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Happiness and Subjective Well-Being
H Happiness and Subjective Well-Being PW Griffin and PM Ward, Pace University, Pleasantville, NY, USA r 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Glossary Bottom-up theories An approach to examining and explaining subjective well-being (SWB) that focuses on the circumstances and events in people’s lives that contribute to pleasant and unpleasant experiences. Bottom-up theories argue that happiness is the total product of individuals’ life circumstances. Hedonic adaptation The tendency for organisms to habituate to stimuli and circumstances over time. In SWB research, it specifically refers to the way people’s levels of happiness are influenced by events in the short term, but return to baseline over time. Negative affect Unpleasant emotional experiences and mood, both short and long term, that cause distress and that people try to avoid, such as sadness, fear, anger, and guilt.
Defining and Measuring Subjective Well-Being How do you measure happiness? Perhaps the biggest obstacle is the recognition that individuals’ personal experiences lend themselves to different interpretations of what those experiences mean. Moreover, the form and function of happiness vary across history (McMahon, 2005). It is this very subjectivity that might have led the psychological sciences to ignore the study of happiness for so long. Nonetheless, spurred by the pioneering work of Ed Diener in the 1980s, the last several decades have resulted in considerable interest and growth in studying happiness. The very issue of subjectivity is often seen as a starting point, recognizing that it is within people’s experiences and their evaluations of them that well-being lies. Subjective well-being (SWB) is thought to be synonymous with happiness, but the former term is often preferentially used in the sciences because its meaning and its components are more readily agreed upon. More specifically, SWB is composed of the cognitive evaluations people make about their life overall (i.e., life satisfaction) and specific role domains (e.g., work and family), as well as the affective experiences of pleasant and unpleasant mood that occur across situations and time (Diener, 2000). Counter intuitively, measuring SWB has refined our understanding of how to better operationalize it. For example,
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Positive affect Pleasant emotional experiences and mood, both short and long term, that people often value and seek, such as joy, pride, enthusiasm, and excitement. Set-point theory A theory that proposes that individual levels of SWB are mostly genetic in nature, static over time, and minimally influenced by circumstances and environmental experiences. Subjective well-being The scientific term for happiness; it is an evaluation of a person’s life based primarily on three primary components: life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. Top-down theories This approach argues that individual differences in happiness are a result of the way people process and subjectively experience an event, rather than the objective circumstance itself. Often, top-down theories argue that genes and personality best explain individual differences in SWB.
people’s global judgment about their satisfaction with life is only somewhat correlated with their affective experiences, thus revealing that these are related but separate components. An even more surprising finding is that global experiences of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) are not opposite poles on a happiness–unhappiness spectrum (Watson et al., 1988). We know this because a host of different studies found that PA and NA are only mildly correlated. In other words, although we do find that some people who report generally high levels of PA also report low levels of NA (which we would commonly think of as a happy person), we also find other patterns, such as some individuals who simultaneously report high levels of global PA and NA. The independence of SWB components is further demonstrated by the fact that for life satisfaction, PA and NA are influenced by different causes. For example, personality is more highly related to affect, whereas personal income demonstrates a stronger correlation with life satisfaction.
Self-Report Measures Self-report measures remain the most popular way of assessing SWB. The advantages of using such instruments are both philosophical and pragmatic. If happiness is in the eye of the
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beholder, who better and what easier way can there be to obtain such information than asking the beholder himself or herself? This methodology has its roots not in psychology, but in mid-twentieth century sociological research examining factors related to civic well-being. Intended to gather information across a large swath of people, these measures are often based on one-item instruments such as, ‘Taking all things together, how would you say that you are these days: very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?’ Although the relative reliability and validity of these singleitem measures has been established, the vast amount of research in psychology has employed multi-item measures. Over the last several decades a host of different measures have been developed and tested across a diverse sample of populations. An exhaustive review of such measures is not possible here (see Lucas et al., 2003b), but several of the most validated instruments do warrant mention. The most commonly used measure of life satisfaction is the five-item Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al., 1985). For a relatively short measure, the SWLS has shown strong reliability across a number of different languages. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson et al., 1988) not only provides separate measurements for NA and PA, but its format structure allows researchers to vary the time frame so that one can assess either temporary emotional states or more global affective temperament. Researchers have also developed multi-item measures designed to directly measure subjective happiness. One prominent example is the 29-item Oxford Happiness Inventory (Argyle et al., 1995). A shorter alternative is the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky and Lepper, 1999).
Momentary and Reconstructive Methods One common concern with a self-report approach to SWB is whether individuals can be both honest and intuitive enough to answer questions pertaining to happiness in a reliable way. Don’t most people want to think and say that they are happy? Indeed, most people across cultures and countries do say they are somewhat happy. Moreover, research indicates that contextual influences (e.g., present mood or weather) and item ordering can affect the responses on these measures. One way to control for these confounds is to concentrate less on global self-evaluation and more on affective experiences as they occur throughout the day. Experience sampling methodology (ESM) is an example of such an approach, whereby individuals are contacted at different times throughout the day and asked to report their current mood and what they are doing. Another less invasive approach developed by Kahneman and colleagues, the day reconstruction method, involves asking people to recollect activities and experiences from the day before. Although different, both methods attempt to provide a more accurate picture of SWB by reducing memory bias and focusing on the affective experiences and circumstances associated with happiness (Kahneman et al., 2004). Even with its limitations, the measurement of SWB demonstrates considerable reliability and validity. People might demonstrate a positivity bias when it comes to answering questions about their own happiness, but this is because more people are not accustomed to feeling somewhat positive about their lives. If SWB measures were simply artifacts of deception,
we would not expect these instruments to be sensitive to life circumstances. In fact, measures of SWB often correlate in the expected direction with a number of outcomes, such as loss, pain, love, and success. Self-report measures of SWB show modest reliability across time, and also correlate with reports made by third parties (e.g., family and friends). Although no assessment could perfectly encapsulate a phenomenon as complex as happiness, measures of SWB are most accurate when they are conducted over multiple time points using different instruments (Pavot, 2008).
Explaining Subjective Well-Being: Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches The most studied question in the SWB literature is an issue confronted throughout the ages: What makes people happy? Another way of addressing this question is to examine why people differ in their levels of SWB. Broadly speaking, two different approaches have been taken. The top-down approach to explaining SWB argues that individual differences in happiness are a result of the way people process and subjectively experience an event, rather than the objective circumstance itself. In other words, people’s predispositions are what mainly explain differences in SWB. Research examining the role of genes and the effects of personality represent two of the most prominent top-down approaches. In contrast, a bottom-up approach attempts to explain SWB by focusing on the circumstances and events in people’s lives that contribute to pleasant and unpleasant experiences. In essence, SWB is the product of individuals’ experiences and their satisfaction with various life domains (e.g., family life and work). Research related to this approach attempts to identify variables, especially sociodemographic ones, which consistently correlate with and predict happiness. For each approach, a considerable amount of data has been gathered. A brief review of some of the more important findings is found below.
Genes and Biology Currently, there is little debate that genes significantly influence SWB. Studies consistently find that genes are the biggest factor in explaining individual differences in happiness. Based on some of the first twin studies on this issue conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, a number of researchers reached the conclusion that SWB was almost exclusively genetically determined. Two of the most famous proponents of this argument, Lykken and Tellegen (1996), concluded that because almost 80% of long-term SWB was heritable, it made little sense to try and be happy unless one was already genetically inclined. Their determinist argument for happiness was further bolstered by the fact that many studies besides their own had demonstrated that environmental factors, especially shared ones (e.g., living in the same household), had relatively little influence on SWB. Over the past decade, subsequent studies have affirmed the importance of genes in predicting individual differences in SWB, although some research indicates that earlier estimates of genetic influence might be too high (Johnson et al., 2005). Overall, when it comes to the question of why some people are happier than others, most researchers
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estimate that genes can account for approximately 40–50% of these differences. An even more vexing issue is how genes exert their influence. Given that genes play a central role in both building and regulating bodily systems, it could be that individual differences in SWB are a result of differences in biological make up. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that differences in PA and NA are correlated with brain activity in the prefrontal cortex. More specifically, PA is associated with greater activity in the left prefrontal cortex, whereas NA is associated with greater resting potential in the right prefrontal cortex. These associated hemispheric brain differences are also tied to differences in the way people react to environmental stimuli (Davidson et al., 2000). Individuals with greater left prefrontal activation attend to and react more strongly to positive stimuli, whereas those with greater right prefrontal activation are more sensitive to negative stimuli. Therefore, differences in SWB might be a reflection of the different ways individuals interpret the environment and process these experiences. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that people who report being higher in PA are more likely to show selective attention toward rewarding information (Tamir and Robinson, 2007). The roots of happiness might be found in our brains, which, in turn, color our world. For some, this color might be rosier than for others.
