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Use of Other-Reports to Validate Subjective Well-Being Measures
Abstract
Level of agreement between self-reports and other-reports obtained from a large two-wave study of older adults was examined. Various measures of subjective well-being (affect, happiness, and life satisfaction) and behavioral manifestations (smoking and sleep quality) were assessed. Results indicate that the SWB measures were highly stable over a 9-month period, and that good agreement between the self- and other-reports was found for the SWB measures. In addition, SWB was related to behavioral manifestations and that these ratings were corroborated through the other-reports. This study furthers the support for the reliability of SWB over time and advances the criterion validity of SWB measures through use of collateral assessments.
... As cognition and affect are separable constructs, a separate discussion of the validity and reliability of the measures is required. 3 Respondents who are satisfied with their lives are also rated as satisfied by family members and friends (Pavot et al. 1991;Pavot and Diener 1993a;Sandvik, Diener and Seidlitz 1993;Lepper 1998) and by experts (Sandvik, Diener and Seidlitz 1993). Life satisfaction scores correlate with other variables that can be plausibly claimed to be associated with true utility (e.g. ...
... Finally, life satisfaction predicts both, future marriage and future marital break-up (Gardner and Oswald 2006). As is the case with life satisfaction measures, self-reported affect correlates with ratings by family members and friends (Costa, P. T. and McCrae 1988;Sandvik, Diener and Seidlitz 1993;Lepper 1998) and by experts (Sandvik, Diener and Seidlitz 1993). Self-reports of subjective emotional experience during a movie screening also correlate with (Duchenne) smiling (Ekman, Friesen and Davidson 1990). ...
... Different studies assess the reliability of the measures using test-retest correlations. Life satisfaction exhibits strong correlations of above 0.8 over short time intervals (between 2 weeks and 2 months; Pavot et al. 1991;Alfonso and Allison 1992;Pavot and Diener 1993a), weaker correlations of mostly above 0.5 but below 0.75 over the medium term (between 9 months and 4 years; Atkinson, T. 1982;Headey and Wearing 1989;Magnus et al. 1992;Lepper 1998;Ehrhardt, Saris and Veenhoven 2000) and weak correlations of around 0.3 in the long run (11 years; Ehrhardt, Saris and Veenhoven 2000). This pattern makes sense if life satisfaction is a stable construct but sensitive to changing life circumstances. ...
... But research in this field today generally underlines the point of view that happiness can be reliably and validly measured (e.g., Diener, Suh, & Oishi, 1997;Diener et al., 1999;Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2011;Kahneman, 1994;Kahneman & Krueger, 2006;MacKerron, 2012;Veenhoven, 2010). Test-retest reliability, for example, has been demonstrated over the course of various time frames (Bradburn, 1969;Bradburn & Caplovitz, 1965;Diener & Larsen, 1984;Diener et al., 2010;Fujita & Diener, 2005;Krueger & Schkade, 2008;Lepper, 1998;Lucas & Donnellan, 2012;Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). In addition, various findings show the validity of happiness measures. ...
... In addition, various findings show the validity of happiness measures. For instance, positive correlations between self-rated happiness scores and happiness ratings delivered by significant others (such as friends and family: Lepper, 1998;Sandvik, Diener, & Seidlitz, 1993;Schneider & Schimmack, 2009), happiness ratings given by interviewers (Pavot & Diener, 1993), the frequency of smiling when individuals interact in a social context (Fernández-Dols & Ruiz-Belda, 1995), more left than right superior frontal cortex activity (Urry et al., 2004) and lower cortisol rates and lower heart rates (Steptoe, Wardle, & Marmot, 2005) demonstrate the convergent validity of happiness measures. Further, the discriminant validity of happiness measures has been shown by the low correlation between self-rated happiness scores and optimism (Lucas, Diener, & Suh, 1996). ...
... 70). Test-retest reliability usually lies between 0.40 and 0.74 (Krueger & Schkade, 2008;Lepper, 1998;Lucas & Donnellan, 2012;. The correlation of two frequently used single-item measures, for instance, is 0.75 (Bjørnskov, 2010), indicating a degree of convergent validity. ...
