 2014 ). Within this view, individuals seem to focus more on optimal psychological functioning, living a deeply satisfying life and actualizing their own potential, personal growth, and a sense of autonomy ( Deci and Ryan, 2008 ; Ryff, 2013 ; Vazquez and Hervas, 2013 ; Ivtzan et al., 2016 ). In psychology, such a view finds one of its primary supports in Maslow's (1981) theory of human motivation. Maslow argued that experience of a higher degree of satisfaction derives from a more wholesome life conduct. In Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, once lower and more localized needs are satisfied, the unlimited gratification of needs at the highest level brings people to a full and deep experience of happiness ( Inglehart et al., 2008 ). Consequently, today, several scholars argue that high levels of subjective well-being depend on a multi-dimensional perspective, which encompasses both hedonic and eudemonic components ( Huta and Ryan, 2010 ; Ryff and Boylan, 2016 ). Under a wider perspective, the process of developing well-being reflects the notion that mental health and good functioning are more than a lack of illness ( Keyes, 2005 ). This approach is especially evident if we consider that even the definition of mental health has been re-defined by the World Health Organization (1948) , which conceives health not merely as the absence of illness, but as a whole state of biological, psychological, and social well-being.

To date, evidence exists suggesting that happiness is, in some extent, modulable and trainable. Thus, simple cognitive and behavioral strategies that individuals choose in their lives could enhance happiness ( Lyubomirsky et al., 2005 ; Sin and Lyubomirsky, 2009 ). In the history of psychology, a multitude of clinical treatments have been applied to minimize the symptoms of a variety of conditions that might hamper people from being happy, such as anger, anxiety, and depression (for instance, see Forman et al., 2007 ; Spinhoven et al., 2017 ). In parallel with this view, an alternative—and less developed—perspective found in psychology focuses on the scientific study of individual experiences and positive traits, not for clinical ends, but instead for personal well-being and flourishing (e.g., Fredrickson and Losada, 2005 ; Sin and Lyubomirsky, 2009 ). Yet, the question of exactly how to foster subjective well-being and happiness, given its complexity and importance, remains open to research. Answering this question is of course of pivotal importance, both individually and at the societal level. Positive Psychology Interventions encompass simple, self-administered cognitive behavioral strategies intended to reflect the beliefs and behaviors of individuals and, in response to that, to increase the happiness of the people practicing them ( Sin and Lyubomirsky, 2009 ; Hone et al., 2015 ). Specifically, a series of comprehensive psychological programs to boost happiness exist, such as Fordyce's program ( Fordyce, 1977 ), Well-Being Therapy ( Fava, 1999 ), and Quality of Life Therapy ( Frisch, 2006 ). Similarly, a variety of meditation-based programs aim to develop mindfulness and emotional regulatory skills ( Carmody and Baer, 2008 ; Fredrickson et al., 2008 ; Weytens et al., 2014 ), such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR; Kabat-Zinn, 1990 ) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT; Teasdale et al., 2000 ). Far from being a mere trend ( De Pisapia and Grecucci, 2017 ), those mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to lead to increased well-being ( Baer et al., 2006 ; Keng et al., 2011 ; Choi et al., 2012 ; Coo and Salanova, 2018 ; Lambert et al., 2019 ) in several domains, such as cognition, consciousness, self, and affective processing ( Raffone and Srinivasan, 2017 ). Typically, mindfulness programs consist of informal and formal practice that educate attention and develop one's capacity to respond to unpredicted and/or negative thoughts and experiences ( Segal and Teasdale, 2002 ). In this context, individuals are gradually introduced to meditation practices, focusing first on the body and their own breath, and later on thoughts and mental states. The effects of these programs encompass positive emotions and reappraisal ( Fredrickson et al., 2008 ; Grecucci et al., 2015 ; Calabrese and Raffone, 2017 ) and satisfaction in life ( Fredrickson et al., 2008 ; Kong et al., 2014 ) and are related to a reduction of emotional reactivity to negative affect, stress ( Arch and Craske, 2006 ; Jha et al., 2017 ), and aggressive behavior ( Fix and Fix, 2013 ). All these effects mediate the relationship between meditation frequency and happiness ( Campos et al., 2016 ). This allows positive psychology interventions to improve subjective well-being and happiness and also reduce depressive symptoms and negative affect along with other psychopathologies ( Seligman, 2002 ; Quoidbach et al., 2015 ). Engaging in mindfulness might enhance in participants the awareness of what is valuable to them ( Shultz and Ryan, 2015 ). This aspect has been related to the growth of self-efficacy and autonomous functioning and is attributable to an enhancement in eudemonic well-being ( Deci and Ryan, 1980 ). Moreover, being aware of the present moment provides a clearer vision of the existing experience, which in turn has been associated with increases in hedonic well-being ( Coo and Salanova, 2018 ). Following these approaches, recent research provides evidence that trainings that encompass both hedonic and eudemonic well-being are correlated with tangible improved health outcomes ( Sin and Lyubomirsky, 2009 ).

Although there is a consistent interest in scientific research on the general topic of happiness, such studies present several limitations. Firstly, most of the research has focused on clinical studies to assess the effectiveness of happiness-based interventions—in line with more traditional psychological research, which is primarily concerned with the study of mental disorders ( Garland et al., 2015 , 2017 ; Groves, 2016 ). Secondly, most of the existing interventions are narrowly focused on the observation of single dimensions (i.e., expressing gratitude or developing emotional regulation skills) ( Boehm et al., 2011 ; Weytens et al., 2014 ). Moreover, typically studies involve brief 1- to 2-week interventions ( Gander et al., 2016 ), in contrast with the view that eudemonia is related to deep and long-lasting aspects of one's personal lifestyle. Furthermore, while the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapies is well-documented, research that investigates the effects of mindfulness retreats has been lacking, which are characterized by the involvement of more intense practice from days to even years [for meta-analysis and review, see Khoury et al. (2017) , McClintock et al. (2019) , Howarth et al. (2019) ].

In this article, we report the effects on subjective well-being of an integrated mental training program called The Art of Happiness , which was developed and taught by two of the authors (CM for the core course subject matter and NDP for the scientific presentations). The course lasted 9 months and included three different modules (see Methods and Supplementary Material for all details), namely, seven weekends (from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon) dedicated to a wide range of specific topics, two 5-day long retreats, and several free activities at home during the entire period. The course was designed to help practitioners develop new ways to nurture their own happiness, cultivating both self-awareness and their openness to others, thereby fostering their own emotional and social well-being. The basic idea was to let students discover how the union of ancient wisdom and spiritual practices with scientific discoveries from current neuropsychological research can be applied beneficially to their daily lives. This approach and mental training program was inspired by a book of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso and the psychiatrist Lama and Cutler (2008) . The program rests on the principle that happiness is inextricably linked to the development of inner equilibrium, a kinder and more open perspective of self, others, and the world, with a key role given to several types of meditation practices. Additionally, happiness is viewed as linked to a conceptual understanding of the human mind and brain, as well as their limitations and potentiality, in the light of the most recent scientific discoveries. To this end, several scientific topics and discoveries from neuropsychology were addressed in the program, with a particular focus on cognitive, affective, and social neuroscience. Topics were taught and discussed with language suitable for the general public, in line with several recent books (e.g., Hanson and Mendius, 2011 ; Dorjee, 2013 ; Goleman and Davidson, 2017 ). The aim of this study was to examine how several psychological measures, related to psychological well-being, changed among participants in parallel with course attendance and meditation practices. Given the abovementioned results of the positive effects on well-being ( Baer et al., 2006 ; Fredrickson et al., 2008 ; Keng et al., 2011 ; Choi et al., 2012 ; Kong et al., 2014 ; Coo and Salanova, 2018 ; Lambert et al., 2019 ), we predicted to find a significant increase in the dimensions of life satisfaction, control of anger, and mindfulness abilities. Conversely, we expected to observe a reduction of negative emotions and mental states ( Arch and Craske, 2006 ; Fix and Fix, 2013 ; Jha et al., 2017 )—i.e., stress, anxiety and anger. Moreover, our aim was to explore how those measures changed during the course of the mental training program, considering not only the general effects of the course (longitudinal effects) but also specific effects within each retreat (short-term effects). Our expectation for this study was therefore that the retreats would have had an effect on the psychological dimensions of well-being linked to the emotional states of our participants, while the whole course would have had a greater effect on the traits related to well-being. The conceptual distinction between states and traits was initially introduced in regard to anxiety by Cattell and Scheier (1961) , and then subsequently further elaborated by Spielberger et al. (1983) . When considering a mental construct (e.g., anxiety or anger), we refer to trait as a relatively stable feature, a general behavioral attitude, which reflects the way in which a person tends to perceive stimuli and environmental situations in the long term ( Spielberger et al., 1983 ; Spielberger, 2010 ). For example, subjects with high trait anxiety have indeed anxiety as a habitual way of responding to stimuli and situations. The state, on the other hand, can be defined as a temporary phase within the emotional continuum, which, for example, in anxiety is expressed through a subjective sensation of tension, apprehension, and nervousness, and is associated with activation of the autonomic nervous system in the short term ( Spielberger et al., 1983 ; Saviola et al., 2020 ). Here, in the adopted tests and analyses, we keep the two time scales separated, and we investigate the results with the aim of understanding the effects of the program on states and traits of different emotional and well-being measures. As a first effect of the course, we expect that the retreats affect mostly psychological states (as measured in the comparison of psychological variables between start and end of each retreat), whereas the full course is predicted to affect mainly psychological traits (as measured in the comparison of the psychological variables between start, middle, and end of the entire 9-month period).

