Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
- Publication Year
- Publication
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 16 of 16
Full-Text Articles in Psychology
Well-Being Science For Teaching And The General Public, William Tov, Derrick Wirtz, Kostadin Kushlev, Robert Biswas-Diener, Ed Diener
Well-Being Science For Teaching And The General Public, William Tov, Derrick Wirtz, Kostadin Kushlev, Robert Biswas-Diener, Ed Diener
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Research on well-being has exploded in recent years to more than 55,000 relevant publications annually, making it difficult for psychologists—including key communicators such as textbook authors—to stay current with this field. Moreover, well-being is a daily concern among policymakers and members of the general public. Well-being science is relevant to the lives of students—illustrating the diverse methods used in the behavioral sciences, presenting highly replicated findings, and demonstrating the diversity of individuals and cultures. Therefore, in this article, we present eight major findings that teachers and authors should seriously consider in their coverage of this field. These topics include processes …
Sunshine On My Shoulders Makes Me Happy... Especially If I’M Less Intelligent: How Sunlight And Intelligence Affect Happiness In Modern Society, Satoshi Kanazawa, Norman P. Li, Jose C. Yong
Sunshine On My Shoulders Makes Me Happy... Especially If I’M Less Intelligent: How Sunlight And Intelligence Affect Happiness In Modern Society, Satoshi Kanazawa, Norman P. Li, Jose C. Yong
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The savanna theory of happiness proposes that, due to evolutionary constraints on the human brain, situations and circumstances that would have increased our ancestors’ happiness may still increase our happiness today, and those that would have decreased their happiness then may still decrease ours today. It further proposes that, because general intelligence evolved to solve evolutionarily novel problems, this tendency may be stronger among less intelligent individuals. Because humans are a diurnal species that cannot see in the dark, darkness always represented danger to our ancestors and may still decrease our happiness today. Consistent with this prediction, the analysis of …
In Memory Of Edward Diener: Reflections On His Career, Contributions And The Science Of Happiness, W. Ng, William Tov, R. Veenhoven, S. Rothmann, M. J. Chambel, S. Chen, M. L. Cole, C. Consiglio, A. Constantini, J. A. D. Datu, Z. Di Blasi, S. L. Gumbau, A. Huber, S. M. Kelders, J. Kilbert, H. H. Knoop, C.-H. Mayer, M. Nel, M. Salanova, M. Schotanus-Dijkstra
In Memory Of Edward Diener: Reflections On His Career, Contributions And The Science Of Happiness, W. Ng, William Tov, R. Veenhoven, S. Rothmann, M. J. Chambel, S. Chen, M. L. Cole, C. Consiglio, A. Constantini, J. A. D. Datu, Z. Di Blasi, S. L. Gumbau, A. Huber, S. M. Kelders, J. Kilbert, H. H. Knoop, C.-H. Mayer, M. Nel, M. Salanova, M. Schotanus-Dijkstra
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Prof. Edward (Ed) Diener (1946-2021), a pioneer in positive psychology, passed away on the 27th of April 2021 at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah (Salt Lake City Tribune, 2021). As one of the most influential psychologists of the discipline, Ed Diener pushed the boundaries of our understanding of positive psychological functioning, subjective well-being, and happiness (Layous, 2020). As one of the Top 200 most cited researchers across all disciplines and fields, he will be most remembered for founding the scientific study of subjective well-being (SWB) and happiness (Bakshi, 2019). Diener developed the concept of subjective well-being by exploring …
What Does "Happiness" Prompt In Your Mind? Culture, Word Choice, And Experienced Happiness, Ji Eun Shin, Eunkook M. Suh, Kimin Eom, Heejung S. Kim
What Does "Happiness" Prompt In Your Mind? Culture, Word Choice, And Experienced Happiness, Ji Eun Shin, Eunkook M. Suh, Kimin Eom, Heejung S. Kim
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
What three words come to your mind in association with ‘‘happiness’’? We analyzed the 1563 words reported by 521 Korean and American participants in this free association task. The most frequently endorsed word was ‘‘family’’ in Korea, whereas the most popular word among Americans was ‘‘smile.’’ The overall frequency of social words(e.g., relationships, social emotions) reported by Koreans was higher, and the most often mentioned relationship type differed between the two groups (family in Korea; friend in the US). Nonetheless, both in Korea and the US, individuals who mentioned more social words were significantly more satisfied with their lives. The …
A Closer Look At The Hedonics Of Everyday Meaning And Satisfaction, William Tov, Huey Woon Lee
A Closer Look At The Hedonics Of Everyday Meaning And Satisfaction, William Tov, Huey Woon Lee