Personality Significant differences in the way happy and unhappy people think and behave have led many to conclude that personality plays a fundamental role in SWB. Some have even argued that these differences in SWB are a reflection of temperament itself. The strongest evidence for this argument comes from the moderate correlation that is often found between extraversion and PA, and neuroticism and NA. In other words, people who are extraverted are naturally more inclined to feel cheerful and enthusiastic, while those measuring high in neuroticism are more likely to be irritable and distressed. It might be the case, then, that both SWB and personality traits share the same genetic underpinnings. In other words, the genetic nature of happiness is reflected in the traits we inherit from our parents. One study found support for this argument, with most of the shared effects due to the traits of extraversion and neuroticism, and to a lesser extent, conscientiousness (Weiss et al., 2008). This latter finding is reflected in the wider literature. Extraversion and neuroticism have been found to be the best predictors of SWB, although there is also some evidence that agreeableness and conscientiousness are also correlated with happiness. Besides higher-order traits, other research has focused on other aspects of personality that might influence SWB. In this case, rather than supposing that happiness is a mere reflection of innate temperament, the argument is that personality shapes the way people think about the world and how they behave. For example, optimism and self-esteem have been consistently linked to higher levels of SWB. Might the way people think about themselves and the future affect SWB? Indeed, research has demonstrated that happy people are more likely to ‘accentuate the positive.’ For example, happy people are more likely than unhappy people to remember positive
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events, not to ruminate about negative events, and are less likely to use social comparison as a way of regulating their own mood (Lyubomirsky, 2001). Personality dispositions might be further linked to the way people pursue their goals, a variable that has been found to be related to SWB. More specifically, the type of goals one pursues and the degree of persistence has been found to predict SWB. Research finds that people who pursue goals oriented around intimacy and social relationships, rather than material needs and personal success, are more likely to report greater life satisfaction (Headey, 2008).
Adaptation and Set-Point Theory For a long time, a well-known truism in the SWB literature is that people adapt to life events and circumstances. Often known as hedonic adaptation or the hedonic treadmill, the original proposition was that while people might demonstrate short-term changes in SWB due to the many vicissitudes of life, the effects of these new circumstances (e.g., marriage, promotion, and divorce) wear off and people return to their baseline levels of happiness (Brickman et al., 1978). Set-point theory builds upon hedonic adaptation by further proposing that baseline levels of happiness are not equal between individuals, but rather determined by genes via temperament and personality (Lykken and Tellegen, 1996). Up until the last several years, set-point theory held considerable sway. This was for good reason, given the substantial amount of evidence that suggests that in many cases people do adapt to life events, both small (e.g., buying a new TV) and large (e.g., getting divorced). Furthermore, research finds that although mood fluctuates in the short term, over longer periods of time individuals’ respective levels of NA and PA often hover around a certain mean. More recent longitudinal research continues to provide some evidence for adaptation, but contradicts the notion of a rigid set-point (Lucas, 2005). Although some people habituate to significant events such as marriage, divorce, and illness, others do not (Mancini et al., 2011). Findings such as these suggest that set-points can be recalibrated and that individuals react to events in different ways, with adaptation often occurring more quickly for levels of affect than for life satisfaction.
Correlates of Subjective Well-Being Bottom-up theories have not been as successful as top-down theories in explaining individual differences in happiness. When considering such factors as gender, race, age, education, and income, most estimates have demographic variables accounting for between 15% and 20% of the differences (Diener, 2000). Nonetheless, this does not mean that such variables do not have significant effects on happiness, but rather that uncovering effects is complex, especially given the fact that personality factors correlate with environmental experiences. A thorough review of the literature is not possible in the space provided, so rather than identify all demographic and experiential factors that have been implicated in SWB, we have focused on three variables that have received considerable attention in the literature and which are of central importance to
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most people’s lives: material wealth, social relationships, and age. A fourth factor, health, is considered later when discussing SWB outcomes.
Material wealth/income In SWB literature, there is probably no demographic variable that has received more attention than income. Based on the research, there is almost unanimous agreement that income has some effect on SWB. The magnitude of the relationship and the conclusion arrived at often vary according to the methodology used and the population being studied. Generally speaking, within-subject studies looking at individuals or countries across time have often found the effects of income to be statistically significant, yet often small. In other words, rises in income are not substantially correlated with rises in happiness (Easterlin, 2005). This finding seemed to be especially true of wealthier nations, such as the United States. Small effects are also found when comparing happiness between individuals of different income levels within a select population or a particular country. Moreover, the correlation between income and SWB seems to weaken as income grows. In contrast, when looking at the effect of income between nations, the correlations are considerably stronger. On average, wealthier nations report being significantly happier than poorer ones (Morrison et al., 2011). Clearly, based on current findings, the often cited refrain, ‘Money does not buy happiness,’ is only partially true. Money buys some happiness, and the last decade of research suggests that material wealth matters more than previously estimated. In fact, recent research even questions the degree to which adaptation to increasing wealth occurs. Money might not buy happiness directly, but it does often ensure the basic necessities required for a happy life. Moreover, material wealth is also associated with other circumstances that correlate with SWB, such as the pursuit of leisure activities, better health, and greater safety. Beyond the material, income also seems to predict psychological health and societal trust (Oishi and Schimmack, 2010). Nonetheless, as nations and individuals grow wealthier, so, too, do their aspirations rise, thus partially explaining why increases in income are not always concomitant with large rises in SWB. In some cases, the benefits of material wealth might be offset by the costs. For example, higher income is also associated with increased time spent commuting to and being at work – two activities associated with stress and tension (Kahneman et al., 2004). The complicated relationship between material wealth and SWB seems to be reflected in the way people think about its effects. At least in Western countries, individuals seem to overestimate the effects of income on SWB. For example, research has found that when asked to estimate levels of SWB, people often overestimate the gap that exists between the rich and poor (Aknin et al., 2009). None of the findings indicate that material wealth does not matter, but rather that the pursuit of wealth carries its own biases and costs. Considering that across the globe aspiration and expectations of wealth continue to rise, future research will need to investigate how the considerable benefits of wealth are best linked to SWB, and how people’s expectations regarding these effects might mitigate their outcomes.
Social relationships Given the social nature of human beings, it is unsurprising to think that relationships influence SWB. The effects of relationships on well-being extend across the lifespan, from the bonding that occurs in early attachment to supportive coping that is often required in later life. In a number of different studies, larger and more integrated social networks have been associated with better physical health and greater levels of SWB (Myers, 1999). Happier people report having more friends and feeling more satisfied in their intimate relationships. Moreover, research finds that satisfaction in social relationships might buffer against the ill effects of poverty on SWB (Biswas-Diener and Diener, 2001). Research finds that even when controlling for personality, people are more likely to report positive moods when with others than when alone. Related to this finding, there is considerable literature on the damaging effects of loneliness on SWB (Cacioppo and Patrick, 2008). Although larger networks can have positive benefits, especially when instrumental help is needed, increasing attention has been given to the quality of support. Interestingly, some research suggests that when it comes to experiencing the positive benefits of social support, what might be most important is perception of support rather than enactment of support. In other words, regardless of whether they actually receive the support, what is most important is that individuals believe that help is available when the occasion arises (Gable and Gosnell, 2011). Marriage, often the most intimate relationship in a person’s life, has been studied often in the SWB literature. Crosssectional research has consistently found that married people report being happier than those who are not married. A confound in many of these studies, however, is inferring causality. Perhaps happy people are more likely to get married than unhappy people. In fact, longitudinal research supports this finding (Lucas et al., 2003a). Other longitudinal research also finds that although, on average, people do seem to show a rise in happiness upon getting married, people adapt to this new circumstance and return back to their original levels of SWB. But, as previously discussed, adaptation does not always occur. Regarding divorce, most individuals show decline in levels of SWB after that event; and, while some rebound somewhat over time, a significant number do not return to levels of well-being found before the divorce (Lucas, 2005). What factors might contribute to happiness and unhappiness within and between families? As with social support in general, the quality of interactions matters. For example, families that are supportive of one another, encourage the open expression of feelings, while also demonstrating low levels of hostility and conflict are more likely to report greater happiness (North et al., 2008). Daily stressors have also been shown to affect the quality of familial life. To this point, researchers have debated the effects of a life experience often associated with stress: parenting. Some research has found that parenting is associated with lower levels of both marital and life satisfaction (Luhmann et al., 2012). Although parents often retrospectively assert great satisfaction with having children, their affective experiences during daily interactions with their children might be less than positive. Other research, however, questions this pessimistic outlook. One recent study employed a number of different
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methodologies (e.g., self-report and ESM) with three different samples and, in all cases, found parents reported greater satisfaction and happiness than nonparents (Nelson et al., 2013). They also reported more positive emotions while engaging with their children than when not interacting with them. Interestingly, the effects for parenting on SWB were largest for fathers and younger parents. Considering the interest and cultural significance of this subject, it is likely that in the coming years increasing attention will be given to better understanding the moderating factors that underlie the hedonically mixed blessings of parenthood.
