Abstract
Contentment is a positive emotion characterized by perceived goal attainment, a sense of having or being enough, and a focus on the present. Research on this new construct is thin, and no studies have examined its cognitive properties, particularly whether it facilitates or impairs controlled cognitive processes. We hypothesize that contentment positively predicts working memory. We found support for this hypothesis in two experimental studies (Studies 1 and 2) which showed that induced contentment improved working memory in the operation span task, and in one non-experimental study (Study 3) which showed that measured contentment positively correlated with working memory on the backward digit span task. In addition, induced amusement (Study 1) and hope (Study 2) did not affect working memory, and measured happiness did not correlate with working memory (Study 3), supporting the uniqueness of contentment as a predictor of greater working memory. We discuss the implications that the combined characteristics of contentment, including perceptions of goal attainment and being low in arousal and approach, and its associations with relevant constructs of negative affectivity and mindfulness, could enable it to be uniquely predictive of better working memory.
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Data availability
All materials and datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the OSF repository, https://osf.io/c6t5d/?view_only=9c1e88e20d8e4b47b4290113a8002022.
Notes
The df for main analyses is one less than that for manipulation checks because the working memory scores for one participant were found to be extreme outliers and dropped, whereas the manipulation check scores for the same participant were within range and hence analyzed.
Contrast analysis is used because predictions were made concerning the effect of contentment on working memory. As additional demonstration of the reliability of these results, post-hoc tests showed that contentment differed significantly from amusement (PCL, p = .003; PCU, p = .003) and neutral (PCL, p = .001; PCU, p = .002) on working memory in Study 1. In Study 2, post-hoc tests also revealed that contentment differed significantly from hope (PCL, p = .022; PCU, p = .022) and neutral (PCL, p = .028; PCU, p = .032) on working memory.
The two items were “I feel that I am in control of my thoughts at this present moment” and “I feel that I can focus my thoughts on whatever I am doing right now”, rated on a seven- point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). There was no effect of emotion on the average of these items (α = .85), F(2, 506) = 1.30, p = .27, η2 = .01.
These exclusion items were not included in the pre-registration because they were conceptualized only after we pre-registered the study. We reanalyzed the data without excluding participants based on these exclusion items. A-priori contrast analyses found marginally significant trends consistent with the hypotheses that the contentment condition should produce higher PCL, t(559) = 1.73, p = .084, and PCU scores, t(559) = 1.71, p = .088, relative to the neutral and hope conditions. The duration criterion was also decided after the pre-registration when inspection of Studies 1 and 2 data revealed that some participants took unacceptably long to complete the studies. A-priori contrast analyses without the duration criterion found significant differences in which the contentment condition generated higher PCL, t(535) = 2.24, p = .025, and PCU, t(533) = 2.40, p = .017, than the other conditions.
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Experiment flow of Studies 1 and 2
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Chua, K.Q., Ng, R., Sung, C.L.Q. et al. Relationship between contentment and working memory capacity: experimental and naturalistic evidence. Curr Psychol 42, 26243–26258 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03714-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03714-7