Wellbeing and Psychological Health

Wellbeing is a multidimensional construct that may be summarized by a general sense of the degree to which people perceive they are satisfied with life and they are functioning well in most or all facets of their life.

As noted in this definition, wellbeing is a matter of degree, which can fluctuate. Psychologists and other scientists who study wellbeing offer a variety of definitions.

Several dimensions of wellbeing may be the focus of attention. Referring to a wholistic model of functioning that includes common psychological concepts like the SCOPES model, we may consider examples from the following dimensions where the six letters in SCOPES represent six areas of functioning commonly assessed in clinical psychology.

A WHOLISTIC MODEL of WELL-BEING

S SELF / SPIRITUALITY

  I am doing well.

  I am satisfied with my life.

  I can usually accomplish my goals.

  I feel a sense of peace.

  My life is meaningful.

C  COGNITION

  I can think clearly.

  My memory works well.

O  OBSERVABLE BEHAVIOR / PERSONALITY

  I adapt well to most situations.

  I am generally agreeable.

P PHYSIOLOGY /  HEALTH

  I am in general good health.

  My health does not interfere with my ability to enjoy life.

E  EMOTIONS / FEELINGS

  I feel good most of the time.

  I feel happy most of the time.

  I have a general positive outlook on life.

S  SOCIAL CONTEXT

  I get along well with most other people.

  I feel good about the way things are going in school or work.

  I have supportive relationships. 

  I have sufficient financial resources.

Assessment of Wellbeing

Measures of wellbeing have been used to assess the outcomes of psychotherapy. Click the links to learn more about each measure.

The Schwartz Outcome Scale is a general measure.

The Theistic Spiritual Outcome Scale includes spirituality for those associated with a theistic religion such as Christianity, Judaism, or Islam.

Researchers use both subjective and objective measures of wellbeing. Subjective measures rely on self-reported responses to surveys assessing several areas of wellbeing such as those in the SCOPES model.

Self

There are many measures of self-esteem and related factors like self-efficacy. A few examples:

   General Self-Efficacy Scale

   Lifespan Self-Esteem Scale

Cognition

Measures of intelligence, ability, and memory are usually administered by psychologists and offer a look at patterns of strength and weaknesses.

Personality or observable behavior patterns

Measures of personality factors include the Big Five and HEXACO.

Emotions

One measure of positive and negative emotions is PANAS. Clinicians may use other measures to assess problems of mood.

Spirituality

The SWB measures Spiritual Well-Being.

Social / relationships

Several measures assess the quality of relationships. Examples:

5 Love Languages

Parent-child relationship scale

Marital Satisfaction Scale

Objective measures may examine factors in a society likely to contribute to wellbeing like the rate of employment, wages, access to healthcare, greenspace and recreational areas, time off of school or work, and so forth.

Selective Wellbeing Research

In the United States, the CDC tracks wellbeing, which is related to the nation's health. Some recent findings are summarized at cdc.gov. Check their wellbeing page for updates. Note that different researchers may use different measures of wellbeing.

Personality: Traits of optimism, extroversion, and high self-esteem are linked to overall wellbeing.

Age: Younger and older adults have higher wellbeing than do middle-aged adults.

Relationships: Supportive relationships strongly predict level of wellbeing.

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Self-Psychology- Concepts and Principles

 

The psychological study of the self includes a wide range of concepts. This post lists the self-terms in alphabetical order.

I suggest starting with the SCOPES Model of Human Functioning in which the self is the central organizing concept.

Then, read about Self-Concept and Self-Identity

Click on the terms to see more information.

Note, in psychology, terms using the word self and another word are always hyphenated.

 

Self-acceptance

Self-awareness

Self-censorship

Self-deception strategies

Self-defeating prophecy

Self-determination theory

Self-efficacy

Self-enhancement motive

Self-esteem

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Self-handicapping

Self-knowledge

Self-monitoring

Self-perception theory

Self-presentation

Self-protection

Self-reference effect

Self-serving bias

 Related posts

Identity formation

 

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Find tests about the Self in this Psychology Test List.

 

 

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Self-Concept and Self-Identity

 

Who Am I?

SELF-CONCEPT

The concept, self-concept, has been used by psychologists to refer to a mental construct known as the self. The self or self-concept is our view of who we are, which is based upon the content of our memories about ourselves. The self-concept is not a total perspective on ourselves but rather a view that depends on information in our awareness. Some of the information about ourselves consists of private knowledge and other views are based on feedback from others in numerous social contexts throughout the time of our life. Thus, self-concept is both a personal mental construct and a social construct.

Self-concept is both a personal and a social construct.

   Self-concept begins to develop before children have speech as evident from studies of children responding to themselves in mirrors. They retain an image of themselves. Our self-image is part of our self-concept.

   As in the SCOPES model where the first S represents the self, the self, or self-concept, is a mental construct that organizes information about ourselves and draws on information from the remaining four personal dimensions represented as COPE (Cognitions, Observable behavior patterns, Physiology, Emotions) all within a social context, the final S.