Age Our understanding of the relationship between SWB and age has undergone an interesting evolution over the last several decades. Early conclusions in the 1960s, based on available sociodemographic data, suggested that age was negatively correlated with happiness. This conclusion seemed logical at the time, given the associated declines (e.g., health) often associated with aging. However, as the SWB literature grew between the 1970s and 1990s, the majority of studies did not find a negative relationship, but instead either no relationship or a slightly positive one. Although the relationship remained unclear, it was at least evident that happiness was not synonymous with being young (Mroczek, 2001). In the last decade there have been a host of studies trying to clarify if and how SWB changes with age, but there remain some inconsistencies. These mixed findings are due to at least three reasons. First, the methodological nature of studies varies greatly. For instance, in recent years, a number of large sample panel studies have converged in finding a U-shaped trajectory for SWB across the adult lifespan (Blanchflower and Oswald, 2008). Happiness is high in young adulthood, declines in middle adulthood, only to trend upwards in later life. These findings are convincing, especially given the large number respondents often coming from multiple countries. However, the data are often cross-sectional in nature and are usually based on one-item measures of satisfaction or happiness. Contrast this finding with other longitudinal research (based on multi-item measures) which does not find the U-shaped trajectory, but rather finds that SWB is either relatively stable or continues to increase across middle adulthood, only to show a decline in very late adulthood (e.g., Mroczek and Spiro, 2005). A second reason for mixed findings might be due to the fact that different components of SWB demonstrate varying trajectories with age. For example, concerning the argument that happiness increases with age, research on changes in NA are more supportive of this conclusion than changes in PA. More specifically, the evidence for declines in NA is stronger than the expected rises in PA (Griffin et al., 2006). Therefore, findings on the directionality of happiness will depend on what component of SWB one studies. Related to this point, the third reason for different results was touched upon before in our discussion of adaptation: trajectories of SWB are often heterogeneous. People seem to react to the aging process in very different ways. Some find increased mastery and independence with age, whereas others are less sanguine and only see losses. Although there is good reason to conclude that happiness doesn’t necessarily decline in adulthood, attention will need to
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be given to individuals who are identified as ‘old old’ (475 years). Some research suggests that the SWB increases found in older age seem to plateau and even decline once very old age is considered. The optimism that is sometimes exhibited by the positive findings for SWB and aging might need to be tempered by the reality of cumulative losses that often occur in very late life (Isaacowitz and Smith, 2003).
Subjective Well-Being across Cultures When individuals from cultures across the world are asked whether happiness is a desirable state, most affirm that it is. Although research finds that the general pursuit of happiness is ubiquitous, a number of interesting differences have been found between countries with collectivist cultures (i.e., those cultures that emphasize interdependence and value social cohesion) and countries with individualistic cultures (i.e., those cultures that emphasize autonomy and the pursuit of personal needs and goals). One primary example is that, on average, collectivist countries measures lower in SWB than individualistic countries. Some of these findings are surely tied to material wealth and associated factors, such as social infrastructure, good health care, and lack of political corruption. But cultural definitions of happiness, which further link to aspirations, might also explain these differences. For example, definitional accounts of happiness in individualistic Western cultures are more tied to hedonic enjoyment and the self than in Eastern cultures, where accounts of happiness are associated with social connectedness and a balanced emotional life. In relation to this definitional account, research finds that self-esteem is more strongly associated with life satisfaction in individualistic cultures, whereas in collectivist cultures, social engagement and support are a better predictor of life satisfaction (Diener and Suh, 2000). Culture seems to be an important moderator in the relationship between a number of variables and SWB. Understanding cultural effects provides a clearer picture of not only how these variables affect happiness, but also how they interact with each other to achieve these effects. For example, the strong relationship between the material wealth of nations and SWB has already been discussed. In those findings, however, are outliers. Based on indicators of national wealth, Latin American countries report higher than expected levels of SWB than ex-communist countries. Further study suggested that an important cultural variable, religion, partially accounted for these findings. Subsequent research has found that the positive effects of religion were absent once the effects for social support was considered (Oishi and Schimmack, 2010). Moreover, the effects for religion seem to be culturally bound, such that religion is highly correlated with satisfaction in religious nations but not in nonreligious ones. In essence, culture provides a framework to understand SWB differences between nations and individuals. The aforementioned difference in SWB between collectivist and individualistic cultures might be partially explained by the cultural norms and associated cognitive schemas and goals surrounding happiness. Individualistic countries promote autonomy, self-actualization, and the pursuit of personal goals (e.g., ‘Have you seen my new cupcake blog?’), all variables
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that correlate positively with well-being. In contrast, by emphasizing social harmony and social approval, collectivist countries create cultural systems that by definition require less independence and greater self-sacrifice (Suh and Koo, 2008). Of course, happier countries are not necessarily better countries. In fact, individualism carries many costs when it comes to mental health. Cross-cultural comparisons do not provide definitive answers to the question of how to be happy, but they do illuminate the way social structures and norms shape both its pursuit and attainment.
Benefits and Pitfalls in the Pursuit of Happiness As has been discussed, over the years a considerable amount of attention has been given to identifying causes of happiness. In many cases, studies have relied on examining the relationship between SWB and other variables and making inferences about causality. If most people who are healthier and married are happier, then it is assumed that better health and marriage contribute to happiness. It is now clear, however, that the relationship between SWB and a number of different variables is bidirectional. Being happy is not simply a result of life circumstances, but also a cause. A plethora of data substantiates the claim that good things happen to happy people (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005). However, in some cases the pursuit of happiness does have a dark side. Below we consider evidence for each outcome.
Positive Consequences It pays to be happy – both metaphorically and literally speaking. A number of positive outcomes are associated with SWB, and income is one of them. Longitudinal studies suggest that happy people make more money over time. Moreover, PA in early adolescence has been found to predict financial independence in early adulthood. The positive effects of SWB on income are probably tied to the fact that PA and life satisfaction correlate with and predict a number of workplace outcomes (Erdogan et al., 2012). For example, higher SWB is associated with job attainment and reemployment after job loss. Happy people have also been found to be more satisfied with work over time, as well to show lower rates of turnover and absenteeism. Prospective research has also found that SWB is positively correlated with worker productivity and evaluations from supervisors. Happier people are not only liked by their bosses, but people in general. This makes sense given that happy people are considered friendlier, more likable, and more physically attractive than less happy people. We have already discussed the consistent link between SWB and marriage. In some cases, marriage might be the cause of wedded bliss, but research also finds that being happy improves your chances of getting married in the first place. Even when controlling for personality variables, life satisfaction predicts getting married 5 years later (Luhmann et al., 2012). Just as importantly, longitudinal research has also found SWB to positively predict relationship satisfaction over time. Therefore, based on the research, it seems that positive emotions can engender positive social networks.
When people are asked to think about things that would be important to a happy life, good health is often mentioned. Indeed, almost every major review of the literature finds health to be a significant correlate of SWB. Poor health is associated with physically debilitating symptoms, higher levels of pains, and loss of independence – all experiences that could impede happiness. Clearly, health influences SWB. But how does SWB affect health? Although early research neglected the bidirectionality of this relationship, for the past two decades numerous studies have provided evidence for the effects of SWB on physical health. For example, longitudinal research has found that SWB statistically predicts across a number of different health outcomes, such as hospitalization, incidence of cardiovascular disease, occurrence of stroke, and respiratory functioning (Howell et al., 2007). Besides being healthier, some researchers have argued that being happy might improve one’s chances of living longer, with estimates ranging between 4 and 10 years (Diener and Chan, 2011). Higher SWB has been found to statistically predict longer survival after illness onset for both terminal and nonterminal disease. Other research has found that higher levels of SWB predict fewer fatal accidents, as well as fewer deaths from intentional injuries. Why does some research find that being happy is linked to being healthy and living longer? Several indirect pathways have been identified. Being happier is associated with behavioral habits conducive to health, such as better diet and more exercise. As already discussed, higher SWB is associated with more social support, a variable that can be of great significance, especially when suffering debilitating disease. Another pathway, which is more difficult to chart but which has some empirical support, is that SWB might directly affect physiology. It could do so by not only affecting hormone production and improving immune function, but also by dampening the deteriorative effects brought on by stress and negative emotionality (Pressman and Cohen, 2005). The findings have been mixed, but some laboratory studies have found that positive emotions affect immune functioning over short periods of time. Given the evidence, there is good reason to think that SWB can have a positive influence on health outcomes. However, it is too premature to conclude that happiness is synonymous with good health. It is certainly true that people who report being happier are more likely to self-report being healthier, but this probably says more about these people’s mood states and personalities than their objective health. It is also true that while longitudinal research has linked SWB with future health, other research does not find that earlier levels of SWB statistically predict later health outcomes (Gana et al., 2013). Further research will be needed to better explain if and how happiness causes changes in health by directly examining the physiological changes that precipitate better outcomes, as well as developing more sophisticated longitudinal models that broadly consider a host of interrelated variables and how they influence one another over time (Friedman and Kern, 2014).