Materials and Methods

Participants.

The participants in the mental training program and in the related research were recruited from the Institute Lama Tzong Khapa (Pomaia, Italy) in a 9-month longitudinal study (seven modules and two retreats) on the effects of a program called The Art of Happiness (see Supplementary Material for full details of the program). Twenty-nine participants followed the entire program (there were nine dropouts after the first module). Their mean age was 52.86 years (range = 39–66; SD = 7.61); 72% were female. Participants described themselves as Caucasian, reaching a medium-high scholarly level with 59% of the participants holding an academic degree and 41% holding a high school degree. The participants were not randomly selected, as they were volunteers in the program. Most of them had no serious prior experience of meditation, only basic experience consisting of personal readings or watching video courses on the web, which overall we considered of no impact to the study. The only exclusion criteria were absence of a history of psychiatric or neurological disease, and not being currently on psychoactive medications. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Sapienza University of Rome, and all participants gave written informed consent. The participants did not receive any compensation for participation in the study.

The overall effectiveness of the 9-month training was examined using a within-subjects design, with perceived stress, mindfulness abilities, etc. (Time: pre–mid–end) as the dependent variable. The effectiveness of the retreats was examined using a 2 × 2 factor within-subjects design (condition: pre vs. post; retreat: 1 vs. 2), with the same dependent variables. The specific contemplative techniques that were applied in the program are described in the Supplementary Material , the procedure is described in the Procedure section, and the measurements are described in the Materials section.

Mental Training Program

The program was developed and offered at the Institute Lama Tzong Khapa (Pomaia, Italy). It was one of several courses that are part of the Institute's ongoing programs under the umbrella of “Secular Ethics and Universal Values.” These various programs provide participants with opportunities to discover how the interaction of ancient wisdom and spiritual practices with contemporary knowledge from current scientific research in neuropsychology can be applied extensively and beneficially to improve the quality of their daily lives.

Specifically, The Art of Happiness was a 9-month program, with one program activity each month, either a weekend module or a retreat; there were two retreats—a mid-course retreat and a concluding retreat (for full details on the program, see Supplementary Material ). Each thematic module provided an opportunity to sequentially explore the topics presented in the core course text, The Art of Happiness by the Lama and Cutler (2008) .

In terms of the content of this program, as mentioned above, the material presented and explored has been drawn on the one hand from the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism and Western contemplative traditions, and current scientific research found in neuropsychology on the other hand. On the scientific side, topics included the effects of mental training and meditation, the psychology and neuroscience of well-being and happiness, neuroplasticity, mind–brain–body interactions, different areas of contemplative sciences, the placebo effects, the brain circuits of attention and mind wandering, stress and anxiety, pain and pleasure, positive and negative emotions, desire and addiction, the sense of self, empathy, and compassion (for a full list of the scientific topics, see Supplementary Material ).

The overall approach of the course was one of non-dogmatic exploration. Topics were presented not as undisputed truths, but instead as information to be shared, explored, examined, and possibly verified by one's own experience. Participants were heartily invited to doubt, explore, and test everything that was shared with them, to examine and experience firsthand whether what was being offered has validity or not.

The course was, essentially, an informed and gentle training of the mind, and in particular of emotions, based on the principle that individual well-being is inextricably linked to the development of inner human virtues and strengths, such as emotional balance, inner self-awareness, an open and caring attitude toward self and others, and clarity of mind that can foster a deeper understanding of one's own and others' reality.

The program provided lectures and discussions, readings, and expert videos introducing the material pertinent to each module's topic. Participants engaged with the material through listening, reading, discussing, and questioning. Participants were provided with additional learning opportunities to investigate each topic more deeply, critically, and personally, through the media of meditation, journaling, application to daily life, exercises at home, and contemplative group work with other participants in dyads and triads. Participants were then encouraged to reflect repeatedly on their insights and on their experiences, both successful and not, to apply their newly acquired understandings to their lives, by incorporating a daily reflection practice into their life schedule. The two program retreats also provided intensive contemplative experiences and activities, both individual and in dialogue with others.

On this basis, month after month in different dedicated modules, participants learned new ways to nurture their own happiness, to cultivate their openness to others, to develop their own emotional and social well-being, and to understand some of the scientific discoveries on these topics.

The specific topics addressed in corresponding modules and retreats, each in a different and consecutive month, were as follows: (1) The Purpose of Life: Authentic Happiness; (2) Empathy and Compassion; (3) Transforming Life's Suffering; (4) Working with Disturbing Emotions I: Hate and Anger; first retreat (intermediate); (5) Working with Disturbing Emotions II: The Self Image; (6) Life and Death; (7) Cultivating the Spiritual Dimension of Life: A Meaningful Life; second retreat (final). Full details of the entire program are reported in the Supplementary Material .

Participants were guided in the theory and practice of various contemplative exercises throughout the course pertaining to all the different themes. Recorded versions of all the various meditation exercises were made available to participants, enabling them to repeat these practices at home at their own pace.

Participants were encouraged to enter the program already having gained some basic experience of meditation, but this was not a strict requirement. In fact, not all participants in this experiment actually fulfilled this (only five), although each of the other participants had previous basic experiences of meditation (through personal readings, other video courses, etc.). In spite of this variety, by the end of the 9-month program, all participants were comfortable with contemplative practices in general and more specifically with the idea of maintaining a meditation practice in their daily lives.

During the various Art of Happiness modules, a variety of basic attentional and mindful awareness meditations were practiced in order to enhance attentional skills and cultivate various levels of cognitive, emotional, social, and environmental awareness.

Analytical and reflective contemplations are a form of deconstructive meditation ( Dahl et al., 2015 ), which were applied during the course in different contexts. On the one hand, these types of meditations were applied in the context of heart-opening practices—for example, in the cultivation of gratitude, forgiveness, loving-kindness toward self and others, self-compassion, and compassion for others. Analytical and reflective meditations were also practiced as a learning tool for further familiarization with some of the more philosophical subject matter of the course—engaging in a contemplative analysis of impermanence (for example, contemplating more deeply and personally the transitory nature of one's own body, of one's own emotions and thoughts, as well as of the material phenomena that surround us). These analytical meditations were also accompanied by moments of concentration (sustained attention) at the conclusion of each meditation focusing on what the meditator has learned or understood in the meditative process, in order to stabilize and reinforce those insights more deeply within the individual.

Additional contemplative activities were also included in the program: contemplative art activities, mindful listening, mindful dialogue, and the practice of keeping silence during the retreat. Participants were, in addition, encouraged to keep a journal of their experiences during their Art of Happiness journey, especially in relation to their meditations and the insights and questions that emerged within themselves, in order to enhance their self-awareness and cultivate a deeper understanding of themselves, their inner life and well-being, and their own inner development during the course and afterward.

During the two retreats, the previous topics were explored again (modules 1–4 for the intermediary retreat and modules 5–7 for the final retreat), but without discussing the theoretical aspects (i.e., the neuroscientific and psychological theories), instead only focusing on the contemplative practices, which were practiced extensively for the whole day, both individually and in group activities (for a full list of the contemplative practices and retreat activities, see Supplementary Material ).

We collected data at five-time points, always during the first day (either of the module or the retreat): at baseline (month 1 - T0), at pre (T1) and post (P1) of the mid-course retreat (month 5–Retreat 1), and at pre (T2) and post (R2) of the final retreat (month 9–Retreat 2), as shown in Figure 1 . Participants filled out the questionnaires on paper all together within the rooms of the Institute Lama Tzong Khapa at the beginning of each module or retreat, and at the end of the retreats, with the presence of two researchers. The order of the questionnaires was randomized, per person and each questionnaire session lasted less than an hour.

Figure 1 . The timing of the course and the experimental procedure, including the modules, the retreats, and the 5 data collections (from T0 to P2).

The adopted questionnaires were those commonly used in the literature to measure a variety of traits and states linked to well-being. An exhaustive description of the self-reported measures follows below.

Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)

The SWLS ( Diener et al., 1985 ) was developed to represent cognitive judgments of life satisfaction. Participants indicated their agreement in five items with a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Scores range from 5 to 35, with higher scores representing higher levels of satisfaction. Internal consistency is very good with Cronbach's α = 0.85 [Italian version of the normative data in Di Fabio and Palazzeschi (2012) ].

Short Version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)

The PSS ( Cohen et al., 1983 ) was designed to assess individual perception and reaction to stressful daily-life situations. The questionnaire consists of 10 questions related to the feelings and thoughts of the last month, with a value ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (very often) depending on the severity of the disturbance caused. Scores range from 0 to 40. Higher scores represent higher levels of perceived stress, reflecting the degree to which respondents find their lives unpredictable or overloaded. Cronbach's α ranges from 0.78 to 0.93 [Italian version of the normative data by Mondo et al. (2019) ].

State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)

The STAI ( Spielberger et al., 1983 ) was developed to assess anxiety. It has 40 items, on which respondents evaluate themselves in terms of frequency with a four-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (almost never) to 4 (almost always). The items are grouped in two independent subscales of 20 items each that assess state anxiety, with questions regarding the respondents' feelings at the time of administration, and trait anxiety, with questions that explore how the participant feels habitually. The scores range from 20 to 80. Higher scores reflect higher levels of anxiety. Internal consistency coefficients for the scale ranged from 0.86 to 0.95 [Italian version of the normative data by Spielberger et al. (2012) ].

Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)

PANAS ( Watson et al., 1988 ) measures two distinct and independent dimensions: positive and negative affect. The questionnaire consists of 20 adjectives, 10 for the positive affect subscale and 10 for the negative affect scale. The positive affect subscale reflects the degree to which a person feels enthusiastic, active, and determined while the negative affect subscale refers to some unpleasant general states such as anger, guilt, and fear. The test presents a five-point Likert scale (1 = very slightly or not at all; 5 = extremely). The alpha reliabilities are acceptably high, ranging from 0.86 to 0.90 for positive affect and from 0.84 to 0.87 for negative affect [Italian version of the normative data by Terracciano et al. (2003) ].

Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ)

The FFMQ ( Baer et al., 2008 ) was developed to assess mindfulness facets through 39 items rated on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (never or very rarely true) to 5 (very often or always true). A total of five subscales are included: attention and observation of one's own thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and emotions ( Observe ); the ability to describe thoughts in words, feelings, perceptions, and emotions ( Describe ); act with awareness, with attention focused and sustained on a task or situation, without mind wandering ( Act-aware ); non-judgmental attitude toward the inner experience ( Non-Judge ); and the tendency to not react and not to reject inner experience ( Non-React ). Normative data of the FFMQ have demonstrated good internal consistency, with Cronbach's α ranging from 0.79 to 0.87 [Italian version by Giovannini et al. (2014) ].

State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2)

The STAXI-2 ( Spielberger, 1999 ) provides measures to assess the experience, expression, and control of anger. It comprises 57 items rated on a four-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (not at all) to 3 (very much indeed). Items are grouped by four scales: the first, State Anger scale, refers to the emotional state characterized by subjective feelings and relies on three more subscales: Angry Feelings, Physical Expression of Anger, and Verbal Expression of Anger. The second scale is the Trait Anger and indicates a disposition to perceive various situations as annoying or frustrating with two subscales—Angry Temperament and Angry Reaction. The third and last scales are Anger Expression and Anger Control. These assess anger toward the environment and oneself according to four relatively independent subscales: Anger Expression-OUT, Anger Expression-IN, Anger Control-OUT, and Anger Control-IN. Alpha coefficients STAXI-2 were above 0.84 for all scales and subscales, except for Trait Anger Reaction, which had an alpha coefficient of 0.76 [Italian version by Spielberger (2004) ].

Statistical Analysis

The responses on each questionnaire were scored according to their protocols, which resulted in one score per participant and a time point for each of the 22 scale/subscale questionnaires examined. Missing values (<2%) were imputed using the median. Descriptive statistics for all variables were analyzed and are summarized in Table 1 and in the first panel (column) of Figures 2 – 5 . Prior to conducting primary analyses, the distribution of scores on all the dependent variables was evaluated. Because the data were not normally distributed, we used non-parametric tests. Permutation tests are non-parametric tests as they do not rely on assumptions about the distribution of the data and can be used with different types of scales and with a small sample size.

Table 1 . Descriptive statistics of the depended variables among time points.

Figure 2 . Results of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), State and Trait Anxiety Index (STAI), and Positive and Negative Affect Scales (PANAS). The first (left) panel depicts pooled mean raw data per time point estimating 95% confidence interval. The second (central) panel represents changes in pooled mean ( y -axis) between retreats. The solid line represents retreat 1 and the dotted line denotes retreat 2 derived from the contrasts of the two-way ANOVA. The third (right) panel depicts bar charts representing the changes in mean between the 3 time points derived from the one-way ANOVA. Note that scores are on the y -axis and time is on the x -axis. Time points legend: baseline (month 1—T0), pre (T1), post (P1), mid-course retreat (month 5—retreat 1), pre (T2), and post (R2) of the final retreat (month 9—retreat 2). Statistical significance, * p < 0.05.

Figure 3 . Results for the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire FFMQ (Observe, Describe, Act with Awareness, Non-judge, and Non-react). The first (left) panel depicts pooled mean raw data per time point estimating 95% confidence interval. The second (central) panel represents changes in pooled mean ( y -axis) between retreats. The solid line represents retreat 1 and the dotted line denotes retreat 2 derived from the contrasts of the two-way ANOVA. The third (right) panel depicts bar charts representing the changes in mean between the 3 time points derived from one-way ANOVA. Note that scores are on the y -axis and time id on the x -axis. Time points legend: baseline (month 1—T0), pre (T1), post (P1), mid-course retreat (month 5—retreat 1), pre (T2), and post (P2) of the final retreat (month 9—retreat 2). Statistical significance, * p < 0.05.

Figure 4 . Results of the first part of the State Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2): State Anger, State Anger Feelings, State Anger Physical, State Anger Verbal, Trait Anger, and Trait Anger Temperament. The first (left) panel depicts pooled mean raw data per time point estimating 95% confidence interval. The second (central) panel represents changes in pooled mean ( y -axis) between retreats. The solid line represents retreat 1 and the dotted line denotes retreat 2 derived from the contrasts of the two-way ANOVA. The third (right) panel depicts bar charts representing the changes in mean between the 3 time points derived from one-way ANOVA. Note that scores are on the y -axis and time is on the x -axis. Time points legend: baseline (month 1—T0), pre (T1), post (P1), mid-course retreat (month 5—retreat 1), pre (T2), and post (R2) of the final retreat (month 9—retreat 2). Statistical significance, ** p < 0.01 and * p < 0.05.

Figure 5 . Results from the second part of the State Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2): Trait Anger Reaction, Anger Expression-IN, Anger Expression-OUT, Anger Control-IN, and Anger Control OUT. The first (left) panel depicts pooled mean raw data per time point estimating 95% confidence interval. The second (central) panel represents changes in pooled mean ( y -axis) between retreats. The solid line represents retreat 1 and the dotted line denotes retreat 2 derived from the contrasts of the two-way ANOVA. The third (right) panel depicts bar charts representing the changes in mean between the 3 time points derived from one-way ANOVA. Note that scores are on the y -axis and time is on the x -axis. Time points legend: baseline (month 1—T0), pre (T1), post (P1), mid-course retreat (month 5—Retreat 1), pre (T2), and post (R2) of the final retreat (month 9—Retreat 2). Statistical significance, * p < 0.05.

The longitudinal effects of the program were analyzed to determine whether scores changed between the start, mid-point (5 months), and the end (9 months) of the course. To achieve this, we compared the main effect of the program on the score , considering Time as a unique factor with three levels: at the baseline (T0), at the pre of the mid-retreat (T1), and at the pre of the final retreat (T2). Here, we used a one-way permutation Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (RM ANOVA) with the aovperm() function from the Permuco package v. 1.0.2 in R ( Frossard and Renaud, 2018 ), which implements a method from Kherad-Pajouh and Renaud (2014) . The difference between the traditional and the permutation ANOVA is that, while the traditional ANOVA tests the equality of the group mean, the permutation version tests the exchangeability of the group observations. In this study, the number of permutations was set to 100,000 and the alpha level was set to 0.05; therefore, the p -value was computed as the ratio between the number of permutation tests that have an F value higher than the critical F value and the number of permutations performed. Effect size estimates were calculated using partial eta squared. Post hoc testing used pairwise permutational t -tests with the “pairwise.perm.t.test” function from the “RVAideMemoire” package in R ( Hervé and Hervé, 2020 ). To account for Type I errors introduced by multiple pairwise tests and Type II errors introduced by small sample size, we applied the false discovery rate (FDR) correction method of Benjamini and Hochberg (1995) and set statistical significance at p = 0.05. Results are summarized in Table 2 and in the third panel (column) of Figures 2 – 5 .

Table 2 . One-way ANOVA and pairwise comparison results with 100,000 permutations.

The short-term effects of the contemplative program on each retreat were analyzed to determine whether scores changed post-retreats and whether these changes occurred in both retreats. Thus, we used a two-way permutation RM ANOVA, with the score of each scale/subscale as the dependent variable and the within-subject factors Retreat (1, 2) and Condition (Pre T1/T2, Post P1/P2) as independent variables. Results are summarized in Table 3 and in the second panel (column) of Figures 2 – 5 .

Table 3 . Results of the two-way permutation RM ANOVAs.

In addition, we explored differences attributed to the course and to the retreats using a paired permutation t test with the “perm.t.test()” function in R. We compare those psychological measures at the beginning of the course (T0) with its very end (P2), which coincided with the end of the second retreat. In this way, we illustrate a summary of changes due both to the second retreat and to the whole course. The results are summarized in Table 4 and depicted in a radar plot in Figure 6 .

Table 4 . Overall changes between the start (T0) and the end of the course (P2).

Figure 6 . Results of the permutation t -test between the start and the end of the course. All values ranged from 0 to 1. Variables: SWLS, Satisfaction with Life Scale; S-Ang/F, Feeling Angry; S-Ang/V, Feel like Expressing Anger Verbally; S-Ang/P, Feel like Expressing Anger Physically; T-Ang/T, Angry Temperament; T-Ang/R, Angry reaction; AX-O, Anger Expression-OUT; AX-I, Anger Expression-IN; AC-O, Anger Control-OUT; AC-I, Anger Control-IN; PSS, Perceived Stress Scale; STAI-Y1, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory—State; STAI-Y2, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory—Trait; PA and NA, Positive and Negative Affect Scales, respectively; OBS, Observe; DES, Describe; AWA, Act with awareness, Njudge, Non-judge; NReact, Non-react. To make consistent that an increase of the specific scale corresponds to an improvement in well-being, negative scales were reversed, namely: PSS, STAI-Y1, STAI-Y2, PANAS-NA, S-Ang, S-Ang/F, S-Ang/P, S-Ang/V, T-Ang, T-Ang/T, S-Ang/R, AX-O, AX-I. Concerning the statistical significance, *** p < 0.001, ** p < 0.01, and * p < 0.05.

