Well‐being and the anticipation of future positive experiences: The role of income, social networks, and planning ability

Abstract

The present study aims to answer two questions: (1) are expectations of future positive experiences related to well‐being in the general population?; and (2) what factors (social, psychological, economic) enable people to have expectations of future positive experiences. A community sample (N = 84) was assessed on a measure of anticipation of future positive and negative experiences, factors that might enable positive anticipation (measures of income, social networks, planning ability, and affective capacity) and measures of subjective well‐being (positive and negative affect and life satisfaction). Subjective well‐being was related to having more anticipated positive experiences, which was in turn related to having a large social network, having a high number of steps in plans to achieve goals, and, more marginally, to having a high household income.

Notes

Correspondence should be addressed to Andrew MacLeod, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK; e‐mail: [email protected].

This research was supported by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council of Great Britain to Andrew MacLeod (R000223094).

It is important to note that what is being talked about is anticipatory affect—what a person feels when he/she thinks about the outcome happening—rather than anticipated affect, which is how a person thinks he/she will feel when the outcome happens (Loewenstein, Weber, Hsee, & Welch, 2001).