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What is Happiness and Subjective Well-Being? + 11 Interesting Facts About Happiness

In particular, they generally saw it as a matter of nature-fulfillment: According to Aristotle, well-being consists in a life of virtuous or excellent activity—including, among other things, moral virtue. It was nothing more than the word Greeks used for well-being, however they conceived it. Note that interpretation of the ancient tradition is somewhat contested, and some commentators take 'eudaimonia' to serve more like the broader term 'good life' discussed below in ancient ethics. In the broadest sense of the word, a good life is the sort of life that one should want to lead.

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The majority view in philosophy is that we should want things other than just our own self-interest: Other things also are important, such as virtue, or being morally good. In a sense, morality may be much more important: The main source of disagreement on this question is this: To do well or flourish just is to be good, at least in part. Even if a sadistic tyrant enjoys his life, he is a deficient, twisted specimen of humanity, leading a sad life that no one should envy.

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On this sort of view, it can make sense to say that well-being is all that matters in a good life. But this is only because well-being is understood so broadly that it includes items we usually consider to be separate from it, like morality. In a way, then, there is remarkably little disagreement among philosophers about the core elements of a good life, namely well-being and virtue: But there is sharp disagreement about whether those elements are really distinct, or amount to the same thing. When deciding whether the recently departed had a good life, for instance, we do consider how well they fared—probably not a good life if they suffered nonstop agony.

Who is Not Happy?

Theories based on genetic and personality dispositions suggest that happiness may be a personality trait or characteristic more stable than those of genetic origin. Journal of Socio-Economics, 39 3 , — The model was superior in fit over single-factor and other artifactual models. This way, a happiness assessment would not need to be tied to memory and retrospective accounts. The necessity to shift from a subjective view of individual well-being to a more social and contextual version of these constructs is the common thread running throughout the whole work. T he satisfaction with life scale.

But we also consider how well they lived. You might not envy Abraham Lincoln given his depression and other trials, but still think he had a good life because you admire the way he lived it. Many—but not most—philosophers would say yes. Utilitarians, for example, believe that we ought only to do what would produce the greatest sum of well-being in the world. Morality, including political morality, is purely about making people better off on this view. While just about everyone agrees that well-being is important, it is widely believed that other things matter as well.

This can be for many reasons, but a few of the most common reasons for rejecting utilitarian approaches in ethics or policy include:. There is no standardly agreed-on list of causes of happiness, partly because happiness arises from a complex interaction of many factors. Still, there is a fairly broad consensus that certain factors tend to be especially important for human happiness, in just about any society.

A Very Short Introduction:. Autonomy is the most controversial of these items, as cultures vary greatly in how much they value individual control, for instance sanctioning arranged marriage. But in general, the effect of money probably tends to be strong only for poor people.

Outside of poverty, greater income and wealth tend to have only modest effects. As well, the money-happiness connection may not mostly be a matter of greater buying power, but of other things that tend to improve with income: Such claims can be misleading. Because these studies only look at a small and relatively uniform sample of the environments humans face—for instance, middle class Western households—it is quite possible that the role of genes is being overstated. If you look at variations in happiness just among the people on your block, genes will probably play a large role: But if you compare the people on your block with warriors in the forests of Papua New Guinea, the environment has much more chance to make a difference, so genes will probably explain less of the differences in happiness between people.

There is no simple answer to this question. Happiness depends on a huge range of factors, and what works wonders for one person may not be so effective for another. A natural starting point is to consider improvements in areas that are known to be important for happiness in most people, for instance in the SOARS items noted above such as relationships and skilled, meaningful work. Taking care of the fundamentals may be the most important part of securing happiness. Beyond that, there are a variety of techniques you can try, or skills you can develop, that many have found useful.

What works best in your case will depend on your personality and situation. Some excellent resources are listed on our Suggested Readings page.

What Are Happiness and Well-Being?

In general, creating or placing yourself in a situation where the sources of happiness, and sensible choices and habits, tend to come naturally is probably a good way to boost your odds of having a good quality of life. Similarly, if you want to be physically fit, it will be easier if you live in a place that encourages an active lifestyle, like walking or biking daily. Relationships and work, for instance, seem to be most rewarding when engaged in for their own sake, and not simply done with personal happiness in mind.

At the same time, there is no evidence that we are better off never thinking about what will make us happy. When making a career choice, for instance, it seems unlikely that ignoring the fact that one hates certain kinds of work, while loving others, would be a wise means of proceeding if one wishes to be happy. Similarly, there is no evidence that we are more likely to be happy if we disregard strong evidence about the major sources of happiness when deciding how to live.

Indeed, it would be very surprising if, for example, one would be better off setting aside evidence that exercise tends to promote happiness when deciding whether to start exercising. One does not have to think about happiness, or even have the concept of happiness, in order to be happy. Well-Being Lecture Series Happiness: What Are Happiness and Well-Being? Integrating Research Across the Disciplines. What are happiness and well-being?

A brief guide To keep it accessible, many of the points in this FAQ are somewhat oversimplified.

What is the difference between happiness and well-being? Why think you can define "happiness" at all? Isn't it completely subjective? Is it different from subjective well-being? Does it matter which philosophical theory of well-being we accept? How is hedonism about happiness different from hedonism about well-being? Is well-being all that matters in a good life? Should well-being be the sole aim of policy or morality? What are the main sources of happiness? What can I do to be happier? Isn't the pursuit of happiness self-defeating? Why think you can define "happiness at all? Which brings us to… Return to top.