Effects of the Program

Results from one-way permutation RM ANOVA showed a statistically significant effect of the program on SWLS at the p = 0.008 level over the Time course factor with a large effect size (ηp 2 = 0.16). Post hoc analysis revealed that the SWLS score was significantly higher at T2 with respect to T2 (mean difference = 2.48; p = 0.016). Similarly, SWLS was higher T2 as compared to T1 (mean difference = 1.38; p = 0.032).

Results also provided statistically significant evidence of changes in the PSS over the Time course ( p = 0.009), showing a large effect size (ηp 2 = 0.16). Post-hoc results showed a difference between T0 and T1, revealing that the PSS was significantly lower at T1 (mean difference = −2, p = 0.02).

Results revealed a significant effect of the Time course for Trait Anxiety ( p = 0.009, ηp 2 = 0.16). Post-hoc tests revealed a reduction in Trait Anxiety from the start of the course (T0) to the first day of the second retreat (T2) (M diff. = −3.21, p = 0.25).

Results also showed a significant effect of the Time course for negative affect ( p = 0.004, ηp 2 = 0.19). Post hoc analysis revealed that contemplative practice led to a reduction in negative affect from the baseline (T0) to the first day of the first retreat (T1) (mean difference = −2.42) and between T0 and first day of the second retreat (T2) (mean difference = −2.92), which differed significantly with p = 0.021 and p = 0.012, respectively.

Moreover, a significant effect of the Time course was found for several subscales of the FFMQ. First, the observe scale was found at the p = 0.023 level showing a large effect size (ηp 2 = 0.13). Post-hoc comparisons revealed an increasing capacity to observe one's own thoughts, from the middle of the course (T1) to the first day of the second retreat (T2) (mean difference = 1.58, p = 0.038). Likewise, there was a significant difference for the capacity to Act with Awareness ( p = 0.036, ηp 2 = 0.12). Post hoc comparisons revealed an increased level at T2 as compared to T1 (mean difference = 2.07, p = 0.043). The Time course had a significant effect on the Non-Judge subscale with a large effect size ( p = 0.002, ηp 2 = 0.20). Post hoc analysis indicated a significant increase from T0 to T1 (mean difference = 2.07, p = 0.013), as well as from T0 to T2 (mean difference = 3.31, p = 0.013).

In regard to the STAXI-2, we found Time course significant effects on Trait Anger ( p = 0.001, ηp 2 = 0.23) and its subscales, Trait Anger Temperament ( p = 0.001, ηp 2 = 0.22) and Trait Anger Reaction ( p = 0.016, ηp 2 = 0.14). Post-hoc comparisons revealed a significance difference on the Trait Anger Scale, which decreased from the beginning of the course (T0) to 5 months later (T1) (mean difference = −1.83, p = 0.041) and also from T0 to the end of the course (T2) (mean difference = −3.24, p = 0.002). Similarly, State Anger Temperament significantly decreased from T0 to T1 (mean difference = −0.79, p = 0.016) and from T0 to T2 (mean difference = −1.38, p = 0.008). Additionally, Trait Anger Reaction decreased from T0 to T2 (mean difference = −1.24, p = 0.023). Finally, the longitudinal effect of the course on the STAXI-2 led to significant results in the Anger Control-IN subscale over the Time course ( p = 0.03, ηp 2 = 0.12). Here, post-hoc comparisons showed a statistically significant difference between T0 and T2, which increased (mean difference = 1.76, p =.044). For more details, see Table 2 and the third panel (column) of Figures 2 – 5 .

Effects of the Retreats

Two-way permutation RM ANOVAs showed a significant main effect for Retreat on SWLS ( p = 0.002, ηp 2 = 0.16), Trait Anxiety ( p = 0.001, ηp 2 = 0.19), positive affect ( p = 0.044, ηp 2 = 0.07), Observe ( p = 0.008, ηp 2 = 0.12), Act with awareness ( p ≤ 0.001, ηp 2 = 0.22), Non-Judge ( p = 0.045, ηp 2 =.07), Non-React ( p = 0.02, ηp 2 = 0.10), Trait Anger ( p = 0.008, ηp 2 = 0.12), Trait Anger Temperament ( p = 0.022, ηp 2 = 0.09), Trait Anger Reaction ( p = 0.019, ηp 2 = 0.10), and Anger Control-IN ( p = 0.029, ηp 2 = 0.08). A main effect of the Condition (Pre vs. Post) was found only for the State Anxiety scale with p = 0.004 and a large effect size (ηp 2 = 0.14). Analysis results including F statistics are summarized in Table 3 ; a visual representation of the data is presented in the second panel (column) of Figures 2 – 5 .

Overall Effects of the Course and Retreats

As predicted, permutation t -test analysis revealed that participants increased their reported level of SWLS from the start (T0) to the end (P2) of the course (mean difference = 2.83, p = 0.008). Two subscales from the FFMQ, namely, the capacity to observe one's own thoughts (mean difference = 1.86, p = 0.039) and non-judgmental attitude toward the inner experience (mean difference = 3.24, p = 0.006), also significantly increased from the start to the end of the course. On the other hand, the affect linked to the progression from the start (T0) to the very end of the course (P2) was related to a significant decrease in the negative affect (mean difference = −3.62, p = 0.001). In the same way, the average level of stress of the sample decreased significantly (mean difference = −1.9, p = 0.033) along with a significant decrease of Trait Anxiety (M diff = −3.97, p ≤ 0.001). Participants also decreased on almost all STAXI-2 subscales. Here, the results from permutation paired t -test reveal a significant difference in scores, which decreased from T0 to P2 on all the subscales of Trait Anger (mean difference = −3.55, p ≤ 0.001; Trait Anger Temperament: mean difference = −1.34, p ≤ 0.001; Trait Anger Reaction: mean difference = −1.52, p ≤ 0.001), with an increased value for the subscales Anger Control-OUT (mean difference = 1.93, p ≤ 0.009) and Anger Control-IN (mean difference = 1.93, p = 0.017). For more details, see Table 4 and Figure 6 .

The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an integrated 9-month mental training program called The Art of Happiness , which was developed to increase well-being in a general population. By a range of well-established psychometric assessment tools, we quantified how several psychological well-being variables changed with course attendance. We took into account both the trait effects of the course acting at a long timescale (over the 9-month duration of the full course) and the state effects of intensive retreat experiences acting at a short time scale (over the course of each of the two retreats). Several psychological well-being measures related to states and—more importantly—traits gradually improved as participants progressed from the beginning to the end of the course.

On the one hand, the program produced a significant longitudinal effect (9 months) revealing a progressive increase in the volunteer's levels of life satisfaction and of the capacities to reach non-judgmental mental states, to act with awareness, to non-react to inner experience, and to exercise control over attention to the internal state of anger, in line with other contemplative interventions ( Fredrickson et al., 2008 ; Keng et al., 2011 ; Baer et al., 2012 ; Kong et al., 2014 ). Conversely, after the completion of the program, there were decreases in levels of trait anxiety, trait anger (including both the anger temperament and reaction subscales), and negative affect, showing a progressive reduction during the intervention. These results support prior research that demonstrated the longitudinal positive effects of a multitude of contemplative practices on well-being measures linked to—among others—decreased trait anxiety, trait anger, and negative affect ( Fix and Fix, 2013 ; Khoury et al., 2015 ; Gotink et al., 2016 ). Such findings highlight the gradual development of mental states related to subjective well-being in parallel with ongoing contemplative practices over a time scale of months, with a gradual increase of wholesome mental states, and a gradual decrease of unwholesome mental states. Notably, as in other mindfulness interventions ( Khoury et al., 2015 ; Gotink et al., 2016 ), there was a significant reduction in the level of perceived stress already in the first few months of the program (T0–T1).

Additionally, these results show the specific effects between retreat experiences within the program as an intervention for fostering happiness. Specifically, the retreats had a positive effect on the participants' perceived well-being, which improved between the two retreats (with a 4-month interval). Among other assessed dimensions, between the retreats, there were significantly increased levels of life satisfaction, positive affect, and mindful abilities to act with awareness, to observe, non-react, and non-judge inner experience and the capacity to control anger toward oneself. Conversely, there were significantly lower levels of trait anxiety and trait anger (including both the anger temperament and reaction subscales) between the retreats (over a period of 4 months).

Regarding the very short effects of the course, we highlight significant changes within the first part of the training and prior to the first retreat (T0–T1). Here, some variables related to happiness changed most, suggesting their independence from retreat. Particularly, PSS notably decreased along with negative affect and Trait Anger (the subscale of Angry Temperament), while the capacity of non-judgmental attitude toward the inner experience significantly increased, providing useful information for future interventions.