Negative Consequences Although happiness certainly has its benefits, research has begun to uncover the ways in which it can become a doubleedged sword. Although happiness is an important aspect of
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psychological well-being, in certain cases valuing happiness may be counter-productive. Research finds that drawing attention and placing too much value directly on happiness may discourage individuals, since these high expectations may set them up for frustration, disappointment, and negative self-appraisal (Mauss et al., 2011). Thus, some people who expect to be happy and achieve this goal, nonetheless find themselves asking why they are not more satisfied. The likelihood of disappointment is exacerbated when the conditions for happiness seem good, such as instances of low stress. These findings have particular relevance for current times, in which many people are acutely aware of the many conveniences and benefits of modern life, but are still left wondering if they should be even happier. Paradoxically, the pursuit of happiness can make some people miserable. There might be no right way to be happy, but some studies suggest that too much happiness can be problematic and even dangerous. Research finds that very high levels of PA are associated with risky behavior, erratic and illusory thinking, and lessened motivation (Gruber et al., 2011). Although the benefits of SWB on health are many, research also finds that high PA might be detrimental to individuals with advanced illness because they are more likely to underreport physical symptoms and less likely to adhere to treatment regimens. Just as extreme levels of PA can be a symptom of mental illness (i.e., mania), the absence of NA can indicate a dulled response to social stimuli, signaling antisocial behavior (e.g., psychopathy and depression). There is considerable evidence for the fundamental importance of NA across a variety of conditions. When taken to the extreme, enhancing positive emotions by excluding negative ones is a dangerous proposition.
Given that many of these interventions seem to be centered on virtue and goodness, they might lead some cynics to be positively skeptical. Regardless of the seemingly benevolent intentions and outcomes of some of these activities, many have been chosen because these practices have already shown sustained effects on happiness. For example, gratitude has often been found to correlate with SWB, and experimental studies designed to promote gratitude have demonstrated effects on both SWB and physical health. More broadly speaking, a meta-analysis (Sin and Lyubomirsky, 2009) of 51 randomized controlled interventions found a medium effect size for improvement in well-being (though it should be noted that besides measures of satisfaction and affect, outcomes included variables that are peripherally related to SWB, such as optimism). Other research finds that positive intervention groups have shown significant increases in SWB compared to treatment-as-usual, placebo, and no-treatment groups, even within clinical populations (Seligman et al., 2006). In fact, it seems that the people who seem to benefit most from these interventions are those demonstrating more severe symptoms of depression. SWB intervention research is still in its infancy. But it is growing up fast, and some of the results are encouraging. However, considering that many studies have been conducted with college students in Western countries, questions of generalizability remain. Moreover, many of the results were found over relative short periods of time (i.e., several weeks to several months). Given that these interventions seem to work best when exercises are varied and motivating enough for individuals to pursue them, future research is needed on uncovering why certain practices work well for some and not for others and how to best tailor treatment according to goals and interests.
Interventions
The Happy Future?
Can we make people happier? Should we? This latter question can be problematic for some, especially given the philosophical and cultural implications. Nonetheless, many in the field of positive psychology emphatically believe that clinicians and researchers should not only promote SWB and psychological flourishing, but that these interventions can be grounded in empirical research. Over the last decade, a number of activities and modalities of treatment have developed with the explicit intention of promoting positive feelings and the behaviors that lead to them. What types of exercises promote SWB? Many are beguilingly simple and often centered on the promotion of character and meaning, such as hope and forgiveness exercises, or identifying signature strengths. Others are comprised of more creative and mindfulness-based activities, such as gratitude journaling or writing about a best future self. Besides these engagement exercises, other interventions are more in line with traditional cognitive-behavioral practices, though rather than simply targeting dysfunctional thinking that leads to dysphoria, the focus is on cognitive and emotional processes that might impede positive emotional states. In essence, many of these activities are ways of getting people to engage in behavioral and cognitive practices often associated with happy people (Lyubomirsky and Layous, 2013).
Currently, most people want to be happy. This is nothing new in history. What is different, however, is that we have several decades of research to better understand happiness’ causes and conditions. Certain scholars find this a cause for celebration, some are more circumspect, and more than a few are downright hostile. It is rare these days for a month to go by when one does not see a media story on the latest finding about what makes people happy, or to go to the bookstore and not find a shelf stocked with the latest secret recipe for well-being. It’s sometimes easy to trivialize the study of happiness. Happy or not, SWB research is here to stay. The development of singular journals on the topic, the organization of professional conferences, and the prominent researchers who eagerly investigate SWB ensure its survival. Based on current research, a forecast of its future beyond its continued growth is difficult, but several (of many) directions seem likely. The expansion of SWB research into other countries will continue, and so, too, will global between-country studies. More sophisticated methodologies will be employed, including multimethod and longitudinal studies that reveal the different components of SWB and their interactions, as well the individual differences in these trajectories over time. The recent reconsiderations of certain theories of
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happiness, such as adaptation and set-point theory, will force researchers to consider other explanatory models. Sociogenomics, which places its focus on the dynamic interplay between genes and environments, is becoming increasingly important in behavioral genetics and personality psychology and is likely to inform our understanding of SWB as well. Finally, as culture debates continue to abound about happiness and its place in the ‘good life,’ researchers will continue to examine and promote the ways happiness not only makes us feel better, but be better. As always, the pursuit of happiness will continue.
See also: Age and Emotion. Culture and Mental Health. Divorce and Parental Separation. Gratitude. Mental Health and Aging. Optimism, Motivation, and Mental Health. Positive Psychology. Social Support and Mental Health. The Science of Forgiveness: Examining the Influence of Forgiveness on Mental Health
References Aknin, L.B., Norton, M.I., Dunn, E.W., 2009. From wealth to well-being? Money matters, but less than people think. Journal of Positive Psychology 4 (6), 523–527. Argyle, M., Martin, M., Lu, L., 1995. Testing for stress and happiness: The role of social and cognitive factors. In: Spielberger, C.D., Sarason, I.G. (Eds.), Stress and Emotion. Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis, pp. 173–187. Biswas-Diener, R., Diener, E., 2001. Making the best of a bad situation: Satisfaction in the slums of Calcutta. Social Indicators Research 55 (3), 329–352. Blanchflower, D.G., Oswald, A.J., 2008. Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle? Social Science & Medicine 66 (8), 1733–1749. Brickman, P., Coates, D., Janoff-Bulman, R., 1978. Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 36, 917–927. Cacioppo, J.T., Patrick, B., 2008. Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. Davidson, R.J., Jackson, D.C., Kalin, N.H., 2000. Emotion, plasticity, context, and regulation: Perspectives from affective neuroscience. Psychological Bulletin 126 (6), 890–909. Diener, E., 2000. Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist 55 (1), 34–43. Diener, E., Chan, M.Y., 2011. Happy people live longer: Subjective well being contributes to health and longevity. Applied Psychology: Health And Well-Being 3 (1), 1–43. Diener, E., Emmons, R., Larsen, R., Griffin, S., 1985. Satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment 49 (1), 71–75. Diener, E., Suh, E.M., 2000. Culture and Subjective Well-Being. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Easterlin, R.A., 2005. Diminishing marginal utility of income? Caveat emptor. Social Indicators Research 70 (3), 243–255. Erdogan, B., Bauer, T.N., Truxillo, D.M., Mansfield, L., 2012. Whistle while you work: A review of the life satisfaction literature. Journal of Management 38, 1038–1083. Friedman, H.S., Kern, M.L., 2014. Personality, well-being, and health. Annual Review of Psychology. 65719–65742. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115123. Gable, S.G., Gosnell, C.L., 2011. The positive side of close relationships. In: Sheldon, K.M., Kashdan, T.B., Steger, M.F. (Eds.), Designing Positive Psychology: Taking Stock and Moving Forward. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 265–279. Gana, K., Bailly, N., Saada, Y., et al., 2013. Relationship between life satisfaction and physical health in older adults: A longitudinal test of cross-lagged and simultaneous effects. Health Psychology 32 (8), 896–904. doi:10.1037/a0031656. Griffin, P.W., Mroczek, D., Spiro, R., 2006. Variability in affect change among aging men: Longitudinal findings from the VA normative aging study. Journal of Research in Personality 40, 942–965.