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Contrasts between eudaimonic well-being and hedonic well-being often compare meaning and happiness. Less work has examined the extent to which meaning and satisfaction can be distinguished. Across five diary studies (N = 923) and a large cross-sectional survey (N = 1471), we examined the affective profile of meaning and satisfaction in everyday life. Using response surface methodology, both judgments were modeled as a joint function of positive (PA) and negative (NA) affect. Affective discrepancy (preponderance of PA over NA) was more strongly associated with satisfaction than meaning. In general, meaning correlated less with affect than satisfaction, but the …
The (Un) Desirability Of Happiness: Pathogen Threats Predict Differences In The Value Of Happiness, Sharon Li Hua Koh
The (Un) Desirability Of Happiness: Pathogen Threats Predict Differences In The Value Of Happiness, Sharon Li Hua Koh
Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)
People in some parts of the world find positive emotions more desirable than others. What accounts for this variability? We predicted that happiness would be valued less under conditions where the behaviors that happiness promotes would be less beneficial. We analyzed international survey data and United Nations voting records and found that happiness was valued relatively less in environments that had been historically pathogen-rich. Using a series of experimental studies, we showed that people who were experimentally primed by the threat of pathogens judged happiness in others less favorably and found happiness less appropriate. Our findings contribute to research on …
Rising Income And The Subjective Well-Being Of Nations, Ed Diener, Louis Tay, Shigehiro Oishi
Rising Income And The Subjective Well-Being Of Nations, Ed Diener, Louis Tay, Shigehiro Oishi
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
We explored whether rising income in nations is associated with increasing subjective well-being (SWB), with several advances over earlier work. Our methods are improved in that across time, the same well-being questions were asked in the same order, and we employed broad and equivalent representative samples over time from a large number of nations. We also assessed psychosocial factors that might mediate the relation of income and SWB. We found that changes in household income were associated with concomitant changes in life evaluations, positive feelings, and negative feelings. The effects of gross domestic product (GDP) change were weaker and significant …
Comparing Well-Being Across Nations: Conceptual And Empirical Issues, William Tov, Evelyn Wing-Mun Au
Comparing Well-Being Across Nations: Conceptual And Empirical Issues, William Tov, Evelyn Wing-Mun Au
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
In this chapter, we review cross-national survey studies of subjective well-being. We begin with a short history of the concept of subjective well-being and examine how it has been measured in national surveys. We then review some findings on well-being at the level of societies and individuals. The former concerns how the economic and social conditions of countries are related to their average level of happiness and life satisfaction. The latter considers how the characteristics of happy and unhappy individuals may differ across cultures. Next we discuss important issues in research design and analysis of cross-national data, and in the …
Subjective Well-Being, William Tov, Ed Diener
Subjective Well-Being, William Tov, Ed Diener
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The cross-cultural importance of happiness and contentment can be inferred from their emergence in philosophical discussions across many cultural traditions. We begin by focusing on similarities, noting what has been found to correlate with the components of SWB across most cultures. Subjective well being (SWB) involves the various ways that people evaluate and experience their lives. In many ways, the term is synonymous with the everyday notion of happiness – positive feelings are an important aspect of well being. Cross-cultural similarities are important because they highlight our common humanity and hint at which factors may be fundamental to wellbeing. Next, …
National Accounts Of Well-Being, Ed Diener, William Tov
National Accounts Of Well-Being, Ed Diener, William Tov
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
National accounts of subjective well-being should be used to assess the various facets of citizen’s well-being such as life satisfaction, trust in others, positive emotions, meaning and purpose in life, and engagement and interest. Although economic indicators have reigned within policy debates, the purpose of the economic indicators is ultimately to enhance “happiness”—subjective well-being. National measures of well-being that are collected systematically at periodic intervals will not only help focus attention on wellbeing as a major goal of societies, but can give information to leaders about policy alternatives, and thus inform policy debates in a way that complements economic analyses. …
Interview On Subjective Well-Being, David Chan
Interview On Subjective Well-Being, David Chan
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
No abstract provided.
