The Happy Mind: Cognitive Contributions to Well-Being

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vii

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2. Introduction to the Happy Mind: Cognitive Contributions to Well-Being

   • Michael D. Robinson, Michael Eid

   Pages 1-19

3. The Mind

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 21-21

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   2. Attention, Emotion, and Well-Being: An Adult Lifespan Perspective

      • Kimberly M. Livingstone, Derek M. Isaacowitz

      Pages 23-39

   3. Mindfulness and Well-Being

      • Hooria Jazaieri, Shauna Shapiro

      Pages 41-58

   4. Executive Functions Promote Well-Being: Outcomes and Mediators

      • Anna Luerssen, Ozlem Ayduk

      Pages 59-75

   5. The Quiet Ego: Concept, Measurement, and Well-Being

      • Heidi A. Wayment, Jack J. Bauer

      Pages 77-94

   6. Staying Happier

      • Megan M. Fritz, Lisa C. Walsh, Sonja Lyubomirsky

      Pages 95-114

4. Positive Cognitions

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 115-115

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   2. Beyond Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being: Inspiration and the Self-Transcendence Tradition

      • Will C. M. Belzak, Todd M. Thrash, Yoon Young Sim, Lena M. Wadsworth

      Pages 117-138

   3. Savoring and Well-Being: Mapping the Cognitive-Emotional Terrain of the Happy Mind

      • Jennifer L. Smith, Fred B. Bryant

      Pages 139-156

   4. Cognitive Aspects of Positive Emotions: A Broader View for Well-Being

      • Laura G. Kiken, Barbara L. Fredrickson

      Pages 157-175

   5. Positive Illusions and the Happy Mind

      • Astrid Schütz, Roy F. Baumeister

      Pages 177-193

   6. Optimism

      • Suzanne C. Segerstrom, Charles S. Carver, Michael F. Scheier

      Pages 195-212

5. Self-Regulation

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 213-213

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   2. Perspectives on Studying Perceived Control in the Twenty-First Century

      • Judith G. Chipperfield, Jeremy M. Hamm, Raymond P. Perry, Joelle C. Ruthig

      Pages 215-233

   3. Means, Ends, and Happiness: The Role of Goals for Subjective Well-Being

      • Marie Hennecke, Veronika Brandstätter

      Pages 235-251

   4. Coping, Emotion Regulation, and Well-Being: Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Processes

      • Brett Marroquín, Howard Tennen, Annette L. Stanton

      Pages 253-274

   5. Autobiographical Memory, Self-Regulation, and Well-Being

      • Dieter Ferring, Isabelle Tournier

      Pages 275-289

   6. Self-Affirmation: Protecting the Self and Protecting Subjective Well-Being

      • Natalie Schüz, Benjamin Schüz

      Pages 291-308

This edited volume focuses on different views of happiness and well-being, considering constructs like meaning and spirituality in addition to the more standard constructs of positive emotion and life satisfaction. A premise of the volume is that being happy consists of more than having the right things happen to us; it also depends on how we interpret those events as well as what we are trying to achieve. Such considerations suggest that cognitive-emotional factors should play a fairly pronounced role in how happy we are. The present volume pursues these themes in the context of 25 chapters organized into 5 sections. The first section centers on cognitive variables such as attention and executive function, in addition to mindfulness. The second section considers important sources of positive cognition such as savoring and optimism and the third section focuses on self-regulatory contributions to well-being. Finally, social processes are covered in a fourth section and meaning-relatedprocesses are covered in the fifth. What results is a rich and diverse volume centering on the ways in which our minds can help or hinder our aspirations for happiness. 

• Emotional Clarity
• Executive Function of the Mind
• Gratitude and Positive Psychology
• Memory and Well-Being
• Mindfulness and Paying Attention
• Positive Cognitions Enhancing Well-Being
• Positive Emotions
• Quieting the Ego to Handle the Self
• Selectivity of the Mind
• Self-Enhancement and Self-Confidence
• Social Cognition and Mental Processes
• Social Comparison
• Spirituality and Benefiting Well-Being
• The Hedonic Treadmill of the Mind's Tendency
• Understanding Meaning and Well-Being
• Wisdom and its Relation to Well-Being

• Psychology, NDSU Department 2765, North Dakota State University, Fargo, USA

  Michael D. Robinson

• Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

  Michael Eid

Michael D. Robinson is a Professor of Psychology at North Dakota State University. He received his Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of California, Davis, in 1996. He is a prolific researcher in the areas of personality, assessment, self-regulation, cognition, and emotion whose work has been funded by NSF and NIH. He has been or is an Associate Editor for a number of journals, including Cognition and Emotion, Emotion, and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. In addition, he has edited two published books: Handbook of Cognition and Emotion (Robinson, Watkins, & Harmon-Jones, 2013; Guilford Press) and The Power of Metaphor (Landau, Robinson, & Meier, 2014; American Psychological Association). He is considered an expert in implicit approaches to personality and in cognitive approaches to emotion and self-regulation.


Michael Eid is professor of psychology at the Free University of Berlin, Germany. He received his doctorate from the University of Trier (Germany) in 1994, and has been professor and visiting professor at several German universities and the University of Geneva (Switzerland). His main research interests concern the analysis of multimethod data, longitudinal data analysis, structural equation modeling, and item response theory. His more applied research focuses on subjective well-being and health psychology. He has been editor and associate editor of several journals including Methodology and the Journal of Positive Psychology.

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