Gruber, J., Mauss, I.B., Tamir, M., 2011. A dark side of happiness? How, when, and why happiness is not always good. Perspectives on Psychological Science 6 (3), 222–233. Headey, B., 2008. Life goals matter to happiness: A revision of set-point theory. Social Indicators Research 86 (2), 213–231. Howell, R.T., Kern, M.L., Lyubomirsky, S., 2007. Health benefits: Meta-analytically determining the impact of well-being on objective health outcomes. Health Psychology Review 1, 83–136. Isaacowitz, D.M., Smith, J., 2003. Positive and negative affect in very old age. Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 58B (3), P143–P152. Johnson, W., McGue, M., Krueger, R.F., 2005. Personality stability in late adulthood: A behavioral genetic analysis. Journal of Personality 73 (2), 523–551. Kahneman, D., Krueger, A.B., Schkade, D.A., Schwarz, N., Stone, A.A., 2004. A survey method for characterizing daily life experience: The day reconstruction method. Science 306, 1776–1780. Lucas, R.E., 2005. Time does not heal all wounds. Psychological Science 16 (12), 945–950. Lucas, R.E., Clark, A.E., Georgellis, Y., Diener, E., 2003a. Re-examining adaptation and the setpoint model of happiness: Reactions to changes in marital status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 84, 527–539. Lucas, R.E., Diener, E., Larsen, R.J., 2003b. Measuring positive emotions. In: Lopez, S.J., Snyder, C.R. (Eds.), Positive Psychological Assessment: A Handbook of Models and Measures. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 2003. Luhmann, M., Hofmann, W., Eid, M., Lucas, R.E., 2012. Subjective well-being and adaptation to life events: A meta-analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 102 (3), 592–615. Lykken, D., Tellegen, A., 1996. Happiness is a stochastic phenomenon. Psychological Science 7 (3), 186–189. Lyubomirsky, S., 2001. Why are some people happier than others?: The role of cognitive and motivational processes in well-being. American Psychologist 56, 239–249. Lyubomirsky, S., Layous, K., 2013. How do simple positive activities increase wellbeing? Current Directions in Psychological Science 22 (1), 57–62. Lyubomirsky, S., Lepper, H., 1999. A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research 46, 137–155. Lyubomirsky, S., King, L.A., Diener, E., 2005. The benefits of frequent positive affect. Psychological Bulletin 131, 803–855. Mancini, A.D., Bonanno, G.A., Clark, A.E., 2011. Stepping off the hedonic treadmill: Individual differences in response to major life events. Journal of Individual Differences 32 (3), 144–152. Mauss, I.B., Tamir, M., Anderson, C.L., Savino, N.S., 2011. Can seeking happiness make people unhappy? Paradoxical effects of valuing happiness. Emotion 11 (4), 807–815. McMahon, D., 2005. Happiness: A History, first ed. Brooklyn, NY: Grove/Atlantic Inc. Morrison, M., Tay, L., Diener, E., 2011. Subjective well-being and national satisfaction: Findings from a worldwide survey. Psychological Science 22 (2), 166–171. Mroczek, D.K., 2001. Age and emotion in adulthood. Current Directions in Psychological Science 10 (3), 87–90. Mroczek, D.K., Spiro, A., 2005. Change in life satisfaction during adulthood: Findings from the veterans affairs normative aging study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 88, 189–202. Myers, D.G., 1999. Close relationship and quality of life. In: Kahneman, D., Diener, E., Schwarz, N. (Eds.), Well-Being: The Foundations of Hedonic Psychology. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation, pp. 374–391. Nelson, S.K., Kushlev, K., English, T., Dunn, E.W., Lyubomirsky, S., 2013. In defense of parenthood: Children are associated with more joy than misery. Psychological Science 24, 3–10. North, R.J., Holahan, C.J., Moos, R.H., Conkite, R.C., 2008. Family support, family income, and happiness: A 10-year perspective. Journal of Family Psychology 22 (3), 475–483. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.22.3.475. Oishi, S., Schimmack, U., 2010. Culture and well-being: A new inquiry into the psychological wealth of nations. Perspectives on Psychological Science 5 (4), 463–471. Pavot, W., 2008. The assessment of subjective well-being: Successes and shortfalls. In: Eid, M., Larsen, R.J. (Eds.), The Science of Subjective Well-Being. New York, NY: Guilford Press, pp. 124–140. Pressman, S.D., Cohen, S., 2005. Does positive affect influence health? Psychological Bulletin 131, 925–971. Seligman, M.P., Rashid, T., Parks, A.C., 2006. Positive psychotherapy. American Psychologist 61 (8), 774–788.
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Sin, N.L., Lyubomirsky, S., 2009. Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: A practice-friendly meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology 65 (5), 467–487. doi:10.1002/jclp.20593. Suh, E.M., Koo, J., 2008. Comparing subjective well-being across cultures and nations: The "what" and "why" questions. In: Eid, M., Larsen, R.J. (Eds.), The Science of Subjective Well-Being. New York, NY: Guilford, pp. 414–427. Tamir, M., Robinson, M.D., 2007. The happy spotlight: Positive mood and selective attention to rewarding information. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 33 (8), 1124–1136.
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Watson, D., Clark, L.A., Tellegen, A., 1988. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54, 1063–1070. Weiss, A., Bates, T.C., Luciano, M., 2008. Happiness is a personal(ity) thing: The genetics of personality and well-being in a representative sample. Psychological Science 19 (3), 205–210.
Glossary Bottom-up theories An approach to examining and explaining subjective well-being (SWB) that focuses on the circumstances and events in people’s lives that contribute to pleasant and unpleasant experiences. Bottom-up theories argue that happiness is the total product of individuals’ life circumstances. Hedonic adaptation The tendency for organisms to habituate to stimuli and circumstances over time. In SWB research, it specifically refers to the way people’s levels of happiness are influenced by events in the short term, but return to baseline over time. Negative affect Unpleasant emotional experiences and mood, both short and long term, that cause distress and that people try to avoid, such as sadness, fear, anger, and guilt.
Defining and Measuring Subjective Well-Being How do you measure happiness? Perhaps the biggest obstacle is the recognition that individuals’ personal experiences lend themselves to different interpretations of what those experiences mean. Moreover, the form and function of happiness vary across history (McMahon, 2005). It is this very subjectivity that might have led the psychological sciences to ignore the study of happiness for so long. Nonetheless, spurred by the pioneering work of Ed Diener in the 1980s, the last several decades have resulted in considerable interest and growth in studying happiness. The very issue of subjectivity is often seen as a starting point, recognizing that it is within people’s experiences and their evaluations of them that well-being lies. Subjective well-being (SWB) is thought to be synonymous with happiness, but the former term is often preferentially used in the sciences because its meaning and its components are more readily agreed upon. More specifically, SWB is composed of the cognitive evaluations people make about their life overall (i.e., life satisfaction) and specific role domains (e.g., work and family), as well as the affective experiences of pleasant and unpleasant mood that occur across situations and time (Diener, 2000). Counter intuitively, measuring SWB has refined our understanding of how to better operationalize it. For example,
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Positive affect Pleasant emotional experiences and mood, both short and long term, that people often value and seek, such as joy, pride, enthusiasm, and excitement. Set-point theory A theory that proposes that individual levels of SWB are mostly genetic in nature, static over time, and minimally influenced by circumstances and environmental experiences. Subjective well-being The scientific term for happiness; it is an evaluation of a person’s life based primarily on three primary components: life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. Top-down theories This approach argues that individual differences in happiness are a result of the way people process and subjectively experience an event, rather than the objective circumstance itself. Often, top-down theories argue that genes and personality best explain individual differences in SWB.
people’s global judgment about their satisfaction with life is only somewhat correlated with their affective experiences, thus revealing that these are related but separate components. An even more surprising finding is that global experiences of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) are not opposite poles on a happiness–unhappiness spectrum (Watson et al., 1988). We know this because a host of different studies found that PA and NA are only mildly correlated. In other words, although we do find that some people who report generally high levels of PA also report low levels of NA (which we would commonly think of as a happy person), we also find other patterns, such as some individuals who simultaneously report high levels of global PA and NA. The independence of SWB components is further demonstrated by the fact that for life satisfaction, PA and NA are influenced by different causes. For example, personality is more highly related to affect, whereas personal income demonstrates a stronger correlation with life satisfaction.
Self-Report Measures Self-report measures remain the most popular way of assessing SWB. The advantages of using such instruments are both philosophical and pragmatic. If happiness is in the eye of the
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beholder, who better and what easier way can there be to obtain such information than asking the beholder himself or herself? This methodology has its roots not in psychology, but in mid-twentieth century sociological research examining factors related to civic well-being. Intended to gather information across a large swath of people, these measures are often based on one-item instruments such as, ‘Taking all things together, how would you say that you are these days: very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?’ Although the relative reliability and validity of these singleitem measures has been established, the vast amount of research in psychology has employed multi-item measures. Over the last several decades a host of different measures have been developed and tested across a diverse sample of populations. An exhaustive review of such measures is not possible here (see Lucas et al., 2003b), but several of the most validated instruments do warrant mention. The most commonly used measure of life satisfaction is the five-item Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al., 1985). For a relatively short measure, the SWLS has shown strong reliability across a number of different languages. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson et al., 1988) not only provides separate measurements for NA and PA, but its format structure allows researchers to vary the time frame so that one can assess either temporary emotional states or more global affective temperament. Researchers have also developed multi-item measures designed to directly measure subjective happiness. One prominent example is the 29-item Oxford Happiness Inventory (Argyle et al., 1995). A shorter alternative is the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky and Lepper, 1999).