The Well-Being Of Nations: Linking Together Trust, Cooperation, And Democracy, William Tov, Ed Diener
The Well-Being Of Nations: Linking Together Trust, Cooperation, And Democracy, William Tov, Ed Diener
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The theme of this chapter is that cooperative and trusting social relationships tend to enhance people’s subjective well-being (happiness and life satisfaction), and that in turn positive feelings of well-being tend to augment cooperation and trust. Extensive empirical work now supports the fact that sociability, interpersonal warmth, community involvement, and interpersonal trust are heightened by positive emotions. New analyses based on the World Value Survey show that nations that are high on subjective well-being (SWB) also tend to be high on generalized trust, volunteerism, and democratic attitudes. Additional analyses indicate that the association of SWB to volunteerism and democratic attitudes …
Beyond The Hedonic Treadmill: Revising The Adaptation Theory Of Well-Being, Ed Diener, Richard E. Lucas, Christie N. Scollon
Beyond The Hedonic Treadmill: Revising The Adaptation Theory Of Well-Being, Ed Diener, Richard E. Lucas, Christie N. Scollon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
According to the hedonic treadmill model, good and bad events temporarily affect happiness, but people quickly adapt back to hedonic neutrality. The theory, which has gained widespread acceptance in recent years, implies that individual and societal efforts to increase happiness are doomed to failure. The recent empirical work outlined here indicates that 5 important revisions to the treadmill model are needed. First, individuals' set points are not hedonically neutral. Second, people have different set points, which are partly dependent on their temperaments. Third, a single person may have multiple happiness set points: Different components of well-being such as pleasant emotions, …
Integrating The Diverse Definitions Of Happiness: A Time-Sequential Framework Of Subjective Well-Being, Chu Kim-Prieto, Ed Diener, Maya Tamir, Christie N. Scollon, Marrisa Diener
Integrating The Diverse Definitions Of Happiness: A Time-Sequential Framework Of Subjective Well-Being, Chu Kim-Prieto, Ed Diener, Maya Tamir, Christie N. Scollon, Marrisa Diener
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The field of subjective well-being (SWB) is primarily concerned with people's evaluation of their lives; however, it includes a wide range of concepts, from momentary moods to global life satisfaction judgments. We propose a framework that integrates these diverse constructs. Our sequential temporal framework of subjective well-being describes experiences of well-being from the events and circumstances that cause evaluative reactions, through the emotional reactions to these events, to recall of these reactions, and finally to global judgments of well-being based on the previous stages. The hypothesized processes that translate the various steps in the sequence into one another are described, …
Positivity And The Construction Of Life Satisfaction Judgments: Global Happiness Is Not The Sum Of Its Parts, Ed Diener, Christie N. Scollon, Shigehiro Oishi, Vivian Dzokoto, Mark Eunkook Suh
Positivity And The Construction Of Life Satisfaction Judgments: Global Happiness Is Not The Sum Of Its Parts, Ed Diener, Christie N. Scollon, Shigehiro Oishi, Vivian Dzokoto, Mark Eunkook Suh
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
The present study investigated how reports of satisfaction with specific versus global domains can be used to assess a disposition towards positivity in subjective well-being reports. College students from 41 societies (N = 7167) completed measures of life satisfaction and ratings of global and specific aspects of their lives. For example, participants rated satisfaction with their education (global) and satisfaction with their professors, textbooks, and lectures (specific). It was hypothesized that global measures would more strongly reflect individual differences in dispositional positivity, that is, a propensity to evaluate aspects of life in general as good. At both the individual and …
What Makes A Life Good?, Laura A. King, Christie N. Scollon
What Makes A Life Good?, Laura A. King, Christie N. Scollon
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Two studies examined folk concepts of the good life. Samples of college students (N=104) and community adults (N=264) were shown a career survey ostensibly completed by a person rating his or her occupation. After reading the survey, participants judged the desirability and moral goodness of the respondent's life, as a function of the amount of happiness, meaning in life, and wealth experienced. Results revealed significant effects of happiness and meaning on ratings of desirability and moral goodness. In the college sample, individuals high on all 3 independent variables were judged as likely to go to heaven. In the adult sample, …