Abstract
In a previous interpretation of multiple discrepancies theory (MDT), the authors operationalized mutiple discrepancies as gaps between respondents' values and their performance. Using a sample of back-to-the-landers from the larger sustainability movement, the first-stage of the data analysis (Jacob and Brinkerhoff, 1997) confirmed that multiple discrepancies between values and do have a significant impact on subjective well-being (SWB), but this initial analysis also demonstrated that there are intervening variables that can act as compensating factors to attenuate the influence of multiple discrepancies on SWB. In this, the second-stage of data analysis, the authors identify and further explore the interaction of phenomena that might serve as compensation variables in respondents' calculus of their SWB. The present study identifies two salient compensating factors: mindfulness (a calm, yet focused, engagement with the present, similar to a meditative experience), and a sense of an absence of time constraints. Operationalized as Mindfulness and Time for Self scales, these two interrelated variables explain, in multiple regression equations, the major share of variation in multiple measures of SWB. Nevertheless, the multiple discrepancies between values and performance are still significant, if secondary, factors in explaining variance in SWB for the sample of back-to-the- landers.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Andrews, F.: 1991, 'Stability and change in levels and structure of subjectivewellbeing: USA 1972 and 1988', Social Indicators Research 25, pp. 1–30.
Berger, P. and T. Luckmann: 1966, The Social Construction of Reality (Doubleday, Garden City, New York).
Boorstein, S.: 1996, Don't Just Do Something, Sit There: A Mindfulness Retreat (HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco).
Brinkerhoff, M. and J. Jacob: 1984, 'Alternative technology and qualify of life: An exploratory survey of British Columbia smallholders', Social Indicators Research 14, pp. 177-194.
Brinkerhoff, M. and J. Jacob: 1986, 'Quality of life in an alternative lifestyle: The smallholding movement', Social Indicators Research 18, pp. 153-173.
Brinkerhoff, M. and J. Jacob: 1987, 'Quasi-religious meaning systems, official religion, and quality of life in an alternative lifestyle: A survey from the backto-the-land movement', Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (March) 26, pp. 63-80.
Brown, D., G. Fuguitt, T. Heaton and S. Waseem: 1997, 'Continuities in size of place preferences in the United States, 1972-1992', Rural Sociology (Winter) 62, pp. 408-428.
Browne, W.: 1988, Private Interests, Public Policy and American Agriculture (University Press of Kansas, Lawrence).
Campbell, R. and L. Garkovich: 1984, 'Turnaround migration as an episode of collective behavior', Rural Sociology 49, pp. 89-105.
Cronbach, L.: 1967, 'Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests', in W. Mehrens and R. Ebel (eds.), Principles of Educational and Psychological Measurement (Rand McNally, Chicago), pp. 132-167.
Davidson, O.: 1990, Broken Heartland: The Rise of America's Rural Ghetto (Free Press, New York).
Festinger, L.: 1957, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (Stanford University Press, Stanford).
Flavin, C. and N. Lenssen: 1994, Power Surge, Guide to the Coming Energy Revolution (Norton, New York).
Frijda, N.: 1988, 'The laws of emotion', American Psychologist 43, pp. 349-358.
Garkovich, L.: 1989, Population and Community in Rural America (Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut).
Goleman, D. (ed.): 1997, Healing Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health (Shambhala, Boston).
Gyatso, J. (ed.): 1992, In the Mirror of Memory: Reflections on Mindfulness and Remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism (State University of New York Press, Albany).
Hanh, T.: 1992, The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation (Beacon Press, Boston).
Hanh, T.: 1991, Peace is Every Step, The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life (Bantam, New York).
Jacob, J. and M. Brinkerhoff: 1986, 'Alternative technology and part-time, semisubsistence agriculture: A survey from the back-to-the-land movement', Rural Sociology 51, pp. 43-59.
Jacob, J. and M. Brinkerhoff: 1997, 'Values, performance and subjective wellbeing in the sustainability movement: An elaboration of multiple discrepancies theory', Social Indicators Research 42, pp. 171-204.
Jacob, J.: 1992, 'Searching for a sustainable future: Experiences from the backto-the-land movement', Futures Research Quarterly 8, pp. 5-29.
