Study Notes on 'Who is Happy?' by David G. Myers and Ed Diener

WHO IS HAPPY?

Authors and Source

  • Authors: David G. Myers and Ed Diener

  • Published in: Psychological Science, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Jan., 1995), pp. 10-19

  • Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of the Association for Psychological Science

  • Stable URL: JSTOR

  • Accessed on: 30/03/2013

Overview

  • The article focuses on Subjective Well-Being (SWB), defined by three elements:

    • Frequent positive affect

    • Infrequent negative affect

    • Global sense of life satisfaction

  • SWB is universal, available to individuals across various demographics such as age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status.

  • Major insights: Personal attributes, relationships, work, culture, and religiosity are crucial for understanding individual well-being.

Historical Context

  • Shift in Psychological Focus:

    • Historically, psychology emphasized negative emotions (e.g., depression, anxiety) more than positive emotions (e.g., happiness, satisfaction).

    • The number of Psychological Abstract citations on well-being and happiness significantly increased during the 1980s, growing fivefold.

    • There is increasing interest among social scientists, policymakers, and the public regarding the factors contributing to quality of life.

Theoretical Foundations

  • Theories on happiness have long existed, with philosophers such as Cicero and Aristotle proposing that happiness stems from virtue and wisdom.

  • Contemporary psychology requires rigorous scientific methods to explore the roots of Subjective Well-Being (SWB).

Measuring Subjective Well-Being

  • Assessment methods:

    • Use of self-reports ranging from multi-item scales to single questions like, "How satisfied are you with your life these days?"

    • Reports exhibit a temporal stability (0.5 to 0.7 range) over periods from 6 months to 6 years (ref. Diener, 1994).

    • Concerns about the validity of self-reports are mitigated by evidence that social desirability and moods do not significantly distort SWB measures.

Validity of SWB Measures

  • SWB scores correlate with peer evaluations and exhibit responsiveness to life events and therapeutic interventions.

  • Happy individuals show less vulnerability to disease and display traits such as being more loving, creative, and sociable compared to unhappy individuals.

Components of Well-Becoming

  • High SWB indicates:

    • Predominantly positive thoughts and feelings about one’s life.

    • Global satisfaction from specific domains: work, marriage, and social interactions.

  • Affective Level: People with high SWB predominantly experience pleasant emotions due to positive appraisals of life events.

  • Distinctions between positive and negative emotions: They are weakly correlated, indicating differing predictors and varying experiences across different emotional states.

Myths of Happiness

  • Demographics and Happiness:

    • Age: No significant correlation between age and happiness throughout life stages (youth, middle age, old age).

    • Gender: While women's emotional vulnerability might suggest lesser happiness, studies reveal a roughly equal hedonic balance across genders.

    • Race: Indicators show minor differences across racial lines in reported happiness and self-esteem.

    • Culture: National happiness differs significantly; for instance, Portugal reports far lower happiness levels than the Netherlands, with cultural values impacting overall perceptions of happiness.

Wealth and Happiness

  • Initial findings suggest a positive correlation between national wealth and individual happiness, but this diminishes once basic needs are met.

  • Studies indicate that increased wealth does not equate to increased happiness in prosperous nations e.g., U.S., consistent findings reported through longitudinal studies (Easterlin's Paradox).

  • Money improves happiness to an extent but has diminishing returns once basic financial security is achieved.

Traits and Relationships of Happy People

  • Traits of Happy Individuals:

    1. Self-esteem: Higher self-ratings and a tendency towards a self-serving bias.

    2. Personal Control: Feelings of being in control correlate with better well-being outcomes.

    3. Optimism: Optimists tend to be happier and healthier.

    4. Extraversion: Extraverts consistently report higher levels of happiness in diverse contexts.

  • Social Relationships:

    • Close relationships positively contribute to SWB, providing emotional support and fostering happiness.

    • Married individuals report higher happiness levels compared to never-married individuals, demonstrating the two-way correlation between happiness and relationship status.

The Role of Work and Meaningful Engagement

  • Work Satisfaction: Work can provide identity, community, and purpose.

  • Flow State: Achieving a flow state, where successive challenges meet one's skills, induces deep satisfaction and happiness.

Links Between Faith and Happiness

  • Active religious engagement correlates with higher levels of happiness and reduced likelihood of distress.

  • Religious individuals often experience supportive networks and find meaning and purpose in life, which contribute positively to their SWB.

Conclusions and Future Directions

  • Understanding happiness requires knowledge of personal traits, supportive relationships, cultural interpretations, engagement in fulfilling work, and religious faith.

  • This evolving field enhances comprehension of individual well-being, reshaping social priorities for psychological health.