In times of increasing depression rates, happiness has gained interest as a goal for individuals and society instead of merely increasing gross domestic product. Unfortunately, happiness research remains a young discipline; thus, the definition of the term happiness is unclear across various disciplines, and many different measurement techniques have been developed and used thus far. This book chapter reviews different happiness definitions and ultimately selects the one used by the World Database of Happiness to then review which measurements are used and how frequently and to then evaluate their psychometric quality by reviewing published research thus far. In the end, the chapter presents a practical guideline of what a researcher should be aware of when measuring happiness.
... But research in this field today generally underlines the point of view that happiness can be reliably and validly measured (e.g., Diener et al., 1999;Diener, Suh, & Oishi, 1997;Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2011;Kahneman, 1994;MacKerron, 2012;Veenhoven, 2010). Test-retest reliability, for example, has been demonstrated over the course of various time frames (Bradburn, 1969;Bradburn & Caplovitz, 1965;Diener & Larsen, 1984;Diener et al., 2010;Fujita & Diener, 2005;Krueger & Schkade, 2008;Lepper, 1998;Lucas & Donnellan, 2012;Michalos & Kahlke, 2010;Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). In addition, various findings show the validity of happiness measures. ...
... In addition, various findings show the validity of happiness measures. For instance, positive correlations between self-rated happiness scores and happiness ratings delivered by significant others (such as friends and family: Lepper, 1998;Sandvik, Diener, & Seidlitz, 1993;Schneider & Schimmack, 2009), happiness ratings given by interviewers (Pavot & Diener, 1993), the frequency of smiling when individuals interact in a social context (Fernández-Dols & Ruiz-Belda, 1995), more left than right superior frontal cortex activity (Urry et al., 2004) and lower cortisol rates and lower heart rates (Steptoe, Wardle, & Marmot, 2005) demonstrate the convergent validity of happiness measures. Further, the discriminant validity of happiness measures has been shown by the low correlation between self-rated happiness scores and optimism (Lucas, Diener, & Suh, 1996). ...
... Test-retest reliability usually lies between .40 and .74 (Krueger & Schkade, 2008;Lepper, 1998;Lucas & Donnellan, 2012;Michalos & Kahlke, 2010). The correlation of two frequently used single-item measures, for instance, is .75 ...
The day reconstruction method (DRM; Kahneman et al. A survey method for characterizing daily life experience: The day reconstruction method. Science, 306, 1776–1780, 2004) constitutes a frequently used method aiming to capture everyday life and everyday feelings. Especially in the field of community well-being research this method can bring meaningful insights. In its original version and in most subsequent studies, respondents are asked to complete the DRM with respect to their previous day on the next day. Yet when asked, respondents prefer to work on the DRM in the evening of the same day, particularly in longitudinal studies where the motivation to complete the DRM proactively on one’s own is crucial. Consequently, it is important to consider respondents’ preferences about their favoured point in time to fill in the DRM. Thus, the question whether a flexible DRM usage that offers the freedom to work on the DRM in the evening of the same day or on the next day should arise. Reluctance in doing so is reasonable since research on differences in answering patterns between these two points in time is pending. The current study sheds light on this research question by comparing respondents’ happiness during the reconstructed episodes in both settings (same day vs. next day). A DRM smartphone application was used with a group collected from the Innovation Sample of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP-IS). The results reveal that the point in time during which people fill in the DRM has no significant effect on respondent’s happiness ratings. In sum, although an experiment is needed to replicate our findings, our research suggests that researchers might consider (especially for longitudinal studies) to give participants free choice to do the DRM on the evening of the same day or on the next day if they want to reduce response burden in order to increase participation rates.