Moreover, participants' state anxiety significantly decreased in a very short time (5 days), between pre and post of both retreats. These findings are consistent with previous studies, which demonstrated the positive effects of contemplative training and practices on these measures in retreats ( Khoury et al., 2017 ; Howarth et al., 2019 ; McClintock et al., 2019 ). In Figure 6 , we make a general and integrated comparison between the various psychological measures, comparing the very beginning of the course with its very end, which also coincided with the end of the second retreat. In this way, we illustrate both state changes (due to the second retreat) and trait changes (due to the whole course). This representation allows an integrated view of all the changes that took place at different time scales. This graph might suggest that the only measures that did not change significantly from the beginning to the end of the course are those in which the participants already had a score strongly oriented toward well-being, and therefore with little room for a change. Thus, future studies could take into account individual differences when evaluating happiness programs.

Although the present findings are promising, this study presents several limitations that need to be taken into consideration. The two main limitations rely on the absence of a randomized control group and in the fact that participants were self-selected. This lack of verification makes it difficult to determine whether the results are attributable to the program or to other factors, for example, simply arising due to spending time in a happiness-oriented activity. It is also important to note that despite examining several assessments within persons, the sample size was restricted to 29. Furthermore, responses to the questionnaires may have been biased toward the socially desirable response as the course's staff administered them, and another active group could have controlled for these effects. Consequently, it is recommended to conduct future studies with larger samples and a well-designed and controlled trial, in order to achieve more conclusive findings. Another limitation is that, while all the participants attended the whole course with a comparable (coherent) level of commitment to the practices (including the retreats), we did not verify their course-related activity and practices at home, and therefore, we have no way to check whether they actually did the practice activities at home as suggested during the modules.

Possible new directions of exploration of this study concern the age range of the participants, which, in our case, was limited to middle-aged individuals (39–66), and therefore, the effects on younger or older individuals remain currently unexplored. Another interesting direction would be to conduct follow-up measurements to assess the stability of the longitudinal effects months or years after the end of the program. Finally, while well-being and happiness are individual and subjective narratives of one's life as good and happy ( Bauer et al., 2008 ), and therefore self-assessments through questionnaires are a valid and common tool of investigation, in interventions such as The Art of Happiness , it would be appropriate to also explore individual differences, more objective psychophysiological effects, as well as cultural and social aspects influencing the inner model of happiness.

Despite these methodological limitations and still unexplored directions of research, the results described here suggest that The Art of Happiness may be a promising program for fostering well-being in individuals, improving mental health and psychological functioning. Longitudinal integrated contemplative programs with retreats offer a unique opportunity for the intensive development of the inner attitudes related to the capacity to be happy, reducing mental health symptoms and improving a more stable eudemonic well-being in healthy adults.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Nicola De Pisapia, upon reasonable request.

Ethics Statement

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Ethics Committee of the Sapienza University of Rome. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author Contributions

ND, CM, and AR designed the study. ND, CM, LC, and AR collected the data. CR analyzed the data. CR and ND wrote the original draft. All authors edited and reviewed the manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

We thank the Institute Lama Tzong Khapa (Pomaia, Italy) for the support in various phases of this experiment. We also wish to express our gratitude to the reviewers for their thoughtful comments and efforts toward improving the manuscript.

Supplementary Material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.600982/full#supplementary-material

Arch, J. J., and Craske, M. G. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness: emotion regulation following a focused breathing induction. Behav. Res. Ther. 44, 1849–1858. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2005.12.007

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Argyle, M., Kahneman, D., Diener, E., and Schwarz, N. (1999). Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology , eds D. Kahneman, E. Diener, and N. Schwarz. Russell Sage Found.

Google Scholar

Baer, R. A., Lykins, E. L. B., and Peters, J. R. (2012). Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators. J. Posit. Psychol. 7, 230–238. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2012.674548

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., and Toney, L. (2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment 13, 27–45. doi: 10.1177/1073191105283504

Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Lykins, E., Button, D., Krietemeyer, J., Sauer, S., et al. (2008). Construct validity of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire in meditating and nonmeditating samples. Assessment 15, 329–342. doi: 10.1177/1073191107313003

Bauer, J. J., McAdams, D. P., and Pals, J. L. (2008). Narrative identity and eudaimonic well-being. J. Happiness Stud. 9, 81–104. doi: 10.1007/s10902-006-9021-6

Benjamini, Y., and Hochberg, Y. (1995). Controlling the false discovery rate: a practical and powerful approach to multiple testing. J. R. Stat. Soc. Ser. B 57, 289–300. doi: 10.1111/j.2517-6161.1995.tb02031.x

Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., et al. (2004). Mindfulness: a proposed operational definition. Clin. Psychol. Sci. Pract. 11, 230–241. doi: 10.1093/clipsy.bph077

Boehm, J. K., Lyubomirsky, S., and Sheldon, K. M. (2011). A longitudinal experimental study comparing the effectiveness of happiness-enhancing strategies in Anglo Americans and Asian Americans. Cogn. Emot. 25, 1263–1272. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2010.541227

Calabrese, L., and Raffone, A. (2017). Gli aspetti della pratica della mindfulness e la centralita ‘della regolazione del se’. G. Ital. di Psicol. 44, 271–274. doi: 10.1421/87330

Campos, D., Cebolla, A., Quero, S., Bretón-López, J., Botella, C., Soler, J., et al. (2016). Meditation and happiness: Mindfulness and self-compassion may mediate the meditation-happiness relationship. Pers. Individ. Dif. 93, 80–85. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2015.08.040

Carmody, J., and Baer, R. A. (2008). Relationships between mindfulness practice and levels of mindfulness, medical and psychological symptoms and well-being in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. J. Behav. Med. 31, 23–33. doi: 10.1007/s10865-007-9130-7

Cattell, R. B., and Scheier, I. H. (1961). The Meaning and Measurement of Neuroticism and Anxiety . New York, NY: The Ronald Press Company

Choi, Y., Karremans, J. C., and Barendregt, H. (2012). The happy face of mindfulness: mindfulness meditation is associated with perceptions of happiness as rated by outside observers. J. Posit. Psychol. 7, 30–35. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2011.626788

Cohen, J. (2013). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences . New York, NY: Routledge.

PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., and Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. J. Health Soc. Behav. 24, 385–396. doi: 10.2307/2136404

Coo, C., and Salanova, M. (2018). Mindfulness can make you happy-and-productive: a mindfulness controlled trial and its effects on happiness, work engagement and performance. J. Happiness Stud. 19, 1691–1711. doi: 10.1007/s10902-017-9892-8

Dahl, C. J., Lutz, A., and Davidson, R. J. (2015). Reconstructing and deconstructing the self: cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice. Trends Cogn. Sci. 19, 515–523. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2015.07.001

Danner, D. D., Snowdon, D. A., and Friesen, W. V. (2001). Positive emotions in early life and longevity: findings from the nun study. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 80, 804–813. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.80.5.804

De Pisapia, N., and Grecucci, E. A. (2017). Mindfulness: fashion or revolution? G. Ital. di Psicol. 44, 249–270. doi: 10.1421/87329

CrossRef Full Text

Deci, E. L., and Ryan, R. M. (1980). Self-determination theory: when mind mediates behavior. J. mind Behav. 1, 33–43.

Deci, E. L., and Ryan, R. M. (2008). Hedonia, eudaimonia, and well-being: an introduction. J. Happiness Stud. 9, 1–11. doi: 10.1007/s10902-006-9018-1

Di Fabio, A., and Palazzeschi, L. (2012). The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS): Un contributo alla validazione italiana con lavoratori adulti [The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS): A contribution to Italian validation with adult workers]. Counseling 5, 207–215.

Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychol. Bull . 95, 542–575. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.95.3.542

Diener, E. (1994). Assessing subjective well-being: progress and opportunities. Soc. Indicat. Res. 31, 103–157.

Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: the science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. Am. Psychol. 55, 34–43. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.34

Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsem, R. J., and Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. J. Pers. Assess. 49, 71–75. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13

Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., and Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: three decades of progress. Psychol. Bull. 125:276. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276

Dorjee, D. (2013). Mind, Brain and the Path to Happiness . London: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315889580

Fava, G. A. (1999). Well-being therapy: conceptual and technical issues. Psychother. Psychosom. 68, 171–179. doi: 10.1159/000012329

Fix, R. L., and Fix, S. T. (2013). The effects of mindfulness-based treatments for aggression: a critical review. Aggress. Violent Behav. 18, 219–227. doi: 10.1016/j.avb.2012.11.009

Fordyce, M. W. (1977). Development of a program to increase personal happiness. J. Couns. Psychol. 24, 511–521. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.24.6.511

Forman, E. M., Herbert, J. D., Moitra, E., Yeomans, P. D., and Geller, P. A. (2007). A randomized controlled effectiveness trial of acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive therapy for anxiety and depression. Behav. Modif. 31, 772–799. doi: 10.1177/0145445507302202

Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coffey, K. A., Pek, J., and Finkel, S. M. (2008). Open hearts build lives: positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 95, 1045–1062. doi: 10.1037/a0013262

Fredrickson, B. L., and Losada, M. F. (2005). Positive affect and the complex dynamics of human flourishing. Am. Psychol. 60, 678–686. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.60.7.678

Frisch, M. B. (2006). Quality of Life Therapy: Applying a Life Satisfaction Approach to Positive Psychology and Cognitive Therapy . New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 535.

Frossard, J., and Renaud, O. (2018). Permuco: Permutation Tests for Regression, (Repeated Measures) ANOVA/ANCOVA and Comparison of Signals. R Package Version 1.0.0.

