The Science of Well-Being (eBook)

Ed Diener is the Joseph R. Smiley Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois. He received his doctorate at the University of Washington in 1974, and has been a faculty member at the University of Illinois for the past 34 years. Dr. Diener was the president of both the International Society of Quality of Life Studies and the Society of Personality and Social Psychology. Currently he is the president of the International Positive Psychology Association. Dr. Diener was the editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and the Journal of Happiness Studies, and he is the founding editor of Perspectives on Psychological Science. Diener has over 240 publications, with about 190 being in the area of the psychology of well-being, and is listed as one of the most highly cited psychologists by the Institute of Scientific Information with over 12,000 citations to his credit. He won the Distinguished Researcher Award from the International Society of Quality of Life Studies, the first Gallup Academic Leadership Award, and the Jack Block Award for Personality Psychology. Dr. Diener also won several teaching awards, including the Oakley-Kundee Award for Undergraduate Teaching at the University of Illinois.

Contents 6
Contributors 7
Endorsements 8
Editor’s note concerning source publications 10
Introduction—The Science of Well-Being: Reviews and Theoretical Articles by Ed Diener 11
Developing the Science of Well-Being 11
Major Theoretical Questions 13
The Articles in this Volume 14
Strengths andWeaknesses of the Field 17
Advancing the Field 18
References 19
Subjective Well-Being 21
Defining and Measuring SubjectiveWell-Being 22
Influences on SubjectiveWell-Being 34
Theory 48
References 58
In Pursuit of Happiness: Empirical Answers to Philosophical Questions 69
A Short History of Happiness 70
What is this Thing Called Happiness? 71
Can People Be Happy? 72
Do People Want to Be Happy? 75
Should People Be Happy? 76
How to Be Happy? 77
Where DoWe Go from Here? 80
On the Shoulders of Giants 81
References 81
Personality and Subjective Well-Being 85
Defining SWB 87
Measuring SWB 90
Evidence for the Importance of Personality 93
Summary 105
References 106
Beyond the Hedonic Treadmill: Revising the Adaptation Theory of Well-Being 113
Our Research on Adaptation 115
Implications of the Revised Model 123
Future Research and Conclusions 125
References 126
Will Money Increase Subjective Well-Being?: A Literature Review and Guide to Needed Research 129
Analyses at the Individual Level 131
Analyses at the National Level 141
Materialism 145
Theoretical Models of the Data 147
A Guide to Needed Research 153
Conclusions 159
References 159
The Well-Being of Nations: Linking Together Trust, Cooperation, and Democracy 165
Cooperation and Trust 166
SubjectiveWell-Being 167
The Effects of Cooperation and Trust on SWB 168
The Effects of SWB on Cooperation and Trust 170
Analyses from the World Value Survey 172
Discussion 178
Appendix 180
References 180
The Optimum Level of Well-Being: Can People Be Too Happy? 184
The Concept of Happiness 185
Happiness as the Objective of Life: Why Do People Pursue Happiness? 186
Optimal Levels of Happiness: Is Happier Always Better? 187
When Should Happier Be Better? 189
Optimal Level of Happiness for Current Success 191
Optimal Levels of Happiness for Future Success 196
Discussion 200
Conclusion 204
References 205
Beyond Money: Toward an Economy of Well- Being 210
Economic Indicators Versus Well-Being 212
The Unsystematic Nature of Current Findings and Measures 215
Selected Findings with Policy Relevance 217
A System of National Indicators 252
The Central Place of Psychology in Creating National Well-Being 261
Concluding Remarks 261
References 262
Conclusion: The Well-Being Science Needed Now 275
References 279