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A story of how a simple question about measuring well-being turned into a gut check for a young female grad student.
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A story of how a simple question about measuring well-being turned into a gut check for a young female grad student.
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In 2016, I was baffled to learn that there were 99+ measures of “well-being” that contain a staggering 196 “dimensions” of well-being, including some kickers: eco-awareness, peace of mind, sex life, and vacations ( https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/7/e010641.short)
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2/n
My lab mate ( @david_disabato), advisor ( @toddkashdan), and I wondered how much these models overlapped. Surely they do not capture 99 distinct types of well-being.
We started by comparing 2 prominent models: Drs. Ed Diener’s SWB and Carol Ryff’s PWB. 3/n
We started by comparing 2 prominent models: Drs. Ed Diener’s SWB and Carol Ryff’s PWB. 3/n
Turns out, SWB and PWB were highly correlated. We concluded that measures of these models likely did not measure unique types of well-being ( https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281622336_Different_Types_of_Well-Being_A_Cross-Cultural_Examination_of_Hedonic_and_Eudaimonic_Well-Being)
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But maybe our findings were specific to SWB and PWB. So we ran another study comparing Diener’s SWB with a new model, Dr. Martin Seligman’s PERMA. Once again, we found high overlap. ( https://researchgate.net/publication/320327063_Measuring_well-being_A_comparison_of_subjective_well-being_and_PERMA)
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5/n
Turns out, other researchers were also finding high overlap between other well-being models. Perhaps there weren't many unique "types" of well-being after all (at least how they are currently measured).
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6/n
When I saw the table of contents for our 2nd article, I was surprised to learn that Dr. Seligman had been invited to write a response to our article ahead of press. Here, he referred to our paper as an “indictment.”
As a young jobless grad student, I was petrified. 7/n
As a young jobless grad student, I was petrified. 7/n
For two years, I did nothing.
Who was I to disagree with an eminent and powerful visionary, credited for putting positive psychology on the map? I felt powerless.
But then, a series of tipping points changed my mind. 8/n
Who was I to disagree with an eminent and powerful visionary, credited for putting positive psychology on the map? I felt powerless.
But then, a series of tipping points changed my mind. 8/n
I read @katiecorker's and @siminevazire's article on eminence, gender, and power ( https://sometimesimwrong.typepad.com/wrong/2017/04/perspectives.html).
I read @KinglaKing's announcement committing to expanding the diversity of authors and viewpoints in her new role as Editor of Perspectives. ( https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/king-plans-to-expand-diversity-of-authors-viewpoints-in-perspectives) 9/n
I read @KinglaKing's announcement committing to expanding the diversity of authors and viewpoints in her new role as Editor of Perspectives. ( https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/king-plans-to-expand-diversity-of-authors-viewpoints-in-perspectives) 9/n
I listened to @JkayFlake's interview on @fourbeerspod discussing the importance of measurement in psychological; science, aptly titled “Measurement Schmeasurement” ( https://www.fourbeers.com/32 ). 10/n
I read @LFeldmanBarrett's call-to-arms for scientists to reach across the aisle to engage in critical, productive dialogue to acknowledge and understand opposing viewpoints ( https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/take-an-aisle-seat?utm_source=APS+Emails%26utm_campaign=b44cac903e-OBSERVER_DECEMBER_2019_COPY_01%26utm_medium=email%26utm_term=0_d2c7283f04-b44cac903e-62776235) 11/n
