Savoring Helps Most When You Have Little: Interaction Between Savoring the Moment and Uplifts on Positive Affect and Satisfaction with Life

Abstract

Savoring the moment is a means of generating, prolonging, or intensifying positive emotions while a positive event is occurring. While the occurrence of positive events is integral to savoring the moment, there is a paucity of research examining the interaction of the two. This study examines the longitudinal interaction of savoring the moment and the number of everyday positive events (uplifts) that occur over 2 weeks on measures of positive affect and satisfaction with life. Significant interactions between savoring and uplifts were found, indicating that those participants with low levels of savoring and low numbers of uplifts were at risk, as they experienced low levels of both positive affect and satisfaction with life. The other three groups (high savoring/high uplifts, low savoring/high uplifts, high savoring/low uplifts) had similarly positive outcomes. The findings imply the utility of increasing savoring when individuals experience few positive events. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.