Jacob, J.: 1997, New Pioneers, The Back-to-the-Land Movement and the Search for a Sustainable Future (Penn State Press, University Park)
Johnson, K. and C. Beale: 1994, 'The recent revival of widespread population growth in nonmetropolitan areas of the United States', Rural Sociology 59, pp. 655-667.
Kabat-Zinn, J.: 1995, Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness and Meditation in Everyday Life (Hyperion, New York).
Kammann, R.: 1983, 'Objective circumstances, life satisfactions, and sense of well-being: Consistencies across time and place', New Zealand Journal of Psychology 12, pp. 14-22.
Kerlinger, F.: 1979, Behavioral Research: A ConceptualApproach (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York).
Kim, J. and F. Kohout: 1975, 'Multiple regression analysis', in N. Nie, C. Hull, J. Jenkins, K. Steinbrenner and D. Brent (eds.), Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (McGraw-Hill, New York).
Kim, J.: 1975, 'Factor analysis', in N. Nie, C. Hull, J. Jenkins, K. Steinbrenner, and D. Brent (eds.), Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (McGraw-Hill, New York).
Langer, E.: 1989, Mindfulness (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA).
Meadows, D., D.Meadows and J. Randers: 1992, Beyond the Limits: Confronting Global Collapse, Envisioning a Sustainable Future (Chelsea Green, Post Mills, VT).
Michalos, A.: 1985, 'Multiple discrepancies theory (MDT)', Social Indicators Research 16, pp. 347-413.
Michalos, A.: 1991, Global Report on Student Well-Being, Volume I: Life Satisfaction and Happiness (Springer-Verlag, New York).
Miller, T.: 1995, How to Want What You Have, Discovering the Magic and Grandeur of Ordinary Existence (Henry Holt, New York).
Myers, D.: 1992, The Pursuit of Happiness, Discovering the Pathway to Fulfillment, Well-Being and Enduring Personal Joy (William Morrow, New York).
Myers, D. and E. Diener: 1997, 'The science of happiness', The Futurist (September-October) (Special Report), pp. 1-7.
Norusis, M.: 1995, SPSS 6.1: Guide to Data Analysis. (Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey).
Pollner, M.: 1989, 'Divine relations, social relations, and well-being', Journal of Health and Social Behavior 30, pp. 92-104.
Poloma,M. andB. Pendleton: 1990, 'Religious domains and general well-being', Social Indicators Research 22, pp. 255-276.
Rummel, R.: 1967, 'Understanding factor analysis', Journal of Conflict Resolution 2(4), pp. 440-480.
Salamon, S.: 1992, Prairie Patrimony: Family, Farming and Community in the Midwest (University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill).
Sale, K.: 1993, The Green Revolution (Hill and Wang, New York).
Simmons, T.: 1979, But We Must Cultivate Our Garden: Twentieth Century Pioneering in Rural British Columbia (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Minnesota).
Smith, K.: 1974, 'On estimating the reliability of composite indexes through factor analysis', Sociological Methods and Research 2(4), pp. 485-510.
Solomon, R.: 1980: 'The opponent-process theory of acquired motivation: The costs of pleasure and the benefits of pain', American Psychologist 35pp. 691-712.
von Weizsacker, E., A. Lovins and L. Lovins: 1997, Factor Four: Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use. The New Report to the Club of Rome (Earthscan, London).
Whitmyer, C. (ed.): 1994, Mindfulness and Meaningful Work, Explorations in Right Livelihood (Parallax Press, Berkeley).
Witter, Robert A. et al.: 1985, 'Religion and subjective well-being in adulthood: A quantitative synthesis', Review of Religious Research 26, pp. 332-342.
World Commission on Environment and Development: 1987, Our Common Future (Oxford University Press, New York).
Zeller, R. and E. Carmines: 1989, Measurement in the Social Sciences:The Link between Theory and Data (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, MA).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jacob, J.C., Brinkerhoff, M.B. Mindfulness and Subjective Well-being in the Sustainability Movement: A Further Elaboration of Multiple Discrepancies Theory. Social Indicators Research 46, 341–368 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006941403481
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006941403481