Journal article
Can Positive Psychology Improve Psychological Well-being and Economic Decision-Making? Experimental Evidence from Kenya
Victoria Baranov, Johannes Haushofer, Chaning Jang
Economic Development and Cultural Change | University of Chicago Press | Published : 2020
DOI: 10.1086/702860
Abstract
We conduct a randomized experiment to evaluate the effect of a light-touch low-cost psychological intervention on psychological well-being and economic decision-making in a developingcountry setting. Residents of an informal settlement in Kenya were randomly assigned to participate in best-practice exercises designed to promote gratitude, self-affirmation, and aspirations. We show that although we were successful in manipulating the psychological construct (reported gratitude increased 0.3SD), there is no evidence that the intervention affected overall psychological well-being, beliefs, or aspirations. We also see no effects on real-incentive tasks measuring cognitive control or temporal dis..
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Awarded by National Institutes of Health
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors thank James Reisinger, Matthew Cohen, and Lucy Rimmington for excellent research assistance and James Vancel and the staff of the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics for implementation. The authors are grateful to Leslie Martin, Sendhil Mullainathan, Tom Wilkening, and Jenny Williams for their comments. This research was supported by the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne and NIH R01AG039297 (Common Fund). Contact the corresponding author, Victoria Baranov, at victoria.baranov@unimelb.edu.au.