Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

10-2023

Abstract

Contentment is a positive emotion characterized by perceived goal attainment, a sense of having or being enough, and a focus on the present. Research on this new construct is thin, and no studies have examined its cognitive properties, particularly whether it facilitates or impairs controlled cognitive processes. We hypothesize that contentment positively predicts working memory. We found support for this hypothesis in two experimental studies (Studies 1 and 2) which showed that induced contentment improved working memory in the operation span task, and in one non-experimental study (Study 3) which showed that measured contentment positively correlated with working memory on the backward digit span task. In addition, induced amusement (Study 1) and hope (Study 2) did not affect working memory, and measured happiness did not correlate with working memory (Study 3), supporting the uniqueness of contentment as a predictor of greater working memory. We discuss the implications that the combined characteristics of contentment, including perceptions of goal attainment and being low in arousal and approach, and its associations with relevant constructs of negative affectivity and mindfulness, could enable it to be uniquely predictive of better working memory.

Keywords

Contentment, working memory, positive emotions, executive functions

Discipline

Applied Behavior Analysis | Industrial and Organizational Psychology | Social Psychology

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

Current Psychology

Volume

42

First Page

26243

Last Page

26258

ISSN

1046-1310

Identifier

10.1007/s12144-022-03714-7

Publisher

Springer

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03714-7

Download

Share

COinS