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Isaac Prilleltensky. Community Well-Being Foundations isaac@miami.edu www.education.miami.edu/isaac. Part I. WELL-BEING. Colombians in the 90s. Highest level of life satisfaction in the world Highest rate of murders per capita in the world Highest number of kidnappings in the world
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Isaac Prilleltensky Community Well-Being Foundations isaac@miami.edu www.education.miami.edu/isaac
Part I WELL-BEING
Colombians in the 90s • Highest level of life satisfaction in the world • Highest rate of murders per capita in the world • Highest number of kidnappings in the world • Highest levels of random violence
Mexicans in 2000s • Highest level of life satisfaction in the world • Random violence • Drug related killings • Corruption
Happiness paradox • Colombians: • were they high on cocaine? • Mexicans: • too much tequila? No! social support, family, and democracy!!!
Happiness paradox • Objective and subjective assessments don’t always go together, • But, both are important
Colombia Moldova
Definition of well-being • Well-being is a positive state of affairs in individuals, relationships, organizations, communities, and the natural environment, brought about by the simultaneous and balanced satisfaction of objective and subjective needs, which are, in turn, conditioned by different values and types of justice.
Personal well-being My son Poor loser Sense of control Competence Meaning and spirituality
Risk of Death by Employmentand Level of Control: 29,000 people, 30 years Marmot, Whitehall Studies Risk of death
Effects of social support • Less likely to have heart attacks • More likely to resist common cold virus • Lower mortality • Less degree of stress • More positive outlook on life • Resilience
Organizational Well-Being: A three legged stool Reflective Supportive Effective
Investing in occupational well-being • Unemployment leads to disease and depression • Disengagement also leads to disease and depression • As engagement increases, cholesterol and triglycerides go down • Your boss can be the best doctor or the worst killer • Worst manager is the one who does not pay attention • If your manager focuses on your strengths, the chances of your being disengaged is just 1%
“workplaces with engaged employees, on average, do a better job of keeping employees, satisfying customers, and being financially productive and profitable. Workplace well-being and performance are not independent. Rather, they are complementary and dependent components of a financially and psychologically healthy workplace” (Harter, Schmidt & Keyes, 2003, p. 221)
Community Well-being • Social conditions • Social capital • Inequality
Conditions of Community Well-being • Gifts • Hospitality • Association From The Abundant Community (McKnight and Block)
Social capital and community well-being Louisiana Mississippi Georgia Florida California Missouri Ohio Colorado Dakotas Vermont Minnesota
Where is Psychology in all of this? • In The Idea of Justice (2009), Sen asked: • “How adequate is the perspective of happiness in judging a person’s well-being?”(p. 270)
Where is Psychology in all of this? • Sen continues…. • “We could err either through not being fair to the importance of happiness, or through overestimating its importance in judging the well-being of people, or being blind to the limitations of making happiness the main – or only – basis of assessment of social justice or social welfare” (Sen, 2009, p. 270).
Where is psychology in all of this? • Psychology is likely to err on two counts: • Overestimating the importance of happiness for well-being, and • Underestimating the importance of justice in well-being
Seligman’s Authentic Happiness (2002, pp. 61) • “If you want to lastingly raise your level of happiness by changing the external circumstances of your life, you should do the following: • Live in wealthy democracy, not in an impoverished dictatorship • Get married • Avoid negative events and negative emotion • Acquire a rich social network • Get religion”
Seligman’s Authentic Happiness (2002, pp. 61) • “As far as happiness and life satisfaction are concerned, however, you needn’t bother to do the following • Make more money • Stay healthy • Get as much education as possible (no effect) • Change your race or move to a sunnier climate (no effect)”
Seligman concludes…. • “Even if you could alter all of these external circumstances, it would not do much for you, since together they probably account for no more than between 8 and 15 percent of the variance in happiness” (Authentic Happiness, 2002, p. 61). • Really?
Can the gene pool change in 25 years? 70 65 30 0 Denmark Percentage very satisfied with life Belgium 1973 1998
Did Vodka get into the gene pool? 70 60 50 40 30 Russia Mean of people happy and satisfied with life 1981 1995
Context Minimization Error “Tendency to ignore the impact of enduring neighborhood and community contexts on human behavior. The error has adverse consequences for understanding psychological processes and efforts at social change” (Shinn and Toohey, 2003, p. 428).
Part II JUSTICE
Justice and Well-Being Feelings, perceptions, cognitions Material conditions, external circumstances Outcomes of decisions: The What of Justice Process of making decisions: The How of Justice