Gander, F., Proyer, R. T., and Ruch, W. (2016). Positive psychology interventions addressing pleasure, engagement, meaning, positive relationships, and accomplishment increase well-being and ameliorate depressive symptoms: a randomized, placebo-controlled online study. Front. Psychol. 7:686. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00686

Garland, E. L., Geschwind, N., Peeters, F., and Wichers, M. (2015). Mindfulness training promotes upward spirals of positive affect and cognition: multilevel and autoregressive latent trajectory modeling analyses. Front. Psychol. 6:15. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00015

Garland, E. L., Kiken, L. G., Faurot, K., Palsson, O., and Gaylord, S. A. (2017). Upward spirals of mindfulness and reappraisal: testing the mindfulness-to-meaning theory with autoregressive latent trajectory modeling. Cognit. Ther. Res. 41, 381–392. doi: 10.1007/s10608-016-9768-y

Giovannini, C., Giromini, L., Bonalume, L., Tagini, A., Lang, M., and Amadei, G. (2014). The Italian five facet mindfulness questionnaire: a contribution to its validity and reliability. J. Psychopathol. Behav. Assess. 36, 415–423. doi: 10.1007/s10862-013-9403-0

Goleman, D., and Davidson, R. (2017). The Science of Meditation: How to Change Your Brain, Mind and Body . New York, NY: Penguin Random House.

Gotink, R. A., Meijboom, R., Vernooij, M. W., Smits, M., and Hunink, M. G. M. (2016). 8-week mindfulness based stress reduction induces brain changes similar to traditional long-term meditation practice – a systematic review. Brain Cogn. 108, 32–41. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2016.07.001

Grecucci, A., De Pisapia, N., Thero, D. K., Paladino, M. P., Venuti, P., and Job, R. (2015). Baseline and strategic effects behind mindful emotion regulation: behavioral and physiological investigation. PLoS ONE 10:e0116541. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116541

Groves, P. (2016). Mindfulness in psychiatry–where are we now? BJPsych Bull. 40, 289–292. doi: 10.1192/pb.bp.115.052993

Hanson, R., and Mendius, R. (2011). The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications Inc. doi: 10.5214/ans.0972.7531.1118110

Hervé, M. M., and Hervé, M. M. (2020). Package ‘RVAideMemoire.’

Hone, L. C., Jarden, A., Schofield, G., and Duncan, S. (2014). Measuring flourishing: the impact of operational definitions on the prevalence of high levels of wellbeing. Int. J. Wellbeing 4, 62–90. doi: 10.5502/ijw.v4i1.4

Hone, L. C., Jarden, A., and Schofield, G. M. (2015). An evaluation of positive psychology intervention effectiveness trials using the re-aim framework: a practice-friendly review. J. Posit. Psychol. 10, 303–322. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2014.965267

Howarth, A., Smith, J. G., Perkins-Porras, L., and Ussher, M. (2019). Effects of brief mindfulness-based interventions on health-related outcomes: a systematic review. Mindfulness 10, 1957–1968. doi: 10.1007/s12671-019-01163-1

Howell, A. J., Dopko, R. L., Passmore, H.-A., and Buro, K. (2011). Nature connectedness: associations with well-being and mindfulness. Pers. Individ. Dif. 51, 166–171. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2011.03.037

Huta, V., and Ryan, R. M. (2010). Pursuing pleasure or virtue: the differential and overlapping well-being benefits of hedonic and eudaimonic motives. J. Happiness Stud. 11, 735–762. doi: 10.1007/s10902-009-9171-4

Inglehart, R., Foa, R., Peterson, C., and Welzel, C. (2008). Development, freedom, and rising happiness: a global perspective (1981–2007). Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 3, 264–285. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00078.x

Ivtzan, I., Young, T., Martman, J., Jeffrey, A., Lomas, T., Hart, R., et al. (2016). Integrating mindfulness into positive psychology: a randomised controlled trial of an online positive mindfulness program. Mindfulness 7, 1396–1407. doi: 10.1007/s12671-016-0581-1

Jha, A. P., Morrison, A. B., Parker, S. C., and Stanley, E. A. (2017). Practice is protective: mindfulness training promotes cognitive resilience in high-stress cohorts. Mindfulness 8, 46–58. doi: 10.1007/s12671-015-0465-9

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: The Program of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center . Available online at: lelandshields.com (accessed October 28, 2019).

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: past, present, and future. Clin. Psychol. Sci. Pract. 10, 144–156. doi: 10.1093/clipsy.bpg016

Kahneman, D., and Krueger, A. B. (2006). Developments in measurements of subjective well-being. J. Econ. Perspect. 20, 3–24. doi: 10.1257/089533006776526030

Keng, S. L., Smoski, M. J., and Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: a review of empirical studies. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 31, 1041–1056. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.006

Keyes, C. L. M. (2005). Mental illness and/or mental health? Investigating axioms of the complete state model of health. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 73, 539–548. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.73.3.539

Keyes, C. L. M. (2006). Subjective well-being in mental health and human development research worldwide: an introduction. Soc. Indic. Res. 77, 1–10. doi: 10.1007/s11205-005-5550-3

Kherad-Pajouh, S., and Renaud, O. (2014). A general permutation approach for analyzing repeated measures ANOVA and mixed-model designs. Stat. Pap. 56, 947–967. doi: 10.1007/s00362-014-0617-3

Khoury, B., Knäuper, B., Schlosser, M., Carrière, K., and Chiesa, A. (2017). Effectiveness of traditional meditation retreats: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Psychosom. Res. 92, 16–25. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2016.11.006

Khoury, B., Sharma, M., Rush, S. E., and Fournier, C. (2015). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for healthy individuals: a meta-analysis. J. Psychosom. Res. 78, 519–528. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2015.03.009

Koivumaa-Honkanen, H., Kaprio, J., Honkanen, R., Viinamäki, H., and Koskenvuo, M. (2004). Life satisfaction and depression in a 15-year follow-up of healthy adults. Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol. 39, 994–999. doi: 10.1007/s00127-004-0833-6

Kong, F., Wang, X., and Zhao, J. (2014). Dispositional mindfulness and life satisfaction: the role of core self-evaluations. Pers. Individ. Dif. 56, 165–169. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2013.09.002

Kornfield, J. (2012). Teachings of the Buddha . Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications.

Lama, D., and Cutler, H. (2008). The art of happiness: A handbook for living. Penguin.

Lambert, L., Passmore, H. A., and Joshanloo, M. (2019). A positive psychology intervention program in a culturally-diverse university: boosting happiness and reducing fear. J. Happiness Stud. 20, 1141–1162. doi: 10.1007/s10902-018-9993-z

Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., and Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: does happiness lead to success? Psychol. Bull. 131, 803–855. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803

Lyubomksky, S., Sheldon, K. M., and Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: the architecture of sustainable change. Rev. Gen. Psychol. 9, 111–131. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111

Maslow, A. H. (1981). Motivation and Personality . New York, NY: Harper.

McClintock, A. S., Rodriguez, M. A., and Zerubavel, N. (2019). The effects of mindfulness retreats on the psychological health of non-clinical adults: a meta-analysis. Mindfulness 10, 1443–1454. doi: 10.1007/s12671-019-01123-9

Mondo, M., Sechi, C., and Cabras, C. (2019). Psychometric evaluation of three versions of the Italian perceived stress scale. Curr. Psychol. 1–9. doi: 10.1007/s12144-019-0132-8

Pressman, S. D., and Cohen, S. (2005). Does positive affect influence health? Psychol. Bull. 131, 925. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.925

Quoidbach, J., Mikolajczak, M., and Gross, J. J. (2015). Positive interventions: an emotion regulation perspective. Psychol. Bull . 141, 655–693. doi: 10.1037/a0038648

Raffone, A., and Srinivasan, N. (2017). Mindfulness and cognitive functions: toward a unifying neurocognitive framework. Mindfulness 8, 1–9. doi: 10.1007/s12671-016-0654-1

Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: a review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 52, 141–166. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141

Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 57, 1069–1081. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069

Ryff, C. D. (2013). Psychological well-being revisited: advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia. Psychother. Psychosom. 83, 10–28. doi: 10.1159/000353263

Ryff, C. D., and Boylan, J. M. (2016). “Linking happiness to health: Comparisons between hedonic and eudaimonic well-being,” in Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Happiness and Quality of Life (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited).

Saviola, F., Pappaianni, E., Monti, A., Grecucci, A., Jovicich, J., and De Pisapia, N. (2020). Trait and state anxiety are mapped differently in the human brain. Sci. Rep. 10:11112. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-68008-z

Segal, Z. V., and Teasdale, J. (2002). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: : A New Approach to Preventing Relapse . New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Guilford Publications.

Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). “Positive psychology, positive prevention, and positive therapy,” in Handbook of Positive Psychology , eds C. R. Snyder and S. J. Lopez (New York, NY: Oxford University Press), 3–9.

Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being . New York, NY: Free Press.

Sheldon, K. M., and King, L. (2001). Why positive psychology is necessary. Am. Psychol. 56, 216–217. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.216

Shultz, P. P., and Ryan, R. M. (2015). “The ‘why,’ ‘what,’ and ‘how’ of healthy self-regulation: Mindfulness and well-being from a self-determination theory perspective,” in Handbook of Mindfulness and Self-Regulation (New York, NY: Springer), 81–94. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2263-5_7

Sin, N. L., and Lyubomirsky, S. (2009). Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: a practice-friendly meta-analysis. J. Clin. Psychol. 65, 467–487. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20593

Spielberger, C. (2004). STAXI-2 State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2. Adattamento Italiano a Cura di Anna Laura Comunian. Florence: Giunti OS Organizzazioni speciali.