... This literature has been rather consistent in finding that income is a good predictor of happiness across people and across countries but not over time and over the life-cycle. Individuals or countries with a higher income have been found to be happier (Inglehart, 1990;Diener et al., 1995;Di Tella et al., 2001;Blanchflower and Oswald, 2004) while longitudinal or life-cycle studies do not find a strong positive association between happiness and income (Easterlin, 1974(Easterlin, , 1995(Easterlin, , 2001Veenhoven, 1993;Clark and Oswald, 1994;Mangahas, 1995;Diener et al., 1999;Ravallion and Lokshin, 2000). ...
... Answers include a ten-steps ladder where "1" stands for "Dissatisfied" and "10" stands for "satisfied." This is a common question used in happiness research; validation studies conducted by psychologists and social scientists show that answers to such questions are reliable (Fordyce, 1988;Inglehart, 1990;Sandvik et al., 1993;Saris et al., 1996;Lepper, 1998). ...
... Answers include a ten-steps ladder where "1" stands for "Dissatisfied" and "10" stands for "satisfied." This is a common question used in happiness research; validation studies conducted by psychologists and social scientists show that answers to such questions are reliable (Fordyce, 1988;Inglehart, 1990;Sandvik et al., 1993;Saris et al., 1996;Lepper, 1998). ...
... While recognizing the value of incorporating physiological measures, logistical constraints posed by conducting the experiment via Zoom and the long-term nature of the study required careful prioritisation of research objectives. Self-report measures were chosen as they are widely accepted for assessing subjective experiences and have been extensively used in well-being research [140][141][142]. Despite limitations, the focus on self-report measures offers valuable insights into participants' subjective wellbeing experiences during long-term interactions with a social robot. ...
... Despite limitations, the focus on self-report measures offers valuable insights into participants' subjective wellbeing experiences during long-term interactions with a social robot. Moreover, previous studies found that self reported measurements aligned with participants objective behaviour [140][141][142], also in HRI research [3,113] and in regards to self-disclosure behaviour [3]. Future studies can replicate the experimental design while incorporating additional physiological measures to further assess participants' wellbeing and emotional changes over time. ...
While interactions with social robots are novel and exciting for many people, one concern is the extent to which people’s behavioural and emotional engagement might be sustained across time, since during initial interactions with a robot, its novelty is especially salient. This challenge is particularly noteworthy when considering interactions designed to support people’s well-being, with limited evidence (or empirical exploration) of social robots’ capacity to support people’s emotional health over time. Accordingly, our aim here was to examine how long-term repeated interactions with a social robot affect people’s self-disclosure behaviour toward the robot, their perceptions of the robot, and how such sustained interactions influence factors related to well-being. We conducted a mediated long-term online experiment with participants conversing with the social robot Pepper 10 times over 5 weeks. We found that people self-disclose increasingly more to a social robot over time, and report the robot to be more social and competent over time. Participants’ moods also improved after talking to the robot, and across sessions, they found the robot’s responses increasingly comforting as well as reported feeling less lonely. Finally, our results emphasize that when the discussion frame was supposedly more emotional (in this case, framing questions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic), participants reported feeling lonelier and more stressed. These results set the stage for situating social robots as conversational partners and provide crucial evidence for their potential inclusion in interventions supporting people’s emotional health through encouraging self-disclosure.
... Other research in this area attempts to code aspects of expressed emotions as a guide to 2 Note here that although happiness studies frequently rely on peoples' self-reports, sometimes observers' ratings are used. One motivation for doing so dates back to early studies on the validity of those self-reports (Costa & McCrae, 1988;Sandvik et al., 1993;Lepper, 1998). Observer ratings are also used to elicit the happiness among young children (López-Pérez & Wilson, 2015) or people with intellectual disabilities that limit their ability to communicate how they are feeling (Parsons et al., 2011), and when it is difficult to obtain people's own reports (as in studies of athletes discussed in this section). ...
... Facial expressions can indeed proxy peoples' emotions (Izard, 1971;Sandvik et al., 1993;Lepper, 1998) and, as already noted, such ratings have been used in past research within this field of enquiry. Yet, the convergence of these ratings to the self-reported happiness of the people being rated is not perfect (Schneider & Schimmack, 2009). ...
