The processes through which Affect infuses judgements of subjective well-being

This thesis clarifies the processing routes through which Affect can influence global subjective well-being, and reveals that the strength of these processing routes is moderated by dispositional factors. This has important implications that furthers understanding in the field of subjective well-being. The portfolio focuses on the client characteristics that are indicated to be influential upon the effectiveness, and thus the suitability of cognitive behavioural therapy. Four case studies are presented which illustrate how the suitability of CBT can be influenced by client factors.

Motivational processes associated with unhealthy body change attitudes and behaviours

Objective
The relationship between approach–avoidance motivational processes and unhealthy body change attitudes and behaviours was investigated.
Method
Self-reported sensitivity to rewards (SR) and sensitivity to punishments (SP) were measured for a convenience sample of 130 women, aged 18 to 40 years, along with measures of disordered eating symptomatology and exercise dependence.
Results
Together, SR and SP significantly predicted variance in drive for thinness (21%), bulimia (17%), and obligatory exercise (7%). These relationships were partly mediated by internalization of the thin ideal, body comparison, and subjective importance of achieving one's ‘ideal’ body and of avoiding one's ‘worst possible’ body. Interestingly, body dissatisfaction partly mediated the relationships involving SP but not SR.
Discussion
The results suggest that an underlying sensitivity to punishments, but not rewards, can manifest as a ‘fear of fatness’. Both of these motivational traits can increase the salience of self evaluations, and thus indirectly contribute to unhealthy body change attitudes and behaviours.

Health satisfaction and perceived control : investigating subjective wellbeing homeostasis

Through an investigation of relationships between subjective wellbeing, health satisfaction and perceived control, the thesis contributes to a greater understanding of the psychological adaptation processes of individuals experiencing back pain. Risk factors to subjective wellbeing are also identified, thus presenting opportunities to provide assistance before the onset of psychopathology.

Rebound or resignation: developing a predictive model of return to subjective wellbeing set-point

Though subjective wellbeing (SWB) is generally stable and consistent over time, it can fall below its set-point in response to adverse life events. However, deviations from set-point levels are usually only temporary, as homeostatic processes operate to return SWB to its normal state. Given that income and close interpersonal relationships have been proposed as powerful external resources that are coincident with higher SWB, access to these resources may be an important predictor of whether or not a person is likely to recover their SWB following a departure from their set-point. Under the guiding framework of SWB Homeostasis Theory, this study considers whether access to a higher income and a committed partner can predict whether people who score lower than normal for SWB at baseline will return to normal set-point levels of SWB (rebound) or remain below the normal range (resigned) at follow-up. Participants were 733 people (53.3 % female) from the Australian Unity Longitudinal Wellbeing Study who ranged in age from 20 to 92 years (M = 59.65 years; SD = 13.15). Logistic regression analyses revealed that participants’ demographic characteristics were poor predictors of whether they rebounded or resigned. Consistent with homeostasis theory, the extent of departure from the proposed normal SWB set-point at baseline was significantly associated with rebound or resignation at time 2. These findings have implications for the way that SWB measures can be used in professional practice to identify people who are particularly vulnerable to depression and to guide the provision of appropriate and effective therapeutic interventions.