Spielberger, C. D. (1999). Professional Manual for the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2). Odessa, FL.

PubMed Abstract

Spielberger, C. D. (2010). State-Trait anger expression inventory. Corsini Encycl. Psychol. 1. doi: 10.1002/9780470479216.corpsy0942

Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L., Lushene, R., Vagg, P. R., and Jacobs, G. A. (1983). Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory . Palo, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

Spielberger, C. D., Pedrabissi, L., and Santinello, M. (2012). STAI State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Forma Y: Manuale. Firenze: Giunti OS Organizzazioni speciali.

Spinhoven, P., Huijbers, M. J., Ormel, J., and Speckens, A. E. M. (2017). Improvement of mindfulness skills during mindfulness-based cognitive therapy predicts long-term reductions of neuroticism in persons with recurrent depression in remission. J. Affect. Disord. 213, 112–117. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.02.011

Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., Ridgewaya, V. A., Soulsby, J. M., and Lau, M. A. (2000). Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 68, 615–623. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.68.4.615

Terracciano, A., McCrae, R. R., and Costa, P. T. (2003). Factorial and construct validity of the Italian positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS). Eur. J. Psychol. Assess. 19, 131–141. doi: 10.1027//1015-5759.19.2.131

Vazquez, C., and Hervas, G. (2013). Addressing current challenges in cross-cultural measurement of well-being: the pemberton happiness index. Well Being Cult. 3, 31–49. doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-4611-4_3

Watson, D., Clark, L. A., and Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 54, 1063–1070. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063

Weytens, F., Luminet, O., Verhofstadt, L. L., and Mikolajczak, M. (2014). An integrative theory-driven positive emotion regulation intervention. PLoS ONE 9:e95677. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095677

World Health Organization (1948). Constitution Basic Documents WHO World Health Organization. World Health Organization, Constitution . Geneva: Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia Globalization.

Keywords: meditation, wisdom, happiness, well–being, mindfulness

Citation: Rastelli C, Calabrese L, Miller C, Raffone A and De Pisapia N (2021) The Art of Happiness: An Explorative Study of a Contemplative Program for Subjective Well-Being. Front. Psychol. 12:600982. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.600982

Received: 31 August 2020; Accepted: 11 January 2021; Published: 11 February 2021.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2021 Rastelli, Calabrese, Miller, Raffone and De Pisapia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Nicola De Pisapia, nicola.depisapia@unitn.it

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Methodological Pathways in Psychological Research: From “Neutrality” to Building Bonds

• Original Article
• Published: 22 August 2024

Cite this article

• Ana Luiza de França Sá   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-7408 1 , 2 ,
• Cristiana Kaipper Dias   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3669-9653 3 ,
• Yuri Pereira de Lemos   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7540-9199 1 ,
• Maria Virgínia Machado Dazzani   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5303-3576 1 &
• Giuseppina Marsico   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8683-2814 1 , 4  

31 Accesses

Explore all metrics

The relationship construction between the researcher and participants is at the core of the research process. In this paper, we want to discuss how young researchers get access to the empirical field through the process of building bonding construction. Based on the cultural psychology perspective, we use a research project undertaken by young researchers to describe how building bonding construction happens. In that project, young researchers used a qualitative methodological design to study human development under the sign of poverty in a Brazilian community. The results showed that young researchers passed from strangers to invitees as soon as they became part of the community environment. The relationship constructed between researchers and participants challenged neutrality as one of the assumptions taken for granted in the research process. In this vein, the researcher and participants co-construct the investigated reality.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save.

• Get 10 units per month
• Download Article/Chapter or eBook
• 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
• Cancel anytime

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Towards a social constructionist, criticalist, Foucauldian-informed qualitative research approach: Opportunities and challenges

Shifting Selves: Fieldwork, Faith and Reflexivity

Social Constructionism

Explore related subjects.

• Artificial Intelligence

Data Availability

The research's data is available by request to the correspond author.

As a community, we mean the neighborhoods in Brazil within which the main characteristics relate to the communal environment, socialization, shared places, and mutual aid. Usually, Brazilian communities are well-known as “favela,” a word that emphasizes only the economic approach to the phenomenon of poverty in a pejorative sense.

“Gringo” is a common word used in Brazil to refer to foreign people.

The community center is a place created by the community’s residents. In this place, there is a community library where free artistic activities take place and a military police office. The latter was an initiative due to the need for drug trafficking control. The young researchers usually used that place as a meeting point between them and the participants. They also participated in some activities offered by the community library.

Aboderin, I., Fuh, D., Gebremariam, E. B., & Segalo, P. (2023). Beyond ‘equitable partnerships’: The imperative of transformative research collaborations with Africa. Global Social Challenges, 2 (2), 212–228. https://doi.org/10.1332/27523349Y2023D000000002

Article   Google Scholar  

Branco, A. U., & Valsiner, J. (1997). Changing methodologies: A co-constructivist study of goal orientations in social interactions. Psychology and Developing Societies., 9 (1), 35–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/097133369700900103

Carpiano, R. M. (2009). Come take a walk with me: The “Go-Along” interview as a novel method for studying the implications of place for health and well-being. Health and Place, 15 , 263–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2008.05.003

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Chatzea, V., Mechili, E. A., Melidoniotis, E., Petrougaki, E., Nikiforidis, G., Argyriadis, A., & Sifaki-Pistolla, D. (2022). Recommendations for young researchers on how to better advance their scientific career: A systematic review. Population Medicine, 4 , 24. https://doi.org/10.18332/popmed/152571

Daston, L. (1992). Objectivity and the escape from perspective. Social Studies of Science 22(4), 597-618. Disponível em: http://www.jstor.org/stable/285456 . Acessed in 23 sept. 2022

Dazzani, M. V. M. (2018). Sob o signo da pobreza: Dinâmicas psicossociais e educacionais de pessoas de camadas populares a partir da perspectiva da psicologia semióticocultural [Under the sign of poverty: Psychosocial and educational dynamics of people from popular communities through the cultural semiotic psychology persective] (Projeto de Pesquisa submetido e aprovado pelo Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq, chamada MCTIC/CNPq nº 28/2018, processo 435602/2018-7).

De França Sá, A. L., & Marsico, G. (2024). In search of a new paradigm: Why weird psychology does not work on developmental science. In M. Tuli, & N. Chaudhary (Eds.),  Reframing the context of developmental psychology  (pp. 32–49).  Perspectives on human development (Series Editor: Isabelle Albert). Information Age Publishing.

De Luca Picione, R. (2021). Models of semiotic borders in psychology and their implications: From rigidity of separation to topological dynamics of connectivity. Theory & Psychology, 31 (5), 729–745.

Fraser, M. T. D., & Gondim, S. M. G. (2004). Da fala do outro ao texto negociado: Discussões sobre a entrevista na pesquisa qualitativa. [From the speech of the other to the negotiated text: Discussions about the interview in the qualitative research].  Paidéia , 14 (8), 139–152.  https://www.scielo.br/j/paideia/a/MmkPXF5fCnqVP9MX75q6Rrd/?lang=pt . Accessed 14 Sept 2022.

Galvão, A., & Marsico, G. (2021). Time-space of the youth from the periphery: An analysis from the cultural psychology perspective. Trends in Psychology . https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-021-00117-8

Gibert, A., Tozer, W. C., & Westoby, M. (2017). Teamwork, soft skills, and research training. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 32 (2), 81–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2016.11.004

González Rey, F. L., Goulart, D. M., & Bezerra, M. S. (2016). Ação profissional e subjetividade: para além do conceito de intervenção profissional na psicologia. [Professional action and subjectivity: Beyond the concept of professional intervention in psychology]. Educação PUCRS, 39 , 54–65. https://doi.org/10.15448/1981-2582.2016.s.24379

Guimarães, D. S. (2021). Where is semiotic-cultural constructivism in psychology heading? Contemporary reflections on the trajectory of an approach to cultural psychology. Culture and Psychology, 4 , 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354067X211017300

Hesse-Biber, A. N., & Leavy, P. (2008). Pushing on the methodological boundaries: The growing need for emergent methods within and across the disciplines. In A. N. Hesse-Biber, & P. Leavy (Eds.), The handbook of emergent methods  (pp. 1–16). The Guilford Press.

Kilomba, G. (2016). Descolonizando o conhecimento. Keynote presented at the Centro Cultural São Paulo . Available in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLYGbXewyxs . Accessed 07 Sept 2022.

Lacey, H. (2001). Impartiality, neutrality and autonomy: Three components of the idea that science is value-free. Presented at the conference, “Value-Free Science: Illusion or Ideal?” . Center for ethics and values in the sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, February 23–25. Available on: https://www.unicamp.br/~chibeni/textosdidaticos/lacey-2001-three-components.pdf . Accessed 10 June 2024.

Lovitts, B. E. (2005). Being a good course-taker is not enough: A theoretical perspective on the transition to independent research. Studies in Higher Education, 30 (2), 137–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070500043093

Marsico, G. (2015). Striving for the new: Cultural psychology as a developmental science. Culture and Psychology, 21 (4), 445–454. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354067X15623020

Marsico, G. (2018). Development and education as crossing socio-cultural boundaries. In A. Rosa & J. Valsiner (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of sociocultural psychology (2nd ed., pp. 302–316). Cambridge University Press.

