Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 17, 2026
05:51
Smartphone Fundus Photography
Published on: July 6, 2017
40.4K
Promoting Positive Affect through Smartphone Photography.
Yu Chen1, Gloria Mark1, Sanna Ali1
1Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine, 92697 USA.
Psychology of Well-Being
|July 22, 2016
Summary
Smartphone photography can boost positive affect. Taking photos to help others or oneself, or smiling selfies, increased happiness and reduced stress in a 4-week study.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Digital Well-being
Background:
- Ubiquitous smartphone camera quality enables widespread photography.
- Investigates leveraging smartphone photography for enhancing positive affect.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the impact of different smartphone photography tasks on emotional well-being.
- To apply positive psychology principles in a digital context.
Main Methods:
- A 4-week study with 41 participants.
- Participants engaged in daily photography under three conditions: smiling selfies, photos for self-happiness, and photos for others' happiness.
- Utilized positive psychology interventions.
Main Results:
- All conditions showed an increase in positive affect after 3 weeks.
- Taking photos for others led to reduced arousal.
- Qualitative data revealed self-reflection, stress relief through social connection, and observed changes in smiling for selfie participants.
Conclusions:
- Smartphone photography interventions can effectively enhance emotional well-being.
- Findings provide insights for designing systems that promote mental health and positive affect.
Related Concept Videos
01:29The Influence of Affect on Cognition
354
Positive affect significantly influences cognitive processes, including evaluation, memory, creativity, and social judgments. Compared to negative affect, positive emotional states promote more favorable interpretations of stimuli, cognitive flexibility, and heuristic processing. These effects highlight emotions' powerful role in shaping how individuals perceive, remember, and interact with the world.Influence on Evaluation and AttributionWhen individuals experience positive affect, they are...
354
03:00Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
5.9K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
5.9K
02:05Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
45.1K
People can go to great lengths to protect their self-image and present themselves in ways that they want others to see them. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use “impression management” to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman, 1959). Think about...
45.1K
01:30Social Foundations of Self IV: Self in Digital Communication
255
Since the early 2000s, computer-mediated communication (CMC) has grown rapidly, playing a crucial role in self-development. A key distinction between CMC and real-life interactions is the lack of a physically present partner. This absence makes non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and paralinguistic signals unavailable in CMC platforms like email, instant messaging, or social media. The lack of these cues can create ambiguity and complicate how feedback is interpreted.The...
255
02:57The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
56.4K
According to Charles Cooley, we base our image on what we think other people see (Cooley 1902). We imagine how we must appear to others, then react to this speculation. We don certain clothes, prepare our hair in a particular manner, wear makeup, use cologne, and the like—all with the notion that our presentation of ourselves is going to affect how others perceive us. We expect a certain reaction, and, if lucky, we get the one we desire and feel good about it. But more than that, Cooley...
56.4K
01:22Traits, Mood, and Subjective Wellbeing
364
Subjective well-being (SWB) refers to an individual's self-evaluation of their overall life satisfaction, happiness, and fulfillment. This multifaceted construct is typically assessed by analyzing the balance of positive and negative emotions alongside perceptions of life satisfaction. Personality traits such as neuroticism and extraversion are strongly associated with variations in SWB, offering critical insights into the underlying mechanisms of emotional well-being.
Neuroticism and...
Neuroticism and...
364