Hedonic Pleasure Research Articles

Hedonic vs. Eudaimonic Ways of Living on the Path to Well-Being and Psychological Distress: Turkish Validation of HEMA-R

The Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives for Activities-Revised (HEMA-R) measures eudaimonic, hedonic, hedonic pleasure, and hedonic comfort motivations. We tested the psychometric properties of the HEMA-R among Turkish-speaking university students (N = 255) and adults (N = 460). Confirmatory factor analyses among university students demonstrated both two-factor and three-factor solutions of the HEMA-R, while confirmatory factor analyses among adults identified a three-factor solution. Internal consistencies of the HEMA-R were largely over α and ω > .80. In both samples, eudaimonic motivation always had at least slightly more positive associations with well-being indicators compared to hedonic motivation, hedonic pleasure motivation, and hedonic comfort motivation, while having negative weak relationships in half of the analyses with ill-being indicators. Hedonic motivation had mostly weak positive associations with the majority of well-being outcomes, while surprisingly having weak positive associations with several indices of ill-being. Hedonic pleasure motivation had weak positive associations with the majority of well-being indicators, and hedonic comfort motivation did not have any association with some of the well-being indicators. They predominantly had no associations with ill-being indicators. Eudaimonic and hedonic indicators of motivation both related to need satisfaction and meaning in life indicators. Implications are discussed for future research.

Emotion regulation and self-control: Same same but different… and even incompatible?

We explore the idea that inhibitory self-control and prohedonic emotion regulation may be incompatible concerns. Specifically, we propose that because some forms of self-control involve denying oneself hedonic pleasures, it may lead to negative affect. Because people may then prioritize emotion regulation over self-control, negative affect may in turn lead to emotion regulation efforts, specifically the use of emotion regulation strategies, and an increased likelihood of self-control failure. To explore the relationship between emotion regulation and self-control in daily life, we conducted a secondary analysis of a 6-week, 6-signal-per-day ambulatory assessment data set (N = 125 participants with a total of 22,845 completed measurement occasions). Consistent with our predictions, we found that self-control efforts of resisting a pleasurable desire led to significantly increased subsequent negative affect, which, in turn, led to significantly increased emotion regulation efforts and to significantly more likely self-control failures. We found evidence for the notion that inhibitory self-control and prohedonic emotion regulation are, on average, somewhat incompatible concerns. We discuss our findings in the context of other phenomena in which emotion regulation concerns may conflict with the pursuit of other goals.

Comparison of Acceptance vs. Abstinence Self-Control Techniques Effects on Procrastination and Well-Being in Video-Gamers

<i>Activities that bring short-term pleasure, such as video gaming, have an ambiguous effect on long-term goal attainment. From one perspective, they are a source of positive affect, which helps people to overcome procrastination and finally initiate the planned task. However, these short-term pleasure activities may become the source of procrastination themselves, tempting people to engage in them beyond the intended timeframe. The present study attempts to resolve this conflict. It implies a novel “qualitative experiment” methodology in order to test a behavioral strategy; taking 10-minute breaks after each game round, which is aimed to help gamers control their desire to play beyond the self-imposed limit. Over the course of two weeks, participants who used this strategy (Strategy group) reported a similar decrease in procrastination tendencies compared to participants who totally abstained from video gaming (Abstinence group) and a larger decrease in procrastination compared to participants who played in their regular routine (Control group). In addition, the Strategy group reported a higher sense of emotional well-being than both the Abstinence and the Control ones. These results corroborate the effectiveness of the self-control model, oriented on the productive coexistence of hedonic pleasures and long-term goals.</i>

Correction of Dyduch-Hazar, K. and Gollwitzer, M. (2024). Feeling bad about feeling good? How avengers and observers evaluate the hedonic pleasure of taking revenge

Correction of Dyduch-Hazar, K. and Gollwitzer, M. (2024). Feeling bad about feeling good? How avengers and observers evaluate the hedonic pleasure of taking revenge

Feeling bad about feeling good? how avengers and observers evaluate the hedonic pleasure of taking revenge