... Algunas limitaciones de este estudio deben ser señaladas y corregidas en futuros estudios. En primer lugar, aunque se ha señalado que las medidas de autoinforme pueden ser consideradas como apropiadas y útiles para conocer el BS de las personas (Alexandrova, 2005;Diener, 1984Diener, , 1994Diener et al., 1999;Diener y Lucas, 2000;Diener y Suh, 1997;Lucas, Diener y Suh, 1996;Pavot y Diener, 1993), mostrándose los resultados estables entre medidas de distinta naturaleza, entre situaciones, momentos o incluso contextos culturales (Diener, 1994(Diener, , 2000Lepper, 1998), o incluso no viéndose afectadas por el estado emocional actual o por fenómenos de deseabilidad social (Diener, Sandvik, Pavot y Gallagher, 1991;Eid y Diener, 2004; y correlacionando sus resultados con otro tipo de medidas del BS (Lepper, 1998;Sandvik, Diener y Seidlitz, 1993;, lo cierto es que éstos son aspectos que deben tenerse en cuenta a la hora de utilizar e interpretar estas medidas. No obstante, también hay que con-siderar que las personas se encuentran en una posición privilegiada para informar sobre sus propias vivencias, de forma que este tipo de medidas pueden ser particularmente apropiadas en este campo (Diener y Suh, 1997). ...
... Algunas limitaciones de este estudio deben ser señaladas y corregidas en futuros estudios. En primer lugar, aunque se ha señalado que las medidas de autoinforme pueden ser consideradas como apropiadas y útiles para conocer el BS de las personas (Alexandrova, 2005;Diener, 1984Diener, , 1994Diener et al., 1999;Diener y Lucas, 2000;Diener y Suh, 1997;Lucas, Diener y Suh, 1996;Pavot y Diener, 1993), mostrándose los resultados estables entre medidas de distinta naturaleza, entre situaciones, momentos o incluso contextos culturales (Diener, 1994(Diener, , 2000Lepper, 1998), o incluso no viéndose afectadas por el estado emocional actual o por fenómenos de deseabilidad social (Diener, Sandvik, Pavot y Gallagher, 1991;Eid y Diener, 2004; y correlacionando sus resultados con otro tipo de medidas del BS (Lepper, 1998;Sandvik, Diener y Seidlitz, 1993;, lo cierto es que éstos son aspectos que deben tenerse en cuenta a la hora de utilizar e interpretar estas medidas. No obstante, también hay que con-siderar que las personas se encuentran en una posición privilegiada para informar sobre sus propias vivencias, de forma que este tipo de medidas pueden ser particularmente apropiadas en este campo (Diener y Suh, 1997). ...
Affect balance is proposed as one of the components, along with life satisfaction, of subjective well-being. Affect balance refers to the emotional responses of a person when doing evaluative judgments on his/her life. It proceeds from the consideration of the positive as well as negative emotions experienced during a given period of time. We present in this study some results regarding the affect balance obtained in a sample of Spanish adults (18 to 64 years; M= 30.54; SD= 10.79; 62.1% females) recruited from several community settings. Participants completed one scale measuring affect balance in Spanish. We found for the studied sample that participants showed positive affect balance. Men showed levels significantly lower of negative affect than women, but also higher levels of positive affect (NS) and, hence, of affect balance (close to significance). Affect balance did not show significant modifications as age increases. Results have allowed us to know the characteristics of emotional well-being of a wide adult sample. This may have great relevance in clinical as well as research contexts.
... These scales include: happiness, low positive affect, anhedonia, depression, anxiety, anxious arousal, ADHD symptoms, physical aggression, and alcohol use disorder symptoms. We investigated these scales because they are components of more prevalent types of disorders (i.e., mood, anxiety, disruptive behavior, antisocial, and alcohol use; Babor, Biddle-Higgins, Saunders, and Monteiro 2001;Brown, Chorpita, and Barlow 1998;Fossati et al. 2007;Gehricke and Shapiro 2000;Kessler et al. 2005a;Kessler et al. 2005b;Mineka, Watson, and Clark 1998), they have received significant attention in the smoking literature (e.g., Audrain-McGovern et al. 2006;Kollins et al. 2005;Lasser et al. 2000;Lepper 1998;Leventhal et al. 2008;Nabi et al. 2010), and they provide adequate representation of constructs that could map onto any one of the three tested models. These scales were also selected because they are overlapping to a certain extent, both conceptually and empirically, and this overlap may tap into shared latent constructs that are unidentifiable using the individual manifest indicators. ...
