1st Edition
The Science of Subjective Well-Being
This authoritative volume reviews the breadth of current scientific knowledge on subjective well-being (SWB): its definition, causes and consequences, measurement, and practical applications that may help people become happier. Leading experts explore the connections between SWB and a range of intrapersonal and interpersonal phenomena, including personality, health, relationship satisfaction, wealth, cognitive processes, emotion regulation, religion, family life, school and work experiences, and culture. Interventions and practices that enhance SWB are examined, with attention to both their benefits and limitations. The concluding chapter from Ed Diener dispels common myths in the field and presents a thoughtful agenda for future research.
1. Ed Diener and the Science of Subjective Well-Being, Randy J. Larsen and Michael Eid
I. The Realm of Subjective Well-being
2. Philosophy and the Science of Subjective Well-Being, Daniel M. Haybron
3. Sociological Theories of Subjective Well-Being, Ruut Veenhoven
4. Evolution and Subjective Well-Being, Sarah E. Hill and David M. Buss
5. The Pursuit of Happiness in History, Darrin M. McMahon
II. Measuring Subjective Well-being
6. The Structure of Subjective Well-Being, Ulrich Schimmack
7. The Assessment of Subjective Well-Being: Successes and Shortfalls, William Pavot
8. Measuring the Immeasurable: Psychometric Modeling of Subjective Well-Being Data, Michael Eid
III. The Happy Person
9. Personality and Subjective Well-Being, Richard E. Lucas
10. Happiness and the Invisible Threads of Social Connection: The Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study, John T. Cacioppo, Louise C. Hawkley, Ariel Kalil, M. E. Hughes, Linda Waite, and Ronald A. Thisted
11. The Happy Mind in Action: The Cognitive Basis of Subjective Well-Being, Michael D. Robinson and Rebecca J. Compton
12. The Frequency of Social Comparison and Its Relation to Subjective Well-Being, Frank Fujita
13. Regulation of Emotional Well-Being: Overcoming the Hedonic Treadmill, Randy J. Larsen and Zvjezdana Prizmic
14. Two New Questions about Happiness: Is Happiness Good? and Is Happier Better?, Shigehiro Oishi and Minkyung Koo
15. Material Wealth and Subjective Well-Being, Robert M. Biswas-Diener
16. Religion and Human Flourishing, David G. Myers
IV. Subjective Well-Being in the Interpersonal Domain
17. What Makes People Happy?: A Developmental Approach to the Literature on Family Relationships and Well-Being, Marissa L. Diener and Mary Beth Diener McGavran
18. Research on Life Satisfaction of Children and Youth: Implications for the Delivery of School-Related Services, E. Scott Huebner and Carol Diener
19. Job Satisfaction: Subjective Well-Being at Work, Timothy A. Judge and Ryan Klinger
20. Comparing Subjective Well-Being across Cultures and Nations: The What and Why Questions, Eunkook M. Suh and Jayoung Koo
V. Making People Happier
21. Interventions for Enhancing Subjective Well-Being: Can We Make People Happier, and Should We?, Laura A. King
22. Promoting Positive Affect, Barbara L. Fredrickson
23. Gratitude, Subjective Well-Being, and the Brain, Robert A. Emmons
VI. Conclusions and Future Directions
25. Myths in the Science of Happiness, and Directions for Future Research, Ed Diener
Biography
Michael Eid, DSc, is Professor of Psychology at the Free University of Berlin, Germany. Dr. Eid is currently Editor of Methodology--European Journal of Research Methods for the Behavioral and Social Sciences and Associate Editor of the Journal of Positive Psychology. His main research interests are subjective well-being, mood regulation, multimethod measurement, and longitudinal data analysis.
Randy J. Larsen, PhD, is the William R. Stuckenberg Professor of Human Values and Moral Development and Chair of the Psychology Department at Washington University in St. Louis. He conducts research on emotion, primarily in terms of differences between people, and studies such topics as subjective well-being, mood variability, jealousy, attraction, depression, and strategies for the self-management of self-esteem and emotion. Dr. Larsen is an elected member of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology and is listed as one of the highly cited psychologists by the Institute for Scientific Information.
-What makes us happy? One might think this a very simple question, but the contributors to this volume suggest that many of our intuitions are not well supported by science. Instead, subjective well-being in individuals and societies is only partially about accumulating hedonic pleasures and stores of wealth, and even these relationships are not what one might predict. Eid and Larsen have gathered together brilliant thinkers and lively writers who trace from ancient philosophy to contemporary behavioral economics what it is that makes us feel good about our lives.--Peter Salovey, PhD, Dean of Yale College and Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology, Yale University
Research into subjective well-being has a sustained and honored lineage within psychology, in large part due to the work of Ed Diener and his associates. This book describes what researchers in this area have learned and where we might be headed in the future. It deserves a prominent place on every psychologist's bookshelf. The book is a valuable resource--thorough, intelligent, and provocative--and an action plan for a topic of great individual and societal importance.--Christopher Peterson, PhD, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan
This terrific book captured my attention for hours of nonstop, riveting reading. The contributors are all first-rate, consisting of both eminent social scientists in the field of well-being and innovative young scholars. With a combination of breadth and depth, the book provides comprehensive treatment of cutting-edge theory and research. Chapters cover a broad array of topics, as varied as evolutionary and developmental psychology, behavioral genetics, measurement, happiness interventions, history, and philosophy. This book is indispensable for anyone interested in positive psychology, and is an ideal resource for graduate-level and advanced undergraduate classes.--Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside
Editors Michael Eid and Randy J. Larsen bring together all in one place most of the heavy hitters in the field...This volume is the type of book that dissertation mentors will nudge their advisees to read, that professors will adopt as the foundation for graduate or upper-level college seminars on subjective well-being and related topics, and that faculty will want to peruse to see the creative and innovative ways in which this rich field has evolved.--PsycCRITIQUES, 10/11/2008
