This study, based on the theory of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy which is the third wave of the Positive Psychology emphasizing human’s positive perspective and the Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, suggests a measure of enhancing satisfaction with li...
This study, based on the theory of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy which is the third wave of the Positive Psychology emphasizing human’s positive perspective and the Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, suggests a measure of enhancing satisfaction with life and psychological health of regular adults by examining the relationship of positive thoughts, satisfaction with life, acceptance, and cognitive defusion. This study specifically concentrates on analyzing the correlation of positive thoughts, satisfaction with life, acceptance, and cognitive defusion and on investigating the mediating effect of acceptance and cognitive defusion in relationship between positive thoughts and satisfaction with life.
A survey including self report type questions from the Korean Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Positive, Korean Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II, Experience Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and demographic characteristic questions was given to 310 regular adults of mixed gender living in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do Province. Using SPSS 21.0, the questionnaire implemented descriptive statistic analysis, correlation analysis, and Baron and Kenny’s Three-step mediated regression analysis. The results of this study are as follows:
Firstly, the correlation of positive thoughts, satisfaction with life, acceptance, and cognitive defusion illustrated statistically significant positive correlations between all factors including positive thoughts and satisfaction with life, acceptance and satisfaction with life, and cognitive defusion and satisfaction with life.
Secondly, it was proved that acceptance has partial mediating effect in the relationship between positive thoughts and satisfaction with life. This means if an individual possesses high positive thoughts that positively evaluate and interpret the life events with positive cognitive schema, positive thoughts affect satisfaction with life not only directly but also indirectly through a mediator called acceptance.
Moreover, examination of the mediating effect of acceptance in the relationship between satisfaction with life and each of the four sub factors of positive thoughts, which are positive daily functioning, positive self-evaluation, others evaluations of self, and positive future expectations, showed that each of them has partial mediating effects in the relationships with satisfaction with life.
Thirdly, the mediating effect of cognitive defusion in the relationship between positive thoughts and satisfaction with life was not statistically significant. However, in each sub factors of positive thoughts conditions, the relationships of satisfaction with life with positive daily functioning, others evaluations of self, and positive future expectations showed that cognitive defusion has partial mediating effects.
This study concluded that acceptance partially mediates positive thoughts and satisfaction with life, which shows that along with positive thoughts, an individual’s attitude of acceptance of private experience without judgment or evasion assists the enhancement of satisfaction with life. Such result implies that for a client who is hardly satisfied with life, not only intervention that changes the interpretation of an event positively but also intervention that develops an attitude of accepting private experience as it is can help the client to enhance the satisfaction with life and to manage happy life.