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Marsico, G., Varzi, A. (2016). Psychological and social borders: Regulating relationships. In J., Valsiner, G., Marsico, N. Chaudhary, T., Sato, V., Dazzani, (Eds). (2016). Psychology as a science of human being: The Yokohama Manifesto, annals of theoretical psychology , 13, (327-335), Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21094-0_19

Martino, M. L., De Luca, P. R., Lemmo, D., Boursier, V., & Freda, M. F. (2019). Meaning-making trajectories of resilience in narratives of adolescents with MS. Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 7 (2), 2049–2049.

Google Scholar  

Mele, E., Español, A., Carvalho, B., & Marsico, G. (2021). Beyond technical learning: Internship as a liminal zone on the way to become a psychologist. Learning, Cultural and Social Interaction, 28 , 110487. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720537.2023.2178042

Patias, N. D., and Honhendorff. J. V. (2019). Critérios de qualidade para artigos de pesquisa qualitativa. [Quality criteria for qualitative research articles] Psicologia em Estudo. 24, https://doi.org/10.4025/psicolestud.v24i0.43536

Simão, L. M. (1989). Interação Pesquisador-Sujeito: A perspectiva de ação social na construção de conhecimento [Researcher–subject interaction: The perspective of social action in the construction of knowledge]. Ciência e Cultura, 41 (12), 1195–1202.

Simão, L. M. (1992). Interação verbal e construção de conhecimento: Aspectos do diálogo pesquisador-sujeito. Psicologia Teoria e Pesquisa, 8 (2), 219–229.

Simão, L. M. (2007). Entrar na psicologia, encontrar os outros. [Enter in psychology, find others]. Revista do Departamento de Psicologia – UFF, 19 (2), 477–500. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-80232007000200017

Simão, L. M. (1999). Ação, interação, objeto e cultura: A contribuição de Ernst Boesch. In Annals of the I Congresso Norte – Nordeste de Psicologia, Salvador, Bahia . Available on: https://repositorio.usp.br/item/001313444 . Accessed 10 Oct 2022.

Simão, L. M. (2000). The role of the other in the process of knowledge construction during interactions: Developments from the symbolic action theory of Ernst Boesch. In 3rd conference for sociocultural research, São Paulo, Brazil . Available on: https://www.fe.unicamp.br/br2000/trabs . Accessed 22 Oct 2022.

Spezzacatena, M., & Marsico, G. (2023). Emerging meaning-making: Combining qualitative methods in a study of women’s ambivalence towards makeup. Journal of Costructivist Psychology . https://doi.org/10.1080/10720537.2023.2178042

Teo, T. (2022). The praxis of theorizing in psychology: From traditional to critical perspectives. In. B. D. Slife, S. C. Yanchar, & F. C. Richardson (Eds.), Routledge international handbook of theoretical and philosophical psychology: Critiques, problems, and alternatives to psychological ideas (537-551). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003036517-33

Valsiner, J. (2017). From methodology to methods in human psychology. Springer Briefs in Psychology . https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61064-1

Valsiner, J. (2021). General human psychology . Springer.

Book   Google Scholar  

Valsiner, J. (2019). Cultural psychology as theoretical project. Estudios de Psicología . 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/02109395.2018.1560023

Valsiner, J. (Personal communication on September, 22, 2022 by e-mail). The crucial organizer of the cycle is the emerging educated intuition.

Wang, C., & Burris, M. A. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs of assessment. Health Education and Behavior., 24 , 369–387. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019819702400309

Yi-Frazier, J. P., Cochrane, K., Mitrovich, C., Pascual, M., Buscaino, E., Eaton, L., Panlasigui, N., Clopp, B., & Malik, F. (2015). Using Instagram as a modified application of photovoice for storytelling and sharing in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Qualitative health research., 25 (10), 1372–1382. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315583282

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Zittoun, T., and Gillespie, A. (2017). Using diaries and self-writings as data in psychological research, 1-26 In Abbey, E.; Surgan, S. (ed). Emerging methods in psychology . Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351297127

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the collaboration of Ana Luísa Rêgo Nunes, Cibele Brasil dos Reis, João Aragão Telles, Karen Carolina Conceição Crisóstomo, Renata Reis Rodrigues, Rodrigo Aragão, and Vitória Lorena da Rocha, scientific initiation scholarship holders from the Psychology course at UFBA who contributed to the collection of data used in writing the manuscript. The authors would like to thank the collaboration of Dionis Soares, Julie Anne Cruz, Klessyo Freire, and Leonardo Rocha, postgraduate students at the Psychology Institute from UFBA, for their contributions to the development of the research project. The authors would like to thank Professor Jaan Valsiner for his suggestions and for reading the first version of the manuscript. This work has been supported by the following Brazilian research agencies: National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and Foundation for the Coordination of the Improvement of Researchers (CAPES and CAPES Print/ Federal University of Bahia). Maria Virginia Machado Dazzani is funded in part by the (CAPES; Finance Code 001) and by the grant number 307784/2022-3 (CNPq-PQ). Giuseppina Marsico acknowledges the financial support from CAPES-PRINT for her Visiting professor at Universidade Federal da Bahia (process number 88887.892825/2023-00).

This project was carried out with the support of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)—funding code no. 001, Capes Print//—and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), called MCTIC/CNPq no. 28/2018, process 435602/2018-7. Maria Virgínia Machado Dazzani is grateful for the support of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes)—funding code no. 001 (Capes PRINT UFBA, process 88887.568332/2020-00) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), called MCTIC/CNPq no. 28/2018, process 435602/2018-7.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Salvador, Brazil

Ana Luiza de França Sá, Yuri Pereira de Lemos, Maria Virgínia Machado Dazzani & Giuseppina Marsico

Federal Institute of Brasília (IFB), Brasília, Brazil

Ana Luiza de França Sá

Centro Universitário Unijorge and Faculdade Santa Casa, Bahia, Brazil

Cristiana Kaipper Dias

University of Salerno (UNISA), Fisciano, Italy

Giuseppina Marsico

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana Luiza de França Sá .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval.

Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Brazil, No. CAAE-28764219.9.0000.5686.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

de França Sá, A.L., Dias, C.K., de Lemos, Y.P. et al. Methodological Pathways in Psychological Research: From “Neutrality” to Building Bonds. Trends in Psychol. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-024-00403-1

Download citation

Accepted : 09 August 2024

Published : 22 August 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-024-00403-1

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Cultural psychology
• Qualitative methodology
• Human development
• Building bonding construction
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

• Mothers — and fathers — report mental, physical health declines

Fathers (82%) were significantly more likely to say they could have used more emotional support than mothers (68%).

Since March 2020, life has changed radically for parents of children under 18. Not only have they had to deal with the universal pandemic disruptions on their work and social lives, but also grapple with the pandemic’s impact on their children. Nearly half of parents (48%) said the level of stress in their life has increased compared with before the pandemic. More than 3 in 5 parents with children who are still home for remote learning (62%) said the same.

Similarly, while slightly more than 3 in 10 adults (31%) reported their mental health has worsened compared with before the pandemic , nearly half of mothers who still have children home for remote learning (47%) reported their mental health has worsened; 30% of fathers who still have children home said the same. And while 3 in 4 parents (75%) said they could have used more emotional support than they received since the pandemic started, fathers (82%) were significantly more likely to say they could have used more emotional support than mothers (68%).

When it comes to seeking treatment, parents were more likely than those without children to have received treatment from a mental health professional (32% vs. 12%) and to have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder since the coronavirus pandemic began (24% vs. 9%). Here, too, fathers were more likely than mothers to have received mental health treatment (38% vs. 26%) and to have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder since the start of the pandemic (29% vs. 19%). Additionally, more than half of parents (54%) said they feel like their children could have benefited from receiving treatment from a mental health professional since the pandemic started, particularly parents of tweens ages 8–12 (63%).

Regarding physical changes, 8 in 10 fathers (80%) reported unwanted changes in weight, compared with 66% of mothers since the start of the pandemic. Specifically, 55% of fathers reported gaining weight, with an average weight gain of 45 pounds (median of 20 pounds). On the other hand, 47% of mothers said they gained weight, with an average weight gain of 27 pounds (median of 15 pounds).

Fathers (87%) also were more likely than mothers (77%) to report sleeping more or less than they wanted to since the pandemic started and to say they are drinking more alcohol to cope with stress (48% of fathers vs. 29% of mothers).

How parents can support their children and themselves, and stay healthy

• Practice self-care in 15- or 30-minute increments throughout the day and help your kids to do the same. This can include taking a short walk, calling a friend or watching a funny show.
• Stay connected with each other, your friends and family. This will help you build emotional resilience so you can support the needs of your children.
• Try hosting device-free time for the whole family, where you make and eat dinner together or play a board game. Children are more likely to talk about their experiences while engaging in an activity. ⁠
• Stress in America

Survey sections

• One year later, a new wave of pandemic health concerns
• Essential workers more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder during pandemic
• Hispanic adults most likely to report physical impacts of stress; Black Americans concerned about life after the pandemic
• Young Americans continue to struggle
• Coronavirus stress: Majority of Americans never imagined pandemic would last this long

Contact APA Office of Public Affairs

You may also like.