Happiness And Life Satisfaction

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.

This open access book defines happiness intuitively and explores several common conceptual mistakes with regard to happiness. It then moves on to address topical issues including, but not limited to, whether money can buy you happiness, why happiness is ultimately the only thing of intrinsic value, and the various factors important for happiness. It also presents a more reliable and interpersonally comparable method for measuring happiness and discusses twelve factors, from A to L, that are crucial for individual happiness: attitude, balance, confidence, dignity, engagement, family/friends, gratitude, health, ideals, joyfulness, kindness and love. Further, it examines important public policy considerations, taking into account recent advances in economics, the environmental sciences, and happiness studies. Novel issues discussed include: an environmentally responsible happy nation index to supplement GDP, the East Asian happiness gap, a case for stimulating pleasure centres of the brain, and an argument for higher public spending.

Happiness and life satisfaction are central objectives to most people¿s wellbeing in life. Recently, they have become key concerns for a range of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, economics, public policy and neuroscience. Although happiness is an expression of subjective wellbeing, there are in fact certain common traits among happy people which can be learned and applied by individuals for the betterment of society in general. What makes Australians happy, and what roles do they think relationships, wealth, health, and the government should play in promoting and maintaining happiness? This book examines the measurement of happiness and life satisfaction, and presents diverse information and advice on ways to increase happiness and wellbeing.Chapter 1: Measuring Happiness and Life SatisfactionChapter 2: Increasing HappinessGlossary; Facts and Figures; Additional Resources; Index

The quality of people’s relationships with and interactions with other people are major influences on their feelings of well-being and their evaluations of life satisfaction. The goal of this volume is to offer scholarly summaries of theory and research on topics at the frontier of the study of these social psychological influences—both interpersonal and intrapersonal—on subjective well-being and life satisfaction. The chapters cover a variety of types of relationships (e.g., romantic relationships, friendships, online relationships) as well as a variety of types of interactions with others (e.g., forgiveness, gratitude, helping behavior, self-presentation). Also included are chapters on broader social issues such as materialism, sexual identity and orientation, aging, spirituality, and meaning in life. Subjective Well-Being and Life Satisfaction provides a rich and focused resource for graduate students, upper-level undergraduate students, and researchers in positive psychology and social psychology, as well as social neuroscientists, mental health researchers, clinical and counselling psychologists, and anyone interested in the science of well-being.

The second edition will be an update and further elaboration of the literature related to subjective well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction. It will have a new substantial section that focuses on reviewing much of the literature of subjective well-being within specific life domains (social life, material life, leisure life, work life, community life, spiritual life, family life, health life, sex life, travel life, etc.) In the 1st edition the research in these various life domains was discussed only briefly. The second edition will maintain the same organizational structure of the first edition; that is, Part 1 will focus on introduction (definitions and distinctions; examples of measures of subjective well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction; and motives underlying subjective well-being). Part 2 will focus on psychological strategies that are allow people to optimize subjective well-being by engaging in psychological processes related to the relationship between and among life domains (e.g., social life, family life, love life, spiritual life, community life, financial life, etc.) This part will contain four chapters related to these various “inter-domain” processes: bottom-up spillover, top-down spillover, horizontal spillover, and compensation. Part 3 of the book will focus on “intra-domain” psychological strategies designed to optimize subjective well-being. These include re-evaluation based on personal history, re-evaluation based on self-concept, re-evaluation based on social comparison, goal selection, goal implementation and attainment, and re-appraisal. Part 4 of the book will focus on balance processes—how people attempt to create balance in their lives using psychological processes within specific life domains (intra-domain strategies) and processes that relate one domain to another (inter-domain strategies).

"This edited volume explores conceptual and practical challenges in measuring well-being. Given the bewildering array of measures available, and ambiguity regarding when and how to measure particular aspects of well-being, knowledge in the field can be difficult to reconcile. Representing numerous disciplines including psychology, economics, sociology, statistics, public health, theology, and philosophy, contributors consider the philosophical and theological traditions on happiness, well-being and the good life, as well as recent empirical research on well-being and its measurement. Leveraging insights across diverse disciplines, they explore how research can help make sense of the proliferation of different measures and concepts, while also proposing new ideas to advance the field. Some chapters engage with philosophical and theological traditions on happiness, well-being and the good life, some evaluate recent empirical research on well-being and consider how measurement requirements may vary by context and purpose, and others more explicitly integrate methods and synthesize knowledge across disciplines. The final section offers a lively dialogue about a set of recommendations for measuring well-being derived from a consensus of the contributors. Collectively, the chapters provide insight into how scholars might engage beyond disciplinary boundaries and contribute to advances in conceptualizing and measuring well-being. Bringing together work from across often siloed disciplines will provide important insight regarding how people can transcend unhealthy patterns of both individual behavior and social organization in order to pursue the good life and build better societies"--

Happiness is an everyday term in our lives, and most of us strive to be happy. But defining happiness can be difficult. In this Very Short Introduction, Dan Haybron considers the true nature of happiness. By examining what it is, assessing its importance in our lives, and how we can (and should) pursue it, he considers the current thinking on happiness, from psychology to philosophy. Illustrating the diverse routes to happiness, Haybron reflects on contemporary ideas about the pursuit of a good life and considers the influence of social context on our satisfaction and well-being. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Bridging Social Psychology illuminates the unique contribution the field of social psychology can bring to understanding major scientific and societal problems. The book focuses on illustrating the benefits and costs of bridging social psychology with other fields of psychology, including cognitive, developmental, and personality psychology, as well as other disciplines such as biology, neuroscience and economics. The editor’s hope is that the examination of these bridges will result in new theoretical, methodological, and societal benefits. The 65 essays, written by eminent leaders in the field, demonstrate the relationship of social psychology with: (1) biology, neuroscience and cognitive science; (2) personality, emotion, and development; (3) relationship science, interaction, and health; and (4) organizational science, culture, and economics. The book also examines the key assumptions of social psychology, where the field is headed, and its unique contribution to basic theoretical and broad societal questions (e.g. promoting health in society). Section introductions tie the book together. The book concludes with an enlightening Epilogue by Walter Mischel. This book will appeal to scholars, researchers, and advanced students in social psychology wishing to demonstrate the cross-disciplinary aspect of their research. It will also be of interest to those in neighboring fields of psychology, especially personality, organizational, health, cognitive, and developmental psychology, as well as those in neuroscience, biology, sociology, communication, economics, political science, and anthropology. The user-friendly tone makes the book accessible to those with only a basic knowledge of social psychology. The book also serves as a text for advanced courses in social psychology and/or applied psychology. A helpful table, found on the book’s Web site, indicates the cross-disciplinary applications addressed in each essay, to make it easier to assign the book in courses.