Four pre-registered experiments (N total = 2,039) investigated how people morally evaluate avengers who experience hedonic pleasure (vs. displeasure) after taking revenge and whether avengers themselves pick up on these moral evaluations by third parties. Victims who took revenge were judged as more immoral than victims who did not take revenge, especially when they felt pleasure from doing so (Study 1). Conversely, participants anticipated that others would perceive them as more competent (but not less moral) when imagining them showing visible signs of pleasure (vs. displeasure) about taking revenge (Study 2). Furthermore, showing signs of pleasure from taking revenge was attributed to greater competence than showing signs of displeasure from taking revenge (Study 3). On the other hand, feeling good about revenge was attributed to lower morality than feeling bad about taking revenge (Study 4).

Black Transmission: Toward a Hieroglyph-Analysis

This meditation is an experimentation with Hortense Spiller’s concept of psychoanalytics. It considers the hieroglyph as a repetitive and enacted (but unrepresentable) force of historical trauma marking black bodies and passed between them generationally (much like the Lacanian object a). Reading the Lacanian pass and erotogenic zones as heuristic features of the hieroglyph, this meditation presents black nihilism as an analytic setting enabling the hieroglyph to speak its ineffable repetition, rather than just a repertoire of hedonistic pleasures and destructive behaviors as described in black optimism.

I can't handle my desires: Development and validation of a self-report measure of desire intolerance and associations with distress intolerance.

Desire intolerance is conceptualized as a motivational counterpoint to the transdiagnostic risk factor of distress intolerance and is defined as the inability or unwillingness to "sit with" the motivation to approach a rewarding object or task. The current work describes the development and validation of a novel measure of desire intolerance. After initial item development and exploratory factor analysis (Study 1) and confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2), the 10-item unidimensional Desire Intolerance Questionnaire (DIQ) was created. Desire intolerance was conceptually related to low self-control (Studies 1-4) and both approach and avoidance motivation (Studies 2, 4, 5) and was distinct from delay of gratification (Study 3). Greater desire intolerance was also associated with higher distress intolerance (Studies 4 and 5). In Study 4, we used qualitative coding to explore what people were thinking about when they considered their "desires." Findings revealed that higher desire intolerance was associated with thinking about desired long-term outcomes more than proximal short-term hedonic pleasures. Finally, Study 4 focused on unique and independent associations between desire and distress intolerance with psychopathology, and we found that both distress intolerance were associated with heightened psychological distress and borderline personality symptoms. Only distress intolerance was uniquely associated with uncontrolled eating and self-criticism, whereas only desire intolerance was uniquely associated with aggressive behavior and dichotomous thinking. The current research supports the DIQ as a psychometrically sound indicator of difficulties withstanding desires and allows for a better understanding of intolerance as a transdiagnostic clinical phenomena. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Reading in Uncertain Times

Reading in Uncertain Times

MOTIVATION OF LUXURY FASHION BRAND CONSUMPTION AMONG YOUNG SRI LANKAN CONSUMERS

Investigating the motivational elements that influence young Sri Lankan fashion customers’ desire to purchase from luxury fashion companies is the goal of this essay. In terms of three dimensions, this study characterized two key luxury reasons as internal and external. This takes into account, on the one hand, the value of self-identity and hedonic pleasure, which correspond to the consumption of high-end clothing as personal style, and prestige value, which refers to a social statement. The study also explores which incentive has a bigger impact on young Sri Lankans’ intention to purchase premium fashion brands. To reflect the suggested linkages among linked variables, a conceptual model was created. For the investigation, the convenience sampling approach was employed. at addition to using Google forms, mall agents delivered survey questionnaires for completion and return at high-end clothing stores. Young consumers between the ages of 18 and 30 make up the population of this study, and respondents who were shopping in Colombo were called in order to gather data. 138 of the 200 surveys were returned, and SPSS 16 was used to analyze the data. This study provides some insight into the reasoning behind fashion purchases and the luxury fashion consumption habits of young Sri Lankan consumers in particular. According to the study’s findings, the variable that describes external worth and has a higher significant value than the other two factors is prestige value. It has been discovered that external motivation has a greater influence on the intention to acquire luxury fashion brands than internal motivation, indicating that the young Sri Lankan was motivated by external factors to buy ostentatious luxury fashion labels.