Momentary and Reconstructive Methods One common concern with a self-report approach to SWB is whether individuals can be both honest and intuitive enough to answer questions pertaining to happiness in a reliable way. Don’t most people want to think and say that they are happy? Indeed, most people across cultures and countries do say they are somewhat happy. Moreover, research indicates that contextual influences (e.g., present mood or weather) and item ordering can affect the responses on these measures. One way to control for these confounds is to concentrate less on global self-evaluation and more on affective experiences as they occur throughout the day. Experience sampling methodology (ESM) is an example of such an approach, whereby individuals are contacted at different times throughout the day and asked to report their current mood and what they are doing. Another less invasive approach developed by Kahneman and colleagues, the day reconstruction method, involves asking people to recollect activities and experiences from the day before. Although different, both methods attempt to provide a more accurate picture of SWB by reducing memory bias and focusing on the affective experiences and circumstances associated with happiness (Kahneman et al., 2004). Even with its limitations, the measurement of SWB demonstrates considerable reliability and validity. People might demonstrate a positivity bias when it comes to answering questions about their own happiness, but this is because more people are not accustomed to feeling somewhat positive about their lives. If SWB measures were simply artifacts of deception,
we would not expect these instruments to be sensitive to life circumstances. In fact, measures of SWB often correlate in the expected direction with a number of outcomes, such as loss, pain, love, and success. Self-report measures of SWB show modest reliability across time, and also correlate with reports made by third parties (e.g., family and friends). Although no assessment could perfectly encapsulate a phenomenon as complex as happiness, measures of SWB are most accurate when they are conducted over multiple time points using different instruments (Pavot, 2008).
Explaining Subjective Well-Being: Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches The most studied question in the SWB literature is an issue confronted throughout the ages: What makes people happy? Another way of addressing this question is to examine why people differ in their levels of SWB. Broadly speaking, two different approaches have been taken. The top-down approach to explaining SWB argues that individual differences in happiness are a result of the way people process and subjectively experience an event, rather than the objective circumstance itself. In other words, people’s predispositions are what mainly explain differences in SWB. Research examining the role of genes and the effects of personality represent two of the most prominent top-down approaches. In contrast, a bottom-up approach attempts to explain SWB by focusing on the circumstances and events in people’s lives that contribute to pleasant and unpleasant experiences. In essence, SWB is the product of individuals’ experiences and their satisfaction with various life domains (e.g., family life and work). Research related to this approach attempts to identify variables, especially sociodemographic ones, which consistently correlate with and predict happiness. For each approach, a considerable amount of data has been gathered. A brief review of some of the more important findings is found below.
Genes and Biology Currently, there is little debate that genes significantly influence SWB. Studies consistently find that genes are the biggest factor in explaining individual differences in happiness. Based on some of the first twin studies on this issue conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, a number of researchers reached the conclusion that SWB was almost exclusively genetically determined. Two of the most famous proponents of this argument, Lykken and Tellegen (1996), concluded that because almost 80% of long-term SWB was heritable, it made little sense to try and be happy unless one was already genetically inclined. Their determinist argument for happiness was further bolstered by the fact that many studies besides their own had demonstrated that environmental factors, especially shared ones (e.g., living in the same household), had relatively little influence on SWB. Over the past decade, subsequent studies have affirmed the importance of genes in predicting individual differences in SWB, although some research indicates that earlier estimates of genetic influence might be too high (Johnson et al., 2005). Overall, when it comes to the question of why some people are happier than others, most researchers
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estimate that genes can account for approximately 40–50% of these differences. An even more vexing issue is how genes exert their influence. Given that genes play a central role in both building and regulating bodily systems, it could be that individual differences in SWB are a result of differences in biological make up. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that differences in PA and NA are correlated with brain activity in the prefrontal cortex. More specifically, PA is associated with greater activity in the left prefrontal cortex, whereas NA is associated with greater resting potential in the right prefrontal cortex. These associated hemispheric brain differences are also tied to differences in the way people react to environmental stimuli (Davidson et al., 2000). Individuals with greater left prefrontal activation attend to and react more strongly to positive stimuli, whereas those with greater right prefrontal activation are more sensitive to negative stimuli. Therefore, differences in SWB might be a reflection of the different ways individuals interpret the environment and process these experiences. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that people who report being higher in PA are more likely to show selective attention toward rewarding information (Tamir and Robinson, 2007). The roots of happiness might be found in our brains, which, in turn, color our world. For some, this color might be rosier than for others.
Personality Significant differences in the way happy and unhappy people think and behave have led many to conclude that personality plays a fundamental role in SWB. Some have even argued that these differences in SWB are a reflection of temperament itself. The strongest evidence for this argument comes from the moderate correlation that is often found between extraversion and PA, and neuroticism and NA. In other words, people who are extraverted are naturally more inclined to feel cheerful and enthusiastic, while those measuring high in neuroticism are more likely to be irritable and distressed. It might be the case, then, that both SWB and personality traits share the same genetic underpinnings. In other words, the genetic nature of happiness is reflected in the traits we inherit from our parents. One study found support for this argument, with most of the shared effects due to the traits of extraversion and neuroticism, and to a lesser extent, conscientiousness (Weiss et al., 2008). This latter finding is reflected in the wider literature. Extraversion and neuroticism have been found to be the best predictors of SWB, although there is also some evidence that agreeableness and conscientiousness are also correlated with happiness. Besides higher-order traits, other research has focused on other aspects of personality that might influence SWB. In this case, rather than supposing that happiness is a mere reflection of innate temperament, the argument is that personality shapes the way people think about the world and how they behave. For example, optimism and self-esteem have been consistently linked to higher levels of SWB. Might the way people think about themselves and the future affect SWB? Indeed, research has demonstrated that happy people are more likely to ‘accentuate the positive.’ For example, happy people are more likely than unhappy people to remember positive
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events, not to ruminate about negative events, and are less likely to use social comparison as a way of regulating their own mood (Lyubomirsky, 2001). Personality dispositions might be further linked to the way people pursue their goals, a variable that has been found to be related to SWB. More specifically, the type of goals one pursues and the degree of persistence has been found to predict SWB. Research finds that people who pursue goals oriented around intimacy and social relationships, rather than material needs and personal success, are more likely to report greater life satisfaction (Headey, 2008).
Adaptation and Set-Point Theory For a long time, a well-known truism in the SWB literature is that people adapt to life events and circumstances. Often known as hedonic adaptation or the hedonic treadmill, the original proposition was that while people might demonstrate short-term changes in SWB due to the many vicissitudes of life, the effects of these new circumstances (e.g., marriage, promotion, and divorce) wear off and people return to their baseline levels of happiness (Brickman et al., 1978). Set-point theory builds upon hedonic adaptation by further proposing that baseline levels of happiness are not equal between individuals, but rather determined by genes via temperament and personality (Lykken and Tellegen, 1996). Up until the last several years, set-point theory held considerable sway. This was for good reason, given the substantial amount of evidence that suggests that in many cases people do adapt to life events, both small (e.g., buying a new TV) and large (e.g., getting divorced). Furthermore, research finds that although mood fluctuates in the short term, over longer periods of time individuals’ respective levels of NA and PA often hover around a certain mean. More recent longitudinal research continues to provide some evidence for adaptation, but contradicts the notion of a rigid set-point (Lucas, 2005). Although some people habituate to significant events such as marriage, divorce, and illness, others do not (Mancini et al., 2011). Findings such as these suggest that set-points can be recalibrated and that individuals react to events in different ways, with adaptation often occurring more quickly for levels of affect than for life satisfaction.
Correlates of Subjective Well-Being Bottom-up theories have not been as successful as top-down theories in explaining individual differences in happiness. When considering such factors as gender, race, age, education, and income, most estimates have demographic variables accounting for between 15% and 20% of the differences (Diener, 2000). Nonetheless, this does not mean that such variables do not have significant effects on happiness, but rather that uncovering effects is complex, especially given the fact that personality factors correlate with environmental experiences. A thorough review of the literature is not possible in the space provided, so rather than identify all demographic and experiential factors that have been implicated in SWB, we have focused on three variables that have received considerable attention in the literature and which are of central importance to
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most people’s lives: material wealth, social relationships, and age. A fourth factor, health, is considered later when discussing SWB outcomes.
Material wealth/income In SWB literature, there is probably no demographic variable that has received more attention than income. Based on the research, there is almost unanimous agreement that income has some effect on SWB. The magnitude of the relationship and the conclusion arrived at often vary according to the methodology used and the population being studied. Generally speaking, within-subject studies looking at individuals or countries across time have often found the effects of income to be statistically significant, yet often small. In other words, rises in income are not substantially correlated with rises in happiness (Easterlin, 2005). This finding seemed to be especially true of wealthier nations, such as the United States. Small effects are also found when comparing happiness between individuals of different income levels within a select population or a particular country. Moreover, the correlation between income and SWB seems to weaken as income grows. In contrast, when looking at the effect of income between nations, the correlations are considerably stronger. On average, wealthier nations report being significantly happier than poorer ones (Morrison et al., 2011). Clearly, based on current findings, the often cited refrain, ‘Money does not buy happiness,’ is only partially true. Money buys some happiness, and the last decade of research suggests that material wealth matters more than previously estimated. In fact, recent research even questions the degree to which adaptation to increasing wealth occurs. Money might not buy happiness directly, but it does often ensure the basic necessities required for a happy life. Moreover, material wealth is also associated with other circumstances that correlate with SWB, such as the pursuit of leisure activities, better health, and greater safety. Beyond the material, income also seems to predict psychological health and societal trust (Oishi and Schimmack, 2010). Nonetheless, as nations and individuals grow wealthier, so, too, do their aspirations rise, thus partially explaining why increases in income are not always concomitant with large rises in SWB. In some cases, the benefits of material wealth might be offset by the costs. For example, higher income is also associated with increased time spent commuting to and being at work – two activities associated with stress and tension (Kahneman et al., 2004). The complicated relationship between material wealth and SWB seems to be reflected in the way people think about its effects. At least in Western countries, individuals seem to overestimate the effects of income on SWB. For example, research has found that when asked to estimate levels of SWB, people often overestimate the gap that exists between the rich and poor (Aknin et al., 2009). None of the findings indicate that material wealth does not matter, but rather that the pursuit of wealth carries its own biases and costs. Considering that across the globe aspiration and expectations of wealth continue to rise, future research will need to investigate how the considerable benefits of wealth are best linked to SWB, and how people’s expectations regarding these effects might mitigate their outcomes.
