Subjective measures of people’s hedonic experiences

1. Subjective measures of people’s hedonic experiences Arthur A. Stone Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY USA Collaborators: D. Kahneman, Princeton; A. Krueger, Princeton; D. Schkade, UCSD; N. Schwarz, Michigan Disclosures: AAS is a Senior Scientist with the Gallup Organization and Senior Consultant with PRO Consulting, inc.

2. Overview • Hedonic measures of Well-being • Conceptual position on affect measurement • Methods: Immediate Sampling of Affect • Methods: End-of-Day • Methods: Yesterday • Methods: Day Reconstruction Method • Focus on question: Is Affect different than Life Satisfaction? • Summary

3. Hedonic Measures of Well-being • What domain of content are we talking about? • Unlike Global measures or Life Satisfaction, which are evaluative tasks, we are discussing feelings. • These are immediate states that individuals have direct access to. • Examples are: • Happy, enjoyment, elation • Sad, blue, depressed • Angry, irritable • Essential differences between Global and Hedonic W-B • Capture difference content • Global is a person characteristic, which may change over time • Affect (hedonic) is rapidly changing and is reactive to situations as well as person • Therefore, there is potential of understanding environmental determinants of hedonic WB

4. Hedonic Measures of Well-being • There is a rich history of the study and classification of emotions • Structure of emotions • Positive-Negative (Watson) • Affect Balance (Bradburn) • U-Index is an example • Circumplex model (Russell) • Well-being position • “Experienced Utility” versus “Remembered Utility”

5. Conceptual Position Regarding Measurement • Emotions are stored in Experiential Memory • Stored-lived, fleeting • Memories of emotions are stored in Episodic Memory • Beliefs are stored in Semantic Memory • As Recall Period increases, a shift from Experiential/Episodic to Semantic • Robinson & Clore’s work on reaction time

6. Conceptual Position Regarding Measurement • Cognitive Heuristics impact recollection • Rules of Thumb, but out of awareness • Peak-end • Current levels • As a proxy for recall period • As altering accessibility to past memories • Variability • Duration neglect • These issues are recognized by survey research world and by regulatory agencies • Bradburn’s influential 1987 Science article on autobiographical memory in surveys

7. Conceptual Position Regarding Measurement • Concept: Ecological Validity • Situations need to be representatively sampled from the relevant universe of situations • Bias can be introduced into measurement Egon Brunswik

8. Conceptual Position Regarding Measurement • Procedures to avoid bias due to recall • Limit recall period • Reconstruction of recall period • More precise questions about sought after information • Limit queries to information that can be recalled • e.g., salient events may be possible to recall • e.g.., difficulty with highly fluctuating states • Implications for Survey Research • If only short periods are reasonable, how can surveys incorporate such assessments • Ideally, several End-of-Day reports per person • What do single, short-term assessments mean? • Are they of any value? • Are they reasonable for characterizing groups? • What Ns are needed in single assessment surveys?

9. Methodologies for Assessing Hedonic W-BReal-time Data Capture • Capturing Real-time Experience • Experience Sampling Method (ESM) • Csiksezentmahalyi • Paper-and-pencil • Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) • Context of medical research • Generalization of ESM to sampling other modalities • EMA assesses phenomena at the moment they occur • EMA is dependent upon careful timing of assessments • EMA methods usually, but not always, involve a substantial number of repeated observations • EMA measurements are made in the environments that subjects typically inhabit

10. Methodologies for Assessing Hedonic W-BReal-time Data Capture • Develop real-time daily sampling scheme • Random – with preprogrammed signals • Stratified random • Event-driven • Data collection mode • Paper-and-pencil • Electronic diaries • Questions about experience just before signal • Results • Issues with paper-and-pencil • Compliance at least 90% with electronic diaries • Pharmaceutical industry vendors • Stone, A. A., Shiffman, S., Atienza, A., & Nebling, L. (Eds.). (2007). The science of real-time data capture: Self-reports in health research. New Yrok: Oxford Univeristy Press.

11. Methodologies for Assessing Hedonic W-BReal-time Data Capture • PROs • No recall bias – tapping experiences • Mood can be associated with environmental qualities • Can capture diurnal rhythms • CONs • Point estimates • Sampling framework • Can miss important events • Burdensome/expensive • Modifications • Near-real time: Small retrospective periods (minutes/hours) to increase coverage of day

12. Methodologies for Assessing Hedonic W-BEnd-of Day Diaries • EOD diaries are the oldest method for capturing near real-time data • Require recall for up to 24 hours • Little evidence that major bias due to most heuristics • Mode of Administration (applies to following methods) • Paper-and-pencil • “Parking Lot” compliance • Forward-filling • Electronic diary • Time-date stamp • Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) • Few visual cues • Internet • Household availability of internet access

13. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingEnd-of Day Diaries • Assessment Method • Typically mood adjectives from Circumplex • E.g., Nowlis Mood Adjective Checklist • Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) • Format #1: Did the adjective: • 3= Definitely applied to today’s mood • 2= Slightly applied to today’s mood • 1= Did not apply to today’s mood • Format #2: “To what extent did you experience this affect during the day?” • 0=None 2=Slightly 4=Moderately 6=Extremely

14. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingEnd-of Day Diaries • PROs • Rapid assessment of day’s mood • Allows for extended length studies • Low participant burden • Relatively inexpensive • CONs • Possible recall bias over day • Poor resolution of day • Diurnal rhythms • False PA—NA association • Compliance issues with some Modes-of-Administration

15. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingEnd-of Day Diaries • National Study of Daily Experience • Part of MIDUS survey (Almeida) • 1,031 respondents; 8 consecutive brief telephone interviews • Daily NA: Worthless; Hopeless; Nervous; Restless; Fidgety • Daily PA: Cheerful; In Good Spirits; Extremely Happy; Calm and Peaceful; Satisfied; Full of Life

16. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingRecall of Yesterday • Ask person to report affect about yesterday • Advantage: Can be administered anytime during day • Advantage: Covers the entire day • Disadvantage: Longer recall period • Gallup Organization Daily Survey • Since 2 January 2008, 1,000 RDD interviews per day • Several questions about Yesterday • Did you experience the following feelings during A LOT OF THE DAY yesterday? How about __________? NO/YES • Enjoyment, Sadness, Stressed, Worried • Data presented is of 337,000 interviews conducted in 2008

17. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingRecall of Yesterday

18. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingRecall of Yesterday

19. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingRecall of Yesterday • PROs • Very brief assessment • Low participant burden • Low cost • CONs • Longer recall period • Current affect may impact recall • Low resolution regarding the day

20. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingDay Reconstruction Method (DRM) • Beyond EOD diaries by incorporating reconstruction of recall period • Intention was to develop a method that could reproduce ESM/EMA from the perspective of yesterday • Rationale: Reconstruction of day via time-use • Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B., Schkade, D. A., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2004). A survey method for characterizing daily life experience: the day reconstruction method. Science, 306(5702), 1776-1780

21. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingDay Reconstruction Method (DRM) • Texas; Columbus, OH and Rennes, France N ≈ 800-900; samples of women age 18+ initially. • Respondents were given 3 envelopes, which were opened sequentially. Each envelope contained a questionnaire. The questionnaires were labeled “Packets” 1-3 • Packet 1 contained standard life satisfaction questions and some demographics. • Packet 2 asked respondents to segment the preceding day (a work day) into episodes, like scenes in a movie (mean = 15 episodes); didn’t collect diaries from them at the end. • Packet 3 asked detailed questions about the setting of each episode and about their feelings (shown next)

22. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingDay Reconstruction Method (DRM)

23. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingDay Reconstruction Method (DRM)

24. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingDay Reconstruction Method (DRM) U-Index (Undesirable or Unpleasant) DEFINITION: Max (Negative Feelings) > Max (Positive Feelings) Yields: Most intense feeling is negative Justification: Most episodes of people’s days are pleasant. Any dominant negative emotion colors the episode.

25. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingDay Reconstruction Method (DRM) • U-Index • Ordinal measure at level of feelings • Overcomes some aspects of cultural reporting and personal use of scales • Can tailor emotions (e.g., pain and enjoyment) for particular problem of interest • Gets at a feature of society’s well-being • Gov’t may care about reducing misery – analogy is poverty rate • Interpretable metric

26. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingDay Reconstruction Method (DRM)

27. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingDay Reconstruction Method (DRM)

28. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingDay Reconstruction Method (DRM) • The case of Income and Happiness • Long history of income being associated with happiness • DRM study included Life Satisfaction and Happiness (affect) • Additional real-time (EMA) results from NYC Workplace Study showed no association between Happy mood and Income

29. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingPrinceton Affect & Time Use Survey (PATS) • 24-hour time diary, beginning at 4:00 AM the day before the interview (yesterday) and ending at 4:00 AM on the day of the interview (today) • Collect all activities engaged in during the day with ATUS instrument • Princeton Module: Randomly select 3 awake episodes in proportion to duration (without replacement) and ask questions about feelings after complete time diary • Random digit dialing • Gallup Interviewed 3,982 random sample (resp. rate=37%) and 2,000 retired people (resp. rate =59%) from May 4 to August 21, 2006 for PATS.

30. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingPrinceton Affect & Time Use Survey (PATS) Random Selection of 3 Episodes without Replacement Now we want to go back and ask you some additional questions about 3 of the episodes you mentioned earlier. We are asking these questions to get a sense of how people felt during the day yesterday. The computer has randomly selected 3 episodes that we will ask about. As before, whatever you tell us will be kept confidential. First, from Starttime to Stoptime, you mentioned you were activity yesterday. We’d like to know how you felt during this particular episode. Please use a scale from 0 to 6 for all of the remaining questions, where a 0 means you did not experience this feeling at all and a 6 means the feeling was very strong. HappyFrom 0 – 6, How happy did you feel during this time? TiredFrom 0 – 6, How tired did you feel during this time? StressedFrom 0 – 6, How stressed did you feel during this time? SadFrom 0 – 6, How sad did you feel during this time? InterestedFrom 0 – 6, How interested did you feel during this time? PainFrom 0 – 6, How much pain did you feel during this time, if any? Note: Randomly varied order of emotions. If happy or interested is first, their ratings are higher; if pain, tired or stressed is first, their ratings are lower.

31. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingPrinceton Affect & Time Use Survey (PATS)

32. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingPrinceton Affect & Time Use Survey (PATS) • Does DRM method faithfully reproduce EMA? • Small scale study (n=168) comparing PATS with EMA • Three days of 6 EMA random reports • Following day telephone interview about the day

33. Methods for Assessing Hedonic Well-beingPrinceton Affect & Time Use Survey (PATS) • PROs • Relatively rapid assessment of emotions • Sampling of episodes is possible • Associated with time-usage • Multiple modes of administration • CONs • Technologically sophisticated • Skilled interviewers necessary • Costly

34. Concluding Thoughts • The Hedonic view of Well-being is distinct from Life Satisfaction • There is a rich history of affective assessment • My position is that affective assessment is best approached with relatively brief recall periods • Real-time, End-of-Day, Yesterday, and Day Reconstruction techniques have been developed • With caveats, hedonic assessments are possible in large-scale surveys