Channeling of Brain Towards Engaging Sensorimotor Tasks for Inducing Hedonic Pleasure to Alleviate Blood Pressure in Hypertension.

Hypertension is a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is responsible for major deaths due to stroke and coronary heart disease. Several pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for reducing blood pressure have been tried earlier. Modulating brain regions such as prefrontal cortex (PFC) to channelize activities is an effective tool to target blood pressure. Prefrontal cortex (PFC) exerts inhibitory control over sympathoexcitatory circuits, which was explored using a novel reaction time paradigm. Thirty participants of both genders in the age group 40-70 years with established hypertension were included. A structured reaction time paradigm was designed to include psychomotor and visuomotor elements with integrated sensory attention and motor performance tasks. Blood pressure, Lead II ECG, and EEG from F3 and F4 were recorded. A paired t-test was used to examine the variations in these parameters across tasks. A significant reduction in mean arterial pressure by 4.04 mmHg (p = .0232) during the visuomotor task and a reduction of 3.38 mmHg during the auditory cue task (p = .0446) were observed. Analysis of the difference in heart rate has shown a profound decrease after passive listening tasks by 3.7 beats (p < .0001*). Spectral analysis from F3 and F4 shows high power in low-frequency zone of EEG indicating a relaxed state during auditory cues and passive listening. The reaction time paradigm, when applied to hypertensives, helped decrease blood pressure and heart rate and improved the high frequency (HF) component of heart rate variability, indicating parasympathetic dominance. Such reward-oriented paradigms may act as biofeedback modules that cause hyperactivity of the PFC to suppress the sympathoexcitatory circuit with increased parasympathetic activity beneficial to hypertensive individuals.

The Cocreation of Place Meaning at Small-Scale Elite Youth-Based Sport Event

The study uses Morgan's model of experience space as a framework for understanding the cocreation of place meaning at the 2017 Canadian Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics (2017 CCRG). The efforts of event organizers (experience managers and marketers) to shape place experiences at the event was considered in conjunction with the visitors' motivations and their interpretation of meanings inclusive of the social and cultural interactions at the event. Research methods included semistructured interviews and e-mail questionnaires. Five place-based themes emerged through categorical aggregation analysis: function, tourist activities, community, performance, and emotion. These findings demonstrated the relevance of the Morgan's model of experience space. However, modifications to the model were recommended. These include the combination of the achievement, hedonic pleasure and personal meanings components under the label of emotion, and the introduction of a new "performance" component. The 2017CCRG shaped place meaning for athletes, parents, and organizers.

Changes in students’ knowledge, values, worldview, and willingness to take mitigative climate action after attending a course on holistic climate change education

Though the need for holistic climate change education has been realized around the world, there is a lack of studies that examine the multidimensional impact of climate change education in higher education. To amend for this gap in literature, this paper uses a pre- and post-questionnaire (N = 245) to examine how students' knowledge, values, worldview and willingness to take mitigative climate actions change during a course on climate change. Though the course was designed to be multidisciplinary and holistic, the results show that the course had limited impact. First, the pre-post tests showed a significant increase in science knowledge, but knowledge on mitigative actions remained unchanged despite related course assignments. Second, though participants' worldview seemed to change or strengthen during the course, minimal changes were seen in students’ willingness to take mitigative actions. However, an increase in biospheric values -a strong predictor of pro-environmental behavior - was seen in some segments of participants, potentially predicting a lower carbon footprint for those students in the future. Furthermore, the findings suggest that during the course, individuals found new, environmentally friendly ways to address their hedonic pleasures, also potentially having long-term positive effects. Some differences in gender and field of study were noted. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to planning and implementing holistic climate change education.

