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When What One has is Enough: Mindfulness, Financial Desire Discrepancy, and Subjective Well-Being
Journal of Research in Personality
Short Title: J Res Pers.
Format: Journal Article
Publication Date: Nov 30, 2008
Pages: 727 - 736
Sources ID: 113836
Visibility: Public (group default)
Abstract: (Show)
Research has associated financial desire discrepancies (the gap between current and desired states) with poorer subjective well-being (SWB). Because acquiring more wealth appears ineffective in decreasing financial desire discrepancies, we examined whether a theoretically meaningful psychological factor, termed mindfulness, would close the aspiration gap by ‘‘wanting what one has,” and thereby enhance SWB. Study 1 revealed that mindfulness was associated with a smaller financial desire discrepancy, which helped explain a positive association between mindfulness and SWB in undergraduates. Two fur- ther studies with working adults showed that these results occurred independently of financial status and changes therein. A final, quasi-experimental study with mindfulness trainees extended these find- ings. Reasons why mindfulness may help to promote the perception of having ‘‘enough” are discussed.