Cited by 319Psychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionOptimism, Hope, and Well-beingMindfulness and Compassion Interventions

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 30 of the 31 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 13 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

A longitudinal experimental study comparing the effectiveness of happiness-enhancing strategies in Anglo Americans and Asian Americans

Open access

Abstract

Growing evidence suggests that well-being interventions can be effective. However, it is unclear whether happiness-increasing practices are equally effective for individuals from different cultural backgrounds. To investigate this question, Anglo Americans and predominantly foreign-born Asian Americans were randomly assigned to express optimism, convey gratitude, or list their past experiences (control group). Multilevel analyses indicated that participants in the optimism and gratitude conditions reported enhanced life satisfaction relative to those in the control condition. However, Anglo Americans in the treatment conditions demonstrated larger increases in life satisfaction relative to Asian Americans, while both cultural groups in the control condition showed the least improvement. These results are consistent with the idea that the value individualist cultures place on self-improvement and personal agency bolsters the efforts of Anglo Americans to become more satisfied, whereas collectivist cultures' de-emphasis of self-focus and individual goals interferes with the efforts of Asian Americans to pursue enhanced well-being.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

A 6-week randomized intervention found that optimism and gratitude writing increased life satisfaction relative to a control activity, but Anglo Americans benefited more than predominantly foreign-born Asian Americans. The authors interpret this as cultural differences in the “will” and “way” to pursue happiness.

Key findings

  • Participants in the optimism condition (γ12 = .05, SE = .02, t(199) = 1.98, p < .05) and gratitude condition (γ13 = .07, SE = .02, t(199) = 3.03, p < .01) showed greater increases in life satisfaction over time than control participants; treatment vs. control was also significant (γ11 = .06, SE = .02, t(199) = 2.87, p < .01).
  • The condition effect was qualified by cultural background (γ16 = −.08, SE = .04, t(199) = −1.91, p = .057; model comparison χ²(4) = 11.40, p = .02): Anglo Americans in treatment conditions showed the largest gains, while Asian Americans in treatment conditions showed little change.
  • Asian Americans showed a trend toward benefiting less from optimism than gratitude (γ17 = −.07, SE = .04, t(199) = −1.68, p = .09; gratitude contrast γ18 = −.02, SE = .04, t(199) = −.55, ns).
  • Baseline life satisfaction did not differ by culture (t = .91, ns) or experimental condition (F = .90, ns).

Methods

  • 220 community-dwelling adults (116 female, 104 male; ages 20–71, M = 35.62, SD = 11.36) were randomly assigned in a 2 (Asian American, Anglo American) × 3 (optimism, gratitude, control) design: optimism n = 74, gratitude n = 72, control n = 74.
  • Participants completed six weekly 10-minute writing exercises over the Internet and completed the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 1 month later.
  • Multilevel modeling in SAS Proc Mixed tested within-person and between-person change, with age centered at the mean and included as a covariate.

Limitations

  • The paper states that small subgroup sizes required combining primarily East Asian participants into a heterogeneous Asian American group, and that future research should study samples within Asian countries rather than using Asian Americans as a proxy.
  • The paper states that the self-reported SWLS raises potential social desirability and response biases, and that future work should include other measures and other aspects of subjective well-being.
  • Evident from the text: the Asian American sample was predominantly foreign-born (78%), and recruitment was largely online/community-based in Southern California, so findings may not generalize to other Asian or collectivist populations.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1080/02699931.2010.541227

Cites

30 of 30 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

13 Own result · 11 Not checked yet · 9 Own interpretation · 5 Own method

Verify all 13 references — free account

Show all 20 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 12
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 7
18 of 18
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Participants' expectations across all conditions were equivalent at the start of the experiment.

    “The study was described as potentially improving mental and physical health so that participants’ expectations across all conditions would be equivalent at the start of the experiment.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The similarities among the Asian cultures relevant to this research likely outweigh the differences.

    “Although some cultural differences undoubtedly exist among distinct Asian groups, we felt that East Asia’s broad emphasis on collective goals – as opposed to a focus on individual pursuits and personal well-being – would be captured by a mixed group of Asian-Americans. In other words, the similarities among these cultures (at least those relevant to this research) likely outweigh the differences.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The control activity (listing past week's experiences) did not itself enhance well-being.

    “Those in the control condition were asked to outline what they had done in the past week. The control activity was described as an organizational task to enhance the plausibility of this condition as a positive exercise.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Asian Americans (predominantly foreign-born) are sufficiently representative of collectivist cultures for testing cultural moderation.

    “it would be valuable for future researchers to investigate well-being interventions in samples within Asian countries rather than using Asian Americans as a proxy (as we have done here and others have done previously; e.g., Tsai & Levenson, 1997), because, relative to Asian Americans, Asians may manifest greater differences with Anglo Americans.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Participants complied with the writing manipulations.

    “Following these measurements, participants completed the first of six writing manipulations, each lasting 10 min once a week for 6 weeks.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The cultural groups did not differ on unmeasured variables that could affect response to the intervention.

    “Asian Americans and Anglo Americans did not differ in life satisfaction prior to beginning the intervention (t = .91, ns)”
6 of 6

Statistics recomputed

Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.

  • Consistentχ²(4) = 12.3reported p < .05 · recomputed p = .015

    “χ2(4) = 12.3, p < .05”

  • Consistentt(199) = 1.98reported p < .05 · recomputed p = .049

    “t(199) = 1.98, p < .05”

  • Consistentt(199) = 3.03reported p < .01 · recomputed p = .003

    “t(199) = 3.03, p < .01”

  • Consistentt(199) = 2.87reported p < .01 · recomputed p = .005

    “t(199) = 2.87, p < .01”

  • Consistentχ²(2) = 10.4reported p < .01 · recomputed p = .006

    “χ2(2) = 10.4, p < .01”

  • Consistentχ²(4) = 11.4reported p = .02 · recomputed p = .022

    “χ2(4) = 11.40, p = .02”

  • Consistentt(199) = -1.68reported p = .09 · recomputed p = .095

    “t(199) = −1.68, p = .09”

  • Consistentt(199) = -0.55reported n.s. · recomputed p = .583

    “t(199) = −.55, ns”

8 of 8

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Self-check results appear here once an independent check has confirmed them.

Citations

Cites

Show all 31 references

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Lyubomirsky S., Emotion

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Items 201–300 of 319

Metadata

Authors
Boehm, J. K., Lyubomirsky, S., & Sheldon, K. M.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Riverside (US)
  • University of Missouri (US)
Corresponding author
Boehm, Julia K.
Venue
Cognition and Emotion
Published
2011-02-28
Volume
25
Issue
7
Pages
1263-1272
ISSN
  • 0269-9931 (ISSN-L)
  • 1464-0600
OpenAlex
W2141649307
Cited by
318
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 11
FWCI
25.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cognition & Emotion (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5r01mh065937-05)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (5 R01 MH065937-04, R01 MH065937)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
Keywords
well-being interventions, life satisfaction, optimism, gratitude, cultural differences, Anglo American, Asian Americans, individualism, collectivism, human development, individual agency, cross-cultural comparison
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Asian, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Female, Happiness, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Models, Psychological, Personal Satisfaction, Social Values, White People

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