Hedonic Pleasure, Cyber Dating, Live-In Relationship, and Social Acceptance Amongst IT Professionals

The purpose of this study is to examine the intricated relationships among hedonic pleasure, cyber dating, live-in relationships, and societal acceptance among professionals working in information technology sector in India. Data were collected from 269 millennials working in the IT sector of India via a survey questionnaire. Structure equation modeling was implied to analyze the collected data. According to the findings of the study, hedonic pleasure has a direct and significant effect on social acceptance, live-in relationships, and online dating of millennial employees. The indirect relationship demonstrates that cyber dating and live-in relationships can fully mediate hedonic pleasure and social acceptance. Employers, academicians, parents, and other stakeholders will benefit from the findings of this study in acknowledging the personal lifestyles of millennial employees towards social acceptance.

From Pure Aesthetics to Sensory Gratification: Shifting Paradigm of Aesthetic Pleasure in Indian Popular Campus Fiction

This paper explores the shifting paradigm of ‘aesthetic pleasure’ in the field of popular literature with an emergence of cultural studies in Literary Theory. It focuses on the concept of pleasure as a significant measure in analyzing the origin and development of Indian popular campus fiction as a distinct genre. It examines how the concept of ‘pleasure’ has shifted from a purely aesthetic appreciation of the values of truth, beauty and goodness to the contemporary aspects of hedonistic and somatic pleasures in the works of popular arts. The paper also sheds light on various theories, propounded by different cultural critics like Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse and Leo Lowenthal to analyze the ways the cultural industry has incorporated the values of enjoyment and entertainment into the aesthetic appreciation of pleasure, offering the emotional engagement of readers in these popular texts.

Musical Enjoyment and Reward: From Hedonic Pleasure to Eudaimonic Listening

This article is a hypothesis and theory paper. It elaborates on the possible relation between music as a stimulus and its possible effects, with a focus on the question of why listeners are experiencing pleasure and reward. Though it is tempting to seek for a causal relationship, this has proven to be elusive given the many intermediary variables that intervene between the actual impingement on the senses and the reactions/responses by the listener. A distinction can be made, however, between three elements: (i) an objective description of the acoustic features of the music and their possible role as elicitors; (ii) a description of the possible modulating factors—both external/exogenous and internal/endogenous ones; and (iii) a continuous and real-time description of the responses by the listener, both in terms of their psychological reactions and their physiological correlates. Music listening, in this broadened view, can be considered as a multivariate phenomenon of biological, psychological, and cultural factors that, together, shape the overall, full-fledged experience. In addition to an overview of the current and extant research on musical enjoyment and reward, we draw attention to some key methodological problems that still complicate a full description of the musical experience. We further elaborate on how listening may entail both adaptive and maladaptive ways of coping with the sounds, with the former allowing a gentle transition from mere hedonic pleasure to eudaimonic enjoyment.

Wanting, Liking, and Missing Out: Exploring the Role of Reward Functioning in the Overlap Between PTSD and Depression.

Diminished reward functioning (anhedonia) is an aspect of multiple psychiatric diagnoses and is a critical component of depression, yet it has rarely been examined in the context of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Deficits in reward function may be a transdiagnostic factor contributing to the high rate of comorbidity between PTSD and depression. The present study examined the commonality and distinction between PTSD and depression and their relationship to reward functioning using a bifactor model in a sample of 106 trauma-exposed undergraduates. Results indicated a strong commonality factor between PTSD and depression. Of three indices of reward functioning (i.e., hedonic pleasure, reward motivation, and environmental reward availability), environmental reward availability alone was related to unique latent factors for PTSD and depression, and their commonality. Findings suggest that environmental context may be the key to understanding the role of reward in PTSD, depression, and psychopathology broadly.

The portrayal of sex in online media as conflictive, feminized behavior far from hedonic pleasure

Sex is news. Sex is widely present in the media, from news pieces on abuse, pornography, and scandals to reports on hedonic practices and erotic tendencies. To investigate its portrayal in the media, we carried out a quantitative content analysis (n = 950) of the journalistic pieces in which sex appears, published in the Spanish online media eldiario.es, elpais.com, and abc.es during 2019. In addition, a distinction is made between three dimensions of sex: sex as a condition (“sex that one is”), sex as behavior (“sex that is done”), and sex as an attribute (“sex that one has”). The results of this study indicate that more than two-thirds of the analyzed news pieces address sex as a behavior with potential negative consequences. Likewise, the terminological analysis reveals the feminization of news about sex, especially with regard to sex as a condition. Consequently, the online press does not advance beyond the hegemonic image but is rather limited to disseminating stereotypes established in society and thereby contributes to maintaining and propagating sexophobic and erotophobic attitudes. This scenario suggests a lack of communication strategies to report on sex, with the exception of those incorporating the gender perspective. However, when understood based on a prism of power relations, this approach only intensifies the discourse against it. These findings underscore the need to rethink media narratives about sex and adopt other propositional approaches for framing sex as a value.