... Several limitations should be considered when interpreting these results. First, the psychological symptoms scales were chosen because they reflect expressions of common psychiatric disorders or their underlying traits (Babor, Biddle-Higgins, Saunders, and Monteiro 2001;Brown, Chorpita, and Barlow 1998;Fossati et al. 2007;Gehricke and Shapiro 2000;Kessler et al. 2005a;Kessler et al. 2005b;Mineka, Watson, and Clark 1998) and have shown relations with smoking (Audrain-McGovern et al. 2006;Kollins et al. 2005;Lasser et al. 2000;Lepper 1998;Leventhal et al. 2008;Nabi et al. 2010). However, many different types (e.g., cognitive, personality, and psychotic disorders), levels, and measures of psychological symptoms could have been included, which may have changed the structure of the model and subsequent results. ...
Shared latent dimensions may account for the co-occurrence of multiple forms of psychological dysfunction. However, this conceptualization has rarely been integrated into the smoking literature, despite high levels of psychological symptoms in smokers. In this study, we used confirmatory factor analysis to compare three models (1-factor, 2-factor [internalizing-externalizing], and 3-factor [low positive affect-negative affect-disinhibition]) of relations among nine measures of affective and behavioral symptoms implicated in smoking spanning depression, anxiety, happiness, anhedonia, ADHD, aggression, and alcohol use disorder symptoms. We then examined associations of scores from each of the manifest scales and the latent factors from the best-fitting model to several smoking characteristics (i.e., experimentation, lifetime established smoking [≥100 cigarettes lifetime], age of smoking onset, cigarettes/day, nicotine dependence, and past nicotine withdrawal). We used two samples: (1) College Students (N =288; mean age =20; 75 % female) and (2) Adult Daily Smokers (N=338; mean age=44; 32 % female). In both samples, the 3-factor model separating latent dimensions of deficient positive affect, negative affect, and disinhibition fit best. In the college students, the disinhibition factor and its respective indicators significantly associated with lifetime smoking. In the daily smokers, low positive and high negative affect factors and their respective indicators positively associated with cigarettes/day and nicotine withdrawal symptom severity. These findings suggest that shared features of psychological symptoms may be parsimonious explanations of how multiple manifestations of psychological dysfunction play a role in smoking. Implications for research and treatment of co-occurring psychological symptoms and smoking are discussed.
... Para los estudiosos del bienestar subjetivo, el procedimiento a seguir es preguntarle directamente a las personas por su bienestar (Rojas, 2014), desde un punto de vista empírico se ha identificado que los cuestionamientos directos a los individuos sobre su bienestar son confiables, válidos y consistentes a través del tiempo (Lepper, 1998). ...
El estudio tiene un propósito exploratorio, pretende identificar cambios en los niveles de variables de bienestar subjetivo en México entre 2013 y 2020. Los datos utilizados corresponden a los levantamientos realizados por el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) entre 2013 y 2020. Se cuenta con más de 50 mil datos trimestrales. Entre los hallazgos del estudio se puede observar un incremento en la satisfacción con la vida de los mexicanos en los años recientes, identificando solamente un punto de reducción durante el primer trimestre del 2017. Asimismo, se observa estabilidad en aspectos afectivos de los individuos, lo cual contradice la percepción general referente a la volatilidad de dicho factor del bienestar personal. El presente estudio contribuye a la comprensión del bienestar subjetivo como elemento relevante en los estudios de economía. Una limitante del trabajo es que durante la pandemia por covid-19 no hubo levantamiento de información, así que no fue posible indagar en aspectos de bienestar de los mexicanos durante la contingencia sanitaria.