Self-concept, Sutton, G. W. 2023

SELF-IDENTITY

   Self-identity is like a role we enact as part of a social group. Self-identity is who we are (self-concept) in a social context. Our roles include such common identity-creating experiences as student, worker, lover, parent, child, and so forth. The social context where we live out these roles demands we act in certain ways. By way of these demands or expectations, social groups shape our identity within the group and thereby influence our self-concept. Thus, schools, religious and social organizations, businesses, political groups, friendship groups, couple dyads, and families influence our multiple identities. Note that some writers appear to use the terms self-concept and self-identity interchangeably. I take the view that self-identities are components of one's self-concept.

Self-identity, Sutton, G. W. 2023

   Self-identities exist in a network and vary in degree of saliency in response to a social context. A psychologist providing psychotherapy may get word that their child has been taken to a hospital. The startling event makes the parent role salient and temporarily sets aside the career identity.

Most people are religious or spiritual. For many, their spirituality is a highly important aspect of who they are. Thus, we see people clarifying their religious or spiritual identity on social media sites. They proclaim the beliefs and values of their religious group and sometimes challenge the beliefs and values of those who would discredit their faith. In the process, we learn the importance of their spiritual identity.

   Race and ethnic identities are also very important to functioning in many cultures. Skin color, clothing, physical appearance, language and accent are some of the ways society identifies people as part of a particular group labeled as a race or ethnicity. In some contexts, laws, policies, and finances are tied to being a member of an identified racial or ethnic group, which draws attention to those who are in one group and those who are not.

   Gender Identity is a recent topic with an expanding literature. The terminology has changed rapidly as scientists and clinicians listened to people's experiences about ways to understand gender identity and how people with different gender identities interact with others, which includes sexual orientation.

   Identity theory considers how groups and people interact in a dynamic way shaping the self and the group. An example of this interaction can be seen in the interaction of political and religious identities influencing morality (e.g., see Sutton et al., 2019).

SELF-EFFICACY

Self-efficacy is the perception that a person can act in a way to achieve a desired goal. In 1977, Albert Bandura of Stanford University wrote an extensive article on the theory of self-efficacy. He proposed that our perceptions of self-efficacy come from four sources: “performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological states (191).” Click to read more on Self-Efficacy.

BOOKS BY ALBERT BANDURA ON SELF-EFFICACY & RELATED CONCEPTS

SELF-ESTEEM

Self-esteem is the value people place on themselves. We learn our value in various social contexts. We are better at somethings and not other things. Self-esteem appears to influence performance in various life tasks. There are several measures of self-esteem--see links below.

SELF-AWARENESS

Our awareness of various dimensions of ourselves. The focus of our awareness varies throughout a day. When focused on some activity, we ignore other aspects of our functioning. For example, some of us can ignore pain when we are busily engaged in the pursuit of some goal.

Notes

Note that psychological scientists have not been consistent in the way they use terms like self and self-concept. This lack of consistency is why I recommend thinking of the self and self-concept as equivalent. In addition, the terms self and self-concept have been criticized for being vague or as philosophers say, they are “fuzzy concepts.” Moreover, some clinicians see people as having multiple self-concepts, which may be akin to experiences of people presenting as if they have multiple personalities or, functioning in dissociative states. Regardless of the disagreements, there is a large body of research about self-concepts and related terms and some evidence indicates that aspects of our self-concepts influence behavior.

To learn more about self-concept and self-identity, see the review by Oyserman et al. (2012). Also, see many of the books and articles by Roy F. Baumeister and his colleagues.

References

Oyserman, D. & Elmore, K. & Smith, G. (2012) Self, self-concept, and

identity. J. Tangney and M. Leary (Eds). The Handbook of Self and Identity, 2nd

Edition, pp 69-104, New York, NY: Guilford Press.

 

Sutton, G. W., Kelly, H. L., & Huver, M. (2019). Political identities, religious identity, and the pattern of moral foundations among conservative Christians. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 48, pp. 169-187. Online October 16, 2019. Issue published September 1, 2020. ResearchGate Link     Academia Link

 

Related Concept Posts

 

Self-concept, Identity, and Politics

 

Self-Efficacy

 

SCOPES model

 

Related Scales and Questionnaires

 

Personal Self-Concept Questionnaire

Academic Self-Efficacy Scale for Students

Academic Self-Efficacy Scale

New General Self-Efficacy Scale

Gender-Identity-Dysphoria Questionnaire

Racism Scale

Ambivalent Sexism Inventory

Measuring Spiritual Beliefs

Measuring Spiritual Practices

Measuring Religious Fundamentalism

 

 

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Psychology of "triggers"

In psychology, triggers are events that elicit a response. Clinicians often focus on helping people recognize triggers or events that appear to produce a distressing response as if they had stepped on a mine that triggered an explosion.

People, places, films, songs, smells, words, and many other stimuli can trigger a response or a chain of responses. Some trigger-response pairs are innate like cringing in response to loud noises. But the relatively benign triggers may come to elicit extreme responses following traumatic experiences. For example, my mother was trapped under the stairs when a bomb exploded near our house. She remained hyper-reactive to fireworks, thunder, and gun shots throughout her life.