Social relationships Given the social nature of human beings, it is unsurprising to think that relationships influence SWB. The effects of relationships on well-being extend across the lifespan, from the bonding that occurs in early attachment to supportive coping that is often required in later life. In a number of different studies, larger and more integrated social networks have been associated with better physical health and greater levels of SWB (Myers, 1999). Happier people report having more friends and feeling more satisfied in their intimate relationships. Moreover, research finds that satisfaction in social relationships might buffer against the ill effects of poverty on SWB (Biswas-Diener and Diener, 2001). Research finds that even when controlling for personality, people are more likely to report positive moods when with others than when alone. Related to this finding, there is considerable literature on the damaging effects of loneliness on SWB (Cacioppo and Patrick, 2008). Although larger networks can have positive benefits, especially when instrumental help is needed, increasing attention has been given to the quality of support. Interestingly, some research suggests that when it comes to experiencing the positive benefits of social support, what might be most important is perception of support rather than enactment of support. In other words, regardless of whether they actually receive the support, what is most important is that individuals believe that help is available when the occasion arises (Gable and Gosnell, 2011). Marriage, often the most intimate relationship in a person’s life, has been studied often in the SWB literature. Crosssectional research has consistently found that married people report being happier than those who are not married. A confound in many of these studies, however, is inferring causality. Perhaps happy people are more likely to get married than unhappy people. In fact, longitudinal research supports this finding (Lucas et al., 2003a). Other longitudinal research also finds that although, on average, people do seem to show a rise in happiness upon getting married, people adapt to this new circumstance and return back to their original levels of SWB. But, as previously discussed, adaptation does not always occur. Regarding divorce, most individuals show decline in levels of SWB after that event; and, while some rebound somewhat over time, a significant number do not return to levels of well-being found before the divorce (Lucas, 2005). What factors might contribute to happiness and unhappiness within and between families? As with social support in general, the quality of interactions matters. For example, families that are supportive of one another, encourage the open expression of feelings, while also demonstrating low levels of hostility and conflict are more likely to report greater happiness (North et al., 2008). Daily stressors have also been shown to affect the quality of familial life. To this point, researchers have debated the effects of a life experience often associated with stress: parenting. Some research has found that parenting is associated with lower levels of both marital and life satisfaction (Luhmann et al., 2012). Although parents often retrospectively assert great satisfaction with having children, their affective experiences during daily interactions with their children might be less than positive. Other research, however, questions this pessimistic outlook. One recent study employed a number of different
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methodologies (e.g., self-report and ESM) with three different samples and, in all cases, found parents reported greater satisfaction and happiness than nonparents (Nelson et al., 2013). They also reported more positive emotions while engaging with their children than when not interacting with them. Interestingly, the effects for parenting on SWB were largest for fathers and younger parents. Considering the interest and cultural significance of this subject, it is likely that in the coming years increasing attention will be given to better understanding the moderating factors that underlie the hedonically mixed blessings of parenthood.
Age Our understanding of the relationship between SWB and age has undergone an interesting evolution over the last several decades. Early conclusions in the 1960s, based on available sociodemographic data, suggested that age was negatively correlated with happiness. This conclusion seemed logical at the time, given the associated declines (e.g., health) often associated with aging. However, as the SWB literature grew between the 1970s and 1990s, the majority of studies did not find a negative relationship, but instead either no relationship or a slightly positive one. Although the relationship remained unclear, it was at least evident that happiness was not synonymous with being young (Mroczek, 2001). In the last decade there have been a host of studies trying to clarify if and how SWB changes with age, but there remain some inconsistencies. These mixed findings are due to at least three reasons. First, the methodological nature of studies varies greatly. For instance, in recent years, a number of large sample panel studies have converged in finding a U-shaped trajectory for SWB across the adult lifespan (Blanchflower and Oswald, 2008). Happiness is high in young adulthood, declines in middle adulthood, only to trend upwards in later life. These findings are convincing, especially given the large number respondents often coming from multiple countries. However, the data are often cross-sectional in nature and are usually based on one-item measures of satisfaction or happiness. Contrast this finding with other longitudinal research (based on multi-item measures) which does not find the U-shaped trajectory, but rather finds that SWB is either relatively stable or continues to increase across middle adulthood, only to show a decline in very late adulthood (e.g., Mroczek and Spiro, 2005). A second reason for mixed findings might be due to the fact that different components of SWB demonstrate varying trajectories with age. For example, concerning the argument that happiness increases with age, research on changes in NA are more supportive of this conclusion than changes in PA. More specifically, the evidence for declines in NA is stronger than the expected rises in PA (Griffin et al., 2006). Therefore, findings on the directionality of happiness will depend on what component of SWB one studies. Related to this point, the third reason for different results was touched upon before in our discussion of adaptation: trajectories of SWB are often heterogeneous. People seem to react to the aging process in very different ways. Some find increased mastery and independence with age, whereas others are less sanguine and only see losses. Although there is good reason to conclude that happiness doesn’t necessarily decline in adulthood, attention will need to
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be given to individuals who are identified as ‘old old’ (475 years). Some research suggests that the SWB increases found in older age seem to plateau and even decline once very old age is considered. The optimism that is sometimes exhibited by the positive findings for SWB and aging might need to be tempered by the reality of cumulative losses that often occur in very late life (Isaacowitz and Smith, 2003).
Subjective Well-Being across Cultures When individuals from cultures across the world are asked whether happiness is a desirable state, most affirm that it is. Although research finds that the general pursuit of happiness is ubiquitous, a number of interesting differences have been found between countries with collectivist cultures (i.e., those cultures that emphasize interdependence and value social cohesion) and countries with individualistic cultures (i.e., those cultures that emphasize autonomy and the pursuit of personal needs and goals). One primary example is that, on average, collectivist countries measures lower in SWB than individualistic countries. Some of these findings are surely tied to material wealth and associated factors, such as social infrastructure, good health care, and lack of political corruption. But cultural definitions of happiness, which further link to aspirations, might also explain these differences. For example, definitional accounts of happiness in individualistic Western cultures are more tied to hedonic enjoyment and the self than in Eastern cultures, where accounts of happiness are associated with social connectedness and a balanced emotional life. In relation to this definitional account, research finds that self-esteem is more strongly associated with life satisfaction in individualistic cultures, whereas in collectivist cultures, social engagement and support are a better predictor of life satisfaction (Diener and Suh, 2000). Culture seems to be an important moderator in the relationship between a number of variables and SWB. Understanding cultural effects provides a clearer picture of not only how these variables affect happiness, but also how they interact with each other to achieve these effects. For example, the strong relationship between the material wealth of nations and SWB has already been discussed. In those findings, however, are outliers. Based on indicators of national wealth, Latin American countries report higher than expected levels of SWB than ex-communist countries. Further study suggested that an important cultural variable, religion, partially accounted for these findings. Subsequent research has found that the positive effects of religion were absent once the effects for social support was considered (Oishi and Schimmack, 2010). Moreover, the effects for religion seem to be culturally bound, such that religion is highly correlated with satisfaction in religious nations but not in nonreligious ones. In essence, culture provides a framework to understand SWB differences between nations and individuals. The aforementioned difference in SWB between collectivist and individualistic cultures might be partially explained by the cultural norms and associated cognitive schemas and goals surrounding happiness. Individualistic countries promote autonomy, self-actualization, and the pursuit of personal goals (e.g., ‘Have you seen my new cupcake blog?’), all variables
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that correlate positively with well-being. In contrast, by emphasizing social harmony and social approval, collectivist countries create cultural systems that by definition require less independence and greater self-sacrifice (Suh and Koo, 2008). Of course, happier countries are not necessarily better countries. In fact, individualism carries many costs when it comes to mental health. Cross-cultural comparisons do not provide definitive answers to the question of how to be happy, but they do illuminate the way social structures and norms shape both its pursuit and attainment.
Benefits and Pitfalls in the Pursuit of Happiness As has been discussed, over the years a considerable amount of attention has been given to identifying causes of happiness. In many cases, studies have relied on examining the relationship between SWB and other variables and making inferences about causality. If most people who are healthier and married are happier, then it is assumed that better health and marriage contribute to happiness. It is now clear, however, that the relationship between SWB and a number of different variables is bidirectional. Being happy is not simply a result of life circumstances, but also a cause. A plethora of data substantiates the claim that good things happen to happy people (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005). However, in some cases the pursuit of happiness does have a dark side. Below we consider evidence for each outcome.
