Savoring

Key takeaways

Savoring belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Savoring to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Savoring from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Savoring (or savouring in Commonwealth English) is the use of thoughts and actions to increase the intensity, duration, and appreciation of positive experiences and emotions. It is a topic commonly studied in the domain of positive psychology. It can also be referred to simply as the up-regulation of positive emotions. Traditional psychology attempts to develop methods of coping and dealing with negative emotions. Positive psychology uses the concept of savoring as a way to maximize the potential benefits that positive experiences and emotions can have on peoples' lives. The opposite of Savoring is known as dampening. Dampening is a method of dealing with positive affect by trying to feel worse, or down-regulate positive emotions. Fred Bryant, a social psychologist at Loyola University Chicago, is considered to be the father of savoring research. He introduced the concept of savoring as being mindfully engaged and aware of one's feelings during positive events. By being engaged one can increase happiness in both the short and long run. So savoring is not merely the experience of positive emotions, but the deliberate effort to make a positive experience last.

Major Theories Psychological theories on savoring describe various facets of the construct such as its manifestation, operationalization, strategies to facilitate its occurrence, and its association with well-being. Work done by Fred Bryant in 2003 discusses savoring as manifesting in the following three forms:

Anticipation- or savoring in the form of the enjoyment of a forthcoming positive event Being in the moment- savoring by lengthening and strengthening the present positive experience. Bryant, Smart & King (2005) suggest that such focus creates stronger, more intense memories to later be recalled in reminiscing Reminiscing-Recalling memories in order to re-experience and thus savor positive emotions Quoidbach, Berry, Hansenne & Mikolajczak (2010) have also worked on savoring theory and offer four general strategies for facilitating savoring:

Behavioral display- Using non-verbal cues to express one's positive emotions Be Present- Having intentional, attentive focus on the current positive moment; also closely related to mindfulness. Capitalizing- A social aspect in which an individual "communicates and celebrates with others" Positive Mental Time Travel (past or future-focused)- reminiscing on or anticipating positive events

Major Empirical Findings Jose, Lim, and Bryant (2012) distinguish between two types of savoring: trait and state-based savoring. Trait-based savoring has been shown to be a more stable, generalized disposition to savor events in one's daily life while state-based savoring is a momentary episode of savoring behavior. While both appear important in terms of overall effects of savoring, trait savoring has the potential to be expressed through dampening, a response that depresses positive events. In terms of age effects, Ramsey & Gentzler (2014) found that savoring can play an indirect role in subjective well-being across ages as savoring was reported to be greater for younger participants who perceived that they had more time left in their lives. Smith & Bryant (2012) and Bryant & Yarnold (2014) showed a relationship between savoring tendencies and personality styles. Through studies about vacation enjoyment and college undergraduate achievement ideation, they showed that Type A people tend to not savor experiences as much as Type B people. Type A college students tend to enjoy the achievements in the present moment rather than savor the feelings for a future time because by doing so they might miss an opportunity for future achievement. Type B people also tend to enjoy vacations more than Type A people because of the savoring effect. Conventional wisdom states that money doesn't buy happiness – and recent research by Jordi Quoidbach and colleagues has shown that wealthier people report less savoring ability. In the same study, Quoidbach and others found that when exposed to a reminder of wealth, people were less able to savor and enjoy a piece of chocolate. Besides wealth, it has been found that self-esteem also affects savoring ability and emotional regulation. Wood et al. (2003) found that people with low self-esteem are less likely to try and savor a positive experience and also more likely to dampen their feelings when they feel good. One study showed that the higher a person's self-esteem the more they were expected to enjoy, celebrate and savor their own success.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Savoring

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Savoring claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Savoring before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Savoring ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Savoring

In research: Savoring appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Savoring in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Savoring is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Positive psychology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Savoring outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Savoring in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Savoring means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Savoring out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Savoring in simple terms?

Savoring (or savouring in Commonwealth English) is the use of thoughts and actions to increase the intensity, duration, and appreciation of positive experiences and emotions. It is a topic commonly studied in the domain of positive psychology.

Why does Savoring matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Savoring?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Savoring.