If we are talking about the state of mind, there are three basic theories of happiness: What about subjective well-being? On one way of dividing things up, theories of well-being tend to fall in one of four broad families: As we are using the terms here, if you affirm hedonism about: You are saying that pleasure is all that ultimately is good for us.

Social Indicators Research, 46 2 , Data was collected in the United States from students on two college campuses and one high school campus, from community adults in two California cities, and from older adults. Students and community adults in Moscow, Russia also participated in this research.

Results indicated that the Subjective Happiness Scale has high internal consistency, which was found to be stable across samples. Test-retest and self-peer correlations suggested good to excellent reliability, and construct validation studies of convergent and discriminant validity confirmed the use of this scale to measure the construct of subjective happiness.

The rationale for developing a new measure of happiness, as well as advantages of this scale, are discussed. The architecture of sustainable change.

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Review of General Psychology, 9 2 , The pursuit of happiness is an important goal for many people. However, surprisingly little scientific research has focused on the question of how happiness can be increased and then sustained, probably because of pessimism engendered by the concepts of genetic determinism and hedonic adaptation. Nevertheless, emerging sources of optimism exist regarding the possibility of permanent increases in happiness. The authors then consider adaptation and dynamic processes to show why the activity category offers the best opportunities for sustainably increasing happiness.

Finally, existing research is discussed in support of the model, including 2 preliminary happiness-increasing interventions. Orientations to happiness and life satisfaction: The full life versus the empty life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 6 1 , Different orientations to happiness and their association with life satisfaction were investigated with adults responding to Internet surveys.

We measured life satisfaction and the endorsement of three different ways to be happy: Each of these three orientations individually predicted life satisfaction. People simultaneously low on all three orientations reported especially low life satisfaction. These findings point the way toward a distinction between the full life and the empty life. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being.

American psychologist, 55 1 , Human beings can be proactive and engaged or, alternatively, passive and alienated, largely as a function of the social conditions in which they develop and function. Accordingly, research guided by self-determination theory has focused on the social—contextual conditions that facilitate versus forestall the natural processes of self-motivation and healthy psychological development. Specifically, factors have been examined that enhance versus undermine intrinsic motivation, self-regulation, and well-being. The findings have led to the postulate of three innate psychological needs—competence, autonomy, and relatedness—which when satisfied yield enhanced self-motivation and mental health and when thwarted lead to diminished motivation and well-being.

Also considered is the significance of these psychological needs and processes within domains such as health care, education, work, sport, religion, and psychotherapy.

What is Happiness and Subjective Well-Being? + 11 Interesting Facts About Happiness

The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69 4 , The model was superior in fit over single-factor and other artifactual models. Age and sex differences on the various well-being dimensions replicated prior findings. Comparisons with other frequently used indicators positive and negative affect, life satisfaction demonstrated that the latter neglects key aspects of positive functioning emphasized in theories of health and well-being. Happiness is everything, or is it?

Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57 6 , Reigning measures of psychological well-being have little theoretical grounding, despite an extensive literature on the contours of positive functioning. Aspects of well-being derived from this literature i. Three hundred and twenty-one men and women, divided among young, middle-aged, and older adults, rated themselves on these measures along with six instruments prominent in earlier studies i.

Results revealed that positive relations with others, autonomy, purpose in life, and personal growth were not strongly tied to prior assessment indexes, thereby supporting the claim that key aspects of positive functioning have not been represented in the empirical arena. Furthermore, age profiles revealed a more differentiated pattern of well-being than is evident in prior research. Meaning, measurement, and implications for psychotherapy research.

Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 65, 14— A model of positive psychological functioning that emerges from diverse domains of theory and philosophy is presented. Six key dimensions of wellness are defined, and empirical research summarizing their empirical translation and sociodemographic correlates is presented. Variations in well-being are explored via studies of discrete life events and enduring human experiences. Life histories of the psychologically vulnerable and resilient, defined via the cross-classification of depression and well-being, are summarized.

Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfilment.

Our signature strengths can be nurtured throughout our lives, with benefits to our health, relationships, and careers. The author provides the Signature Strengths Survey along with a variety of brief tests that can be used to measure how much positive emotion readers experience, in order to help determine what their highest strengths are. The life-changing lession of Authentic Happiness is that by identifying the very best in ourselves, we can improve the world around us and achieve new and sustainable levels of authentic contentment, gratification, and meaning.

A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. This book presents M. Traditionally, the goal of psychology has been to relieve human suffering, but the goal of the Positive Psychology movement, which Dr. Flourish builds on Dr. Flourish refines what Positive Psychology is all about. What is it that enables you to cultivate your talents, to build deep, lasting relationships with others, to feel pleasure, and to contribute meaningfully to the world?

In a word, what is it that allows you to flourish? Thought-provoking in its implications for education, economics, therapy, medicine, and public policy—the very fabric of society—Flourish tells inspiring stories of Positive Psychology in action, including how the entire U. Army is now trained in emotional resilience; how innovative schools can educate for fulfillment in life and not just for workplace success; and how corporations can improve performance at the same time as they raise employee well-being.

With interactive exercises to help readers explore their own attitudes and aims.