Positive Consequences It pays to be happy – both metaphorically and literally speaking. A number of positive outcomes are associated with SWB, and income is one of them. Longitudinal studies suggest that happy people make more money over time. Moreover, PA in early adolescence has been found to predict financial independence in early adulthood. The positive effects of SWB on income are probably tied to the fact that PA and life satisfaction correlate with and predict a number of workplace outcomes (Erdogan et al., 2012). For example, higher SWB is associated with job attainment and reemployment after job loss. Happy people have also been found to be more satisfied with work over time, as well to show lower rates of turnover and absenteeism. Prospective research has also found that SWB is positively correlated with worker productivity and evaluations from supervisors. Happier people are not only liked by their bosses, but people in general. This makes sense given that happy people are considered friendlier, more likable, and more physically attractive than less happy people. We have already discussed the consistent link between SWB and marriage. In some cases, marriage might be the cause of wedded bliss, but research also finds that being happy improves your chances of getting married in the first place. Even when controlling for personality variables, life satisfaction predicts getting married 5 years later (Luhmann et al., 2012). Just as importantly, longitudinal research has also found SWB to positively predict relationship satisfaction over time. Therefore, based on the research, it seems that positive emotions can engender positive social networks.
When people are asked to think about things that would be important to a happy life, good health is often mentioned. Indeed, almost every major review of the literature finds health to be a significant correlate of SWB. Poor health is associated with physically debilitating symptoms, higher levels of pains, and loss of independence – all experiences that could impede happiness. Clearly, health influences SWB. But how does SWB affect health? Although early research neglected the bidirectionality of this relationship, for the past two decades numerous studies have provided evidence for the effects of SWB on physical health. For example, longitudinal research has found that SWB statistically predicts across a number of different health outcomes, such as hospitalization, incidence of cardiovascular disease, occurrence of stroke, and respiratory functioning (Howell et al., 2007). Besides being healthier, some researchers have argued that being happy might improve one’s chances of living longer, with estimates ranging between 4 and 10 years (Diener and Chan, 2011). Higher SWB has been found to statistically predict longer survival after illness onset for both terminal and nonterminal disease. Other research has found that higher levels of SWB predict fewer fatal accidents, as well as fewer deaths from intentional injuries. Why does some research find that being happy is linked to being healthy and living longer? Several indirect pathways have been identified. Being happier is associated with behavioral habits conducive to health, such as better diet and more exercise. As already discussed, higher SWB is associated with more social support, a variable that can be of great significance, especially when suffering debilitating disease. Another pathway, which is more difficult to chart but which has some empirical support, is that SWB might directly affect physiology. It could do so by not only affecting hormone production and improving immune function, but also by dampening the deteriorative effects brought on by stress and negative emotionality (Pressman and Cohen, 2005). The findings have been mixed, but some laboratory studies have found that positive emotions affect immune functioning over short periods of time. Given the evidence, there is good reason to think that SWB can have a positive influence on health outcomes. However, it is too premature to conclude that happiness is synonymous with good health. It is certainly true that people who report being happier are more likely to self-report being healthier, but this probably says more about these people’s mood states and personalities than their objective health. It is also true that while longitudinal research has linked SWB with future health, other research does not find that earlier levels of SWB statistically predict later health outcomes (Gana et al., 2013). Further research will be needed to better explain if and how happiness causes changes in health by directly examining the physiological changes that precipitate better outcomes, as well as developing more sophisticated longitudinal models that broadly consider a host of interrelated variables and how they influence one another over time (Friedman and Kern, 2014).
Negative Consequences Although happiness certainly has its benefits, research has begun to uncover the ways in which it can become a doubleedged sword. Although happiness is an important aspect of
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psychological well-being, in certain cases valuing happiness may be counter-productive. Research finds that drawing attention and placing too much value directly on happiness may discourage individuals, since these high expectations may set them up for frustration, disappointment, and negative self-appraisal (Mauss et al., 2011). Thus, some people who expect to be happy and achieve this goal, nonetheless find themselves asking why they are not more satisfied. The likelihood of disappointment is exacerbated when the conditions for happiness seem good, such as instances of low stress. These findings have particular relevance for current times, in which many people are acutely aware of the many conveniences and benefits of modern life, but are still left wondering if they should be even happier. Paradoxically, the pursuit of happiness can make some people miserable. There might be no right way to be happy, but some studies suggest that too much happiness can be problematic and even dangerous. Research finds that very high levels of PA are associated with risky behavior, erratic and illusory thinking, and lessened motivation (Gruber et al., 2011). Although the benefits of SWB on health are many, research also finds that high PA might be detrimental to individuals with advanced illness because they are more likely to underreport physical symptoms and less likely to adhere to treatment regimens. Just as extreme levels of PA can be a symptom of mental illness (i.e., mania), the absence of NA can indicate a dulled response to social stimuli, signaling antisocial behavior (e.g., psychopathy and depression). There is considerable evidence for the fundamental importance of NA across a variety of conditions. When taken to the extreme, enhancing positive emotions by excluding negative ones is a dangerous proposition.
Given that many of these interventions seem to be centered on virtue and goodness, they might lead some cynics to be positively skeptical. Regardless of the seemingly benevolent intentions and outcomes of some of these activities, many have been chosen because these practices have already shown sustained effects on happiness. For example, gratitude has often been found to correlate with SWB, and experimental studies designed to promote gratitude have demonstrated effects on both SWB and physical health. More broadly speaking, a meta-analysis (Sin and Lyubomirsky, 2009) of 51 randomized controlled interventions found a medium effect size for improvement in well-being (though it should be noted that besides measures of satisfaction and affect, outcomes included variables that are peripherally related to SWB, such as optimism). Other research finds that positive intervention groups have shown significant increases in SWB compared to treatment-as-usual, placebo, and no-treatment groups, even within clinical populations (Seligman et al., 2006). In fact, it seems that the people who seem to benefit most from these interventions are those demonstrating more severe symptoms of depression. SWB intervention research is still in its infancy. But it is growing up fast, and some of the results are encouraging. However, considering that many studies have been conducted with college students in Western countries, questions of generalizability remain. Moreover, many of the results were found over relative short periods of time (i.e., several weeks to several months). Given that these interventions seem to work best when exercises are varied and motivating enough for individuals to pursue them, future research is needed on uncovering why certain practices work well for some and not for others and how to best tailor treatment according to goals and interests.
Interventions
The Happy Future?
Can we make people happier? Should we? This latter question can be problematic for some, especially given the philosophical and cultural implications. Nonetheless, many in the field of positive psychology emphatically believe that clinicians and researchers should not only promote SWB and psychological flourishing, but that these interventions can be grounded in empirical research. Over the last decade, a number of activities and modalities of treatment have developed with the explicit intention of promoting positive feelings and the behaviors that lead to them. What types of exercises promote SWB? Many are beguilingly simple and often centered on the promotion of character and meaning, such as hope and forgiveness exercises, or identifying signature strengths. Others are comprised of more creative and mindfulness-based activities, such as gratitude journaling or writing about a best future self. Besides these engagement exercises, other interventions are more in line with traditional cognitive-behavioral practices, though rather than simply targeting dysfunctional thinking that leads to dysphoria, the focus is on cognitive and emotional processes that might impede positive emotional states. In essence, many of these activities are ways of getting people to engage in behavioral and cognitive practices often associated with happy people (Lyubomirsky and Layous, 2013).
Currently, most people want to be happy. This is nothing new in history. What is different, however, is that we have several decades of research to better understand happiness’ causes and conditions. Certain scholars find this a cause for celebration, some are more circumspect, and more than a few are downright hostile. It is rare these days for a month to go by when one does not see a media story on the latest finding about what makes people happy, or to go to the bookstore and not find a shelf stocked with the latest secret recipe for well-being. It’s sometimes easy to trivialize the study of happiness. Happy or not, SWB research is here to stay. The development of singular journals on the topic, the organization of professional conferences, and the prominent researchers who eagerly investigate SWB ensure its survival. Based on current research, a forecast of its future beyond its continued growth is difficult, but several (of many) directions seem likely. The expansion of SWB research into other countries will continue, and so, too, will global between-country studies. More sophisticated methodologies will be employed, including multimethod and longitudinal studies that reveal the different components of SWB and their interactions, as well the individual differences in these trajectories over time. The recent reconsiderations of certain theories of
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happiness, such as adaptation and set-point theory, will force researchers to consider other explanatory models. Sociogenomics, which places its focus on the dynamic interplay between genes and environments, is becoming increasingly important in behavioral genetics and personality psychology and is likely to inform our understanding of SWB as well. Finally, as culture debates continue to abound about happiness and its place in the ‘good life,’ researchers will continue to examine and promote the ways happiness not only makes us feel better, but be better. As always, the pursuit of happiness will continue.
See also: Age and Emotion. Culture and Mental Health. Divorce and Parental Separation. Gratitude. Mental Health and Aging. Optimism, Motivation, and Mental Health. Positive Psychology. Social Support and Mental Health. The Science of Forgiveness: Examining the Influence of Forgiveness on Mental Health
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