Isaac Prilleltensky

Community Well-Being Foundations

isaac@miami.eduwww.education.miami.edu/

isaac

WELL-BEINGPart I

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 paradoxColombians:

were they high on cocaine?Mexicans:

too much tequila?No! social support, family, and democracy!!!

Happiness paradoxObjective 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.

Model of Well-Being:Some positive and negative factors

Sites of Well-Being

Individual Relational Organizational Communal Environmental

Objective signs

+health- illness

+networks-isolation

+resources- lack of resources

-social capital-lack of trust

+clean air-pollution

Subjectivesigns

+efficacy-lack of control

+voice-repression

+support-isolation

+belonging-rejection

+safety-fear

Values as source and strategy

+autonomy-lack of power

+caring-neglect

+participation-marginality

+diversity-discrimination

+protection of resources-depletion of resources

Justice as source and strategy

My due/Our due

Your due/Our due

Its due/Our due Their due/Our due

Nature’s due/Our due

Personal well-being

Sense of control

CompetenceMeaning and

spirituality

My son Poor loser

Sir Michael Marmot and control over your life

Risk of Death by Employmentand Level of Control: 29,000 people, 30 years Marmot, Whitehall Studies

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Administrators Professionals Clerical Unskilled labor

Risk

of

deat

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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

My Social Support

Organizational Well-Being: A three legged stool

Effective

Supportive

Reflective

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 conditionsSocial capital Inequality

Social conditions: Nudging people to do the right thing

Conditions of Community Well-being

GiftsHospitalityAssociationFrom The Abundant Community (McKnight and

Block)

Social capital and community well-being

low med highhealth

welfareeducation

tolerancecrime

Louisiana MississippiGeorgiaFlorida

CaliforniaMissouriOhioColorado

DakotasVermontMinnesota

Male Life Expectancy by Inequality

64

66

68

70

72

74

76

78

GINI24.5

GINI31.5

GINI35.5

GINI 45USA W

GINI 45USAAA

Swed/JapAustraliaCanadaUSA WhiteUSA Afri. Amer.

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: 1. Overestimating the

importance of happiness for well-being, and

2. 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?

Income Matters for Well-Being

Education Matters

Is this really true?Well-Being

Genetics 50%

Social conditions 10%

Motivation 40%

Can the gene pool change in 25 years?

70

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Did Vodka get into the gene pool?

70

60

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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).

JUSTICEPart II

Justice and Well-Being

Process of making

decisions: The How of

Justice

Outcomes of decisions:

The What of Justice

Feelings, perceptions, cognitions

Material conditions,

external circumstances

Justice and Well-Being

Justice and Well-Being

Justice and Well-Being

Justice and Well-Being

Justice and Well-Being

Justice and Well-Being

Justice and Well-Being

Justice and Well-Being

Justice and Well-Being

PSYCHOSOCIAL PROCESSES

Part III

Well-being Continuum

Justice Continuum

Well-being Continuum

Psyc

hoso

cial

Proc

esse

s

Justice Continuum

•Promotion of Responsive Conditions•Prevention•Individual Pursuit•Avoidance of Comparisons

Thriving

Well-being Continuum

Psyc

hoso

cial

Proc

esse

s

Justice Continuum

Optimal Conditions of Justice

•Promotion of Responsive Conditions•Prevention•Individual Pursuit•Avoidance of Comparisons

•Resilience•Adaptation•Compensation•Downward Comparison

Thriving

Coping

Well-being Continuum

Psyc

hoso

cial

Proc

esse

s

Justice Continuum

Optimal Conditions of Justice

Suboptimal Conditions of Justice

•Promotion of Responsive Conditions•Prevention•Individual Pursuit•Avoidance of Comparisons

•Resilience•Adaptation•Compensation•Downward Comparison

•Critical Experience •Critical Consciousness•Critical Action•Righteous Comparison

Thriving

Coping

Confronting

Well-being Continuum

Psyc

hoso

cial

Proc

esse

s

Justice Continuum

Optimal Conditions of Justice

Suboptimal Conditions of Justice

Vulnerable Conditions of Injustice

•Promotion of Responsive Conditions•Prevention•Individual Pursuit•Avoidance of Comparisons

•Resilience•Adaptation•Compensation•Downward Comparison

•Critical Experience •Critical Consciousness•Critical Action•Righteous Comparison

•Oppression•Internalization•Helplessness•Upward Comparison

Thriving

Coping

Confronting Suffering

Well-being Continuum

Psyc

hoso

cial

Proc

esse

s

Justice Continuum

Optimal Conditions of Justice

Suboptimal Conditions of Justice

Vulnerable Conditions of Injustice

Persisting Conditions of Injustice

True or False58

Colombians are happier than MoldovansTR

UE

THANK YOU VERY MUCHisaac@miami.edu

www.education.miami.edu/isaac