... To conclude, these three similarity types explain in detail three different aspects of interpersonal attraction. Although criticized for being inherently self-serving biased (Krahe, 1983), the effect of perceived similarity is a stronger predictor (Phillips & 26 Observer reports provide the opposite viewpoint and thus information from the same respondent but about the other partner (Lepper, 1998). Observer reports are also referred as observer's ratings (Paunonen & Hong, 2013) or in particular cases as peer ratings (Goldberg, 1990). ...
Implications of (dis)similar ethics positions in leader-follower dyads are explored in this thesis. The aim of this research was to extend Ethics position theory by a leader-follower dyadic model knowledge, which was deduced in line with four major managerial dyadic (Leader-member exchange, Interdependence, Similarity-attraction and Person-supervisor and-environment fit) theories and available empirical evidence. The research design considered assessment of common perspectives, partners' relationship quality (LMX), ethical leadership, and promotability as suitable workplace phenomena reflecting partners' interaction. The quantitative empirical survey data (N = 160 dyads, resp., N = 320 unique participants) were collected within a single organization in Slovakia and all scales passed the reliability check. Dyadic data collected was consequently processed in Rstudio with statistical tools Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and Dyadic Response Surface Analysis. All empirical findings have exploratory research quality. Idealism was found to be a stronger predictor of outcomes studied, while relativism was found to shape more partners' roles and individual hierarchical positions. Subsequently, partners' relationship quality perceptions were differed with role and personality dimension; idealism influenced partners' relationship qualities the way, that perceived relationship quality by one partner increased on cost of perceived relationship quality by another one due to their (dis)similarity, while (dis)similarity in relativism related to partners' conflict avoidance due to similar ethics positions. Furthermore, partners' interdependence in idealism was generally stronger than in relativism. Also, actor effects were generally stronger than partner effects, except in one case; followers' perceptions of ethical leadership were found to be predominantly driven by leaders' degree of idealism. Surprisingly, the similarity-attraction effect was not identified. Instead, signs of similarity-repulsion, dissimilarity-repulsion, and evidence for dissimilarity-attraction effects were found. Besides, the alignment between perception of (dis)similarity in attitudes and actually assessed (dis)similarity in ethics potions was found only in the case of leaders' common perspective and followers' promotability, and that only in the case of their (dis)similarity in idealism. Building on (dis)similarity results, it was analogically proposed that these research results have person-supervisor and-environment (mis)fit implications. For the case of Ethics position theory development, it was proposed that the bias-accuracy ratio in partners' mutual perceptions, estimated as the actor-partner effect ratio, relates to individuals' internal-external attribution tendencies. Moreover, it was proposed that partners' degrees of idealism could predict leaders' ethical behavior towards followers. Despite theoretical limitation of exploratory findings, small differences in partners' degrees of idealism and relatively weaker correlations relativism had with other concepts, this thesis provides novel insight into leader-follower dyadic moral diversity and workplace dynamics.
... The assessment of the population's quality and living conditions was the subject of numerous scientific studies of the twentieth century (Andrews & Withey, 2005;Cambel et al., 1976;Lepper, 1998;Levy & Guttman, 1975). These studies were undertaken by economists (Ostasiewicz 2002(Ostasiewicz , 2013Piasny, 1993;), geographers (Jezierska- Thöle, 2018), sociologists (Borys, 2008;Barcaccia et al., 2013;Dziurowicz-Kozłowska, 2002;Petelewicz & Drabowicz, 2016;medycy (Schipper, 1990) and philosophers (El-Osta et al., 2007;Goetzke & Islam, 2017). ...