Although the concept of triggers is often associated with recognizing and coping with events that are upsetting. A different perspective would be to view triggers as those stimuli that routinely elicit a response or chain of responses. In high school, a few of us knew what questions to ask to get a particular teacher off topic, which we often did just to make class more interesting.

A variety of events can elicit pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant reactions. And, the same event may affect different people in different ways. A beach scene with ocean waves may trigger pleasant memories, a smile, and good feelings in some, but remind others of some horrible event. In fact, depending on context, the same stimulus may be perceived as pleasant in one context but obnoxious in another. Certain words are accepted as pleasant teasing from a friend but may trigger anger when coming from a stranger.

Powerful triggers can affect many aspects of our core self. Using the SCOPES model, we can think of a hypothetical response set of a person who survived a mass shooting in church.

Potential triggers could be someone who looked like the shooter, the sounds of gun shots, people who look like those who did not survive, news stories or movies of similar events, and churches.

SCOPES	Hypothetical responses to a trigger of surviving a mass shooting in church
Spiritual	Cry for help. Anger with God.
Cognition	Recurrent images of the horrid event
Overt Behavior	Tensing muscles, closing eyes as if to avoid the image
Physical	Increased heart rate
Emotion	Fear, anger
Social context	Response worsens in church setting

Psychotherapists have helped people recognize triggers of distressing responses and reduce the impact.

Developing life enhancing characteristics may help "trigger" positive rather than negative responses.

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Self-Forgiveness

In psychology, self-forgiveness is an intrapersonal process of reducing internal distress associated with a person’s perceived violation of a moral standard. Unlike interpersonal forgiveness, which focuses on forgiving an external offender, self-forgiveness is an intrapersonal process in cases where people offend themselves. The moral violations may be actions harming oneself or another person or the failure to engage in an act, which resulted in harm to oneself or someone else.

In his dissertation, Brandon Griffin studied a dual-process model of self-forgiveness, which was supported by two factors measuring relevant aspects of cognition and emotion. Specifically, the model and the associated Two-factor Self-Forgiveness Scale, measured 1. Decisional Affirmation of Values(DAV) and 2. Emotional Restoration of Esteem (ERE).

Impact of Self-Offenses

The impact of the perceived moral violation may be felt across the usual spectrum of human functioning (for a six-dimension model, see SCOPES).

Self-Identity- A person’s sense of self can suffer as a result of a significant harmful act. Self-identity includes many components such as one’s social roles as well as linked beliefs, emotions, personality traits, and health. When a person’s self-identity includes a moral standard associated with religion or spirituality, a person may feel they have offended God and committed a sin. Identities can also be associated with social roles like a profession or family role. These roles can be impacted by certain personal acts—including loss of job and family relationships.

Cognition- Thoughts of self-condemnation can worsen a person’s mental state via rumination. Mental images of the offensive action can also cause ongoing distress.

Observable behavior patterns/personality- The impact of an interpersonal offense can result in avoiding the offender. Although it is a stretch of the avoidance concept to think of avoiding oneself, people can avoid places, people (e.g., victims, others present during the offense), and objects (e.g., movies, items) that remind them of the offense.

Physiology-We may expect biological effects in cases where an offense is experienced as significantly stressful. Psychosocial stressors are known to negatively affect general health and mental health (For a meta-analysis, see Davis et al., 2015).

Emotions-Common negative feelings linked to unforgiveness of oneself include anger, guilt, anxiety, sadness, and shame.

Social context-People may experience distress over their actions in different ways based on time and space contexts. What was acceptable behavior 40 years ago in the context of war or employment may no longer be acceptable. In addition, people may change their moral standards and view past behavior differently.

Self-Forgiveness and Recovery

Researchers who have studied interpersonal forgiveness have also applied treatment models to self-forgiveness with some modifications. For example, Ev Worthington has adapted the evidence-based REACH model of interpersonal forgiveness to self-forgiveness (Aten, 2019).

For a recent review of The Psychology of Self-Forgiveness see Woodyatt and Wenzel, 2020.

Learn More About Forgiveness

Books and Reviews on Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Psychology of Forgiveness

Two-factor Self-Forgiveness Scale

References

Davis, D. E., Ho, M. Y., Griffin, B. J., Bell, C., Hook, J. N., Van Tongeren, D. R., DeBlaere, C., Worthington, E. L., Jr., & Westbrook, C. J. (2015). Forgiving the self and physical and mental health correlates: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(2), 329–335. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000063

Griffin, B. J. (2016). Development of a two-factor self-forgiveness scale.  [Doctoral Dissertation, Virginia Commonwealth University]. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/4670/?utm_source=scholarscompass.vcu.edu%2Fetd%2F4670&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages 

Woodyatt, L., & Wenzel, M. (2020). The psychology of self-forgiveness. In E.L. Worthington Jr. (Ed.). Handbook of forgiveness: Second edition. New York: Routledge.

General audience publication on Self Forgiveness

Moving Forward by Ev Worthington Available on AMAZON

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