Are Long-Distance Walks Therapeutic? A Systematic Scoping Review of the Conceptualization of Long-Distance Walking and Its Relation to Mental Health.

Long-distance walking is an ancient activity practiced across cultures for many reasons, including the improvement of one’s health. It has even been suggested that long-distance walking may be considered a form of psychotherapy. This scoping review examined the relationship between long-distance walking and mental health among adults. Publication trends and definitions were also examined, and the reason why long-distance walking may have therapeutic effects was discussed. Systematic searches in three online databases were performed using a selection of long-distance walking terms. Both quantitative and qualitative studies were included if they examined associations between long-distance walking and mental health in an adult population. Mental health was conceptualized in broad terms, including descriptions of mental states as well as more specific measurements or notions of mental health. A total of 8557 records were screened and 26 studies were included, out of which 15 were quantitative, 9 were qualitative, and 2 were mixed. The findings showed that long-distance walking was positively related to mental health. This was most consistent with regard to emotional distress compared to somewhat inconsistent findings regarding well-being. Therefore, long-distance walking may be more appropriately used to counter some personal or emotional struggle rather than to achieve hedonic pleasure.

G-Donic Happiness: An Alternative to Hedonic and Eudemonic Happiness for Sustainable Consumption

This paper provides a spiritual perspective on happiness referred to as the G-donic approach to happiness which is fundamentally different from the hedonic and eudemonic approaches. The G-donic approach identifies the importance of the spiritual self and argues that it embodies the technology that converts physical resources into happiness. We argue that with G-donic preferences, it is possible to achieve a higher level of happiness with moderate consumption. The G-donic approach encourages living a virtuous life by fulfilling the biological, social, emotional, intellectual, moral, and spiritual needs in a balanced manner. It urges spiritual people to go beyond phenomenal reality to perceive transcendental reality in pursuit of authentic happiness. We use a multi-dimensional human nature model to highlight the relevance and importance of this approach, and modify standard utility models to show how it might result in higher happiness with lower consumption and compare and contrast it with outcomes under hedonic and eudemonic approaches to happiness. The G-donic approach contends that resources and spirituality are substitutes, as well as complements and that a reasonable approach to happiness should seek an optimal mix of both. Unlike popular convention, this deviation from hedonic pleasure due to lower consumption does not result in lower happiness. In fact, we show that, theoretically, it results in an overall increase in happiness as any loss in hedonic is compensated by greater eudemonic and G-donic rewards which increases utility.

스포츠 동아리에 참여하는 대학생들의 교우관계와 대학생활만족 및 심리적 행복감의 관계

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the relationships of companionship, school life satisfaction, and psychological happiness of 418 university students participating in school club sports activities.<BR> Method: Students participating in school club sport activities from 5 universities (Kyung-gi and Choong-chung areas) completed the questionnaire (n＝418). After identifying general characteristics using the frequency analysis, the exploratory factor, the correlation and multiple regression analyses followed. <BR> Results: First, all the companionship sub-factors (reciprocity, paidness, proximity, and status) significantly influenced interpersonal relationship, school life, and view of value factors of school life satisfaction. Secondly, all the companionship sub-factors partly influenced the hedonistic pleasure, confidence, self-realization, immersion factors of the psychological happiness variable. Finally, interpersonal relationships, school life, and view of value factors of school life satisfaction partly influenced hedonistic pleasure, confidence, self-realization, immersion factors of psychological happiness variable.<BR> Conclusion: The results from the current study confirm the positive influence of companionships and interactions among the university club sport participants on school life satisfaction and psychological happiness suggesting the importance of university club sports activities for the psychological well-being of students.