The European Union's regional policy aims to strengthen economic, social, and territorial cohesion and equal space development opportunities. It is an action linking UE that emphasises the problem of cohesion in the interregional context. The essence of territorial cohesion is the necessity to eliminate inequalities between the living conditions of the population. The concept of quality of life is ambiguous, multidimensional and interdisciplinary. This problem is of particular importance concerning border areas, i.e. the periphery of countries, which often adversely affects the population's standard of living. The article aimed to assess the living conditions and the direction of changes in those terms on the Polish-German border, an internal border of the EU (former Eastern Bloc countries). The analysis covered the years 2004-2019. The impact of the EU's regional development and cohesion policies for border areas (INTERREG) in improving the analysed regions' living conditions was also determined. The method of aggregation, standardised sums, was used in the analysis. The research showed that the level of living conditions of these border regions' population was spatially diversified, being more favourable on the German side. The analysed border regions had less favourable material and non-material living conditions than the countries' average value. Significant changes in the living conditions of border regions in the years 2004-2019 were established towards equalising the quality of life, which was influenced by the spatial policy of territorial cohesion.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11205-022-02889-7.
... 40 Despite these limitations, the self-report nature of this study allowed the researchers to examine adolescents' perspectives regarding the healthy habits they maintain and their perceived well-being. Prior research has indicated that individuals' perception of SWB is consistent with the reporting of their SWB from their romantic partner 41 and that there is as limited influence of social desirability on life satisfaction reporting, 23 thereby providing empirical support for utilizing selfreport methods in the measurement of SWB. Given the identified links between multiple health-promoting behaviors and SWB, further investigation of these constructs could lead to the development of comprehensive intervention programs focused on increasing students' knowledge and engagement in various health-promoting behaviors while also attending to SWB. ...
BACKGROUND
Conceptualizations of health have expanded to include indicators of adolescents' physical and mental wellness, rather than solely the absence of diseases or disorders. Although extensive research has identified links between mental and physical wellness, few studies have investigated the relationship between health promotion and happiness, particularly in adolescent populations who may be at particular risk for engaging in health-compromising behaviors, such as alcohol consumption.
METHODS
This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between 12 health-promoting behaviors and subjective well-being in a sample of 450 high school students from 2 states. Participants reported on their diet, physical activity, sleep hygiene habits, as well as abstinence from tobacco and alcohol products, and completed a multidimensional assessment of subjective well-being.
RESULTS
Findings demonstrated that 7 of the 12 health-promoting behaviors were significantly correlated with adolescents' subjective well-being. A sizeable portion of the variance in adolescents' subjective well-being (39.8%) was accounted for by the linear combination of the 12 health-promoting behaviors of interest. Increased physical activity, sleep hygiene cognitive/emotional factors, and bedtime routine all were identified as unique predictors of subjective well-being.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings bring attention to the salience of daily physical activity and sleep hygiene and their associations with adolescents' happiness.
... Moreover, the findings of this study rely on the validity of informer ratings of happiness. Facial expressions can proxy peoples' emotions (Izard, 1971;Sandvik et al., 1993;Lepper, 1998); however, the convergence of these ratings to the self-reported happiness of the people being rated is not perfect, and it is difficult to establish a perfect validation criterion for assessments of wellbeing (Schneider & Schimmack, 2009). The degree to which such ratings are sufficiently valid for the case of groups of people as in team athletes which we partly examine hereis an area that future research could consider, especially given that people appear to favour individuals' success more than they do groups' success (Walker, 2019). ...
Most prior research on the relationship between relative attainment and subjective wellbeing focusses on relative income. The direction of this relationship may, however, be positive or negative. Defining the target comparison group can be challenging. This study focusses on a sample where ‘relative others’ are especially salient – Olympic athletes – and investigates relative achievement using a different ‘currency’ – medals. While prior research shows that bronze are happier than silver medallists, we find no difference unless there is a relatively close race at the bottom of the podium in the competition between silver, bronze, and fourth. A nuanced distributional approach can be used to explore marginal rank effects.
... When it comes to the validity of people's declaration about happiness, their answers correlate with the opinions of people closest to them. So, happy people are rated as happy by their family members and friends (Lepper, 1998;Sandvik et al., 1993) and by their spouses (Costa, & McCrae, 1988). ...
The books’ goal is to answer the question: Do the weaknesses of value-free economics imply the need for a paradigm shift? The author synthesizes criticisms from different perspectives (descriptive and methodological). Special attention is paid to choices over time, because in this area value-free economics has the most problems. In that context, the enriched concept of multiple self is proposed and investigated. However, it is not enough to present the criticisms towards value-free economics. For scientists, a bad paradigm is better than no paradigm. Therefore, the author considers whether value-based economics with normative approaches such as economics of happiness, capability approach, libertarian paternalism, and the concept of multiple self can be the alternative paradigm for value-free economics. This book is essential reading to everyone interested in the current state of economics as a discipline.
... La pregunta empleada es "¿Qué tan satisfecho está con su estándar o nivel de vida?", las respuestas van del 0 al 10. Estudios previos han señalado que los cuestionamientos de estas características permiten resultados confiables (Lepper, 1998). ...
Ignacio Llamas 3 Resumen: Desde la década de 1970 se ha sugerido que la desigualdad puede formar parte de la función de utilidad de los individuos (Morawetz et al., 1977). En años recientes se ha podido contrastar el tema a nivel empírico gracias a la aparición de encuestas de bienestar subjetivo a gran escala (Alesina, Di Tella y MacCulloch, 2004).
... La pregunta empleada es "¿Qué tan satisfecho está con su estándar o nivel de vida?", las respuestas van del 0 al 10. Estudios previos han señalado que los cuestionamientos de estas características permiten resultados confiables (Lepper, 1998). ...
La Economía Regional (ER) ha sido reconocida como especialidad de las Ciencias Económicas desde hace más de medio siglo, por lo menos desde la publicación de la primera revisión de la literatura en la materia (Meyer, 1963) en el American economic review, una de las revistas de mayor prestigio para la profesión económica. El punto de partida de la ER es el hecho de que las economías nacionales no son sistemas homogéneos. Al contrario, conforman amalgamas de componentes subnacionales (i.e. regionales) más o menos integrados entre sí y diferencialmente vinculados con economías nacionales y regionales foráneas.
La heterogeneidad de las economías nacionales plantea significativos retos teóricos y metodológicos, por ejemplo la definición e identificación de las unidades territoriales subnacionales de relevancia, o la medición y el análisis de los vínculos entre sus diferentes sectores de actividad económica. El trabajo de los especialistas en ER tiene gran importancia para el diseño de las políticas públicas en general. La heterogeneidad de las economías nacionales apunta a necesidades y oportunidades regionales, distintas así como a la importancia de prever los efectos regionales diferenciados de las políticas públicas nacionales.
Por su extensión y grandes contrastes económicos y sociales, México representa un campo excepcionalmente fértil para todo tipo de análisis de corte regional. El presente libro da evidencia de ello, con nueve trabajos originales e innovadores.
El libro consta de tres apartados. El primero aborda temas tradicionales y centrales de la ER: el análisis de estructuras económicas regionales (con base en modelos de insumo-producto multisectoriales e interregionales), así como la evaluación de la eficiencia económica de dichas estructuras (mediante el uso del método de análisis de envoltura de datos). El segundo apartado enseña cómo el análisis regional puede contribuir al enriquecimiento de la comprensión de temas medulares de la política pública: empleo, criminalidad y educación. Finalmente, el tercer apartado presenta trabajos donde se emplean técnicas de análisis espacial de datos para abordar temas, tanto tradicionales de la ER (aglomeración de actividades manufactureras) como no estándares (estructura espacial de la extracción de agua, y estructura espacial de la incidencia de enfermedades relacionadas al agua). Lo anterior refleja el estatus de la ER, más allá de especialidad de las Ciencias Económicas, como pilar la Ciencia Regional, un campo amplio y multidisciplinario de conocimiento, donde intersectan la ER, la geografía, la administración pública, la sociología y la planeación regional y urbana (Schaefer, Jackson y Bukenya, 2011).
... Interestingly, researchers who have investigated these concerns have found little empirical evidence to support them (Veenhoven, 1997;Clark & Senik, 2011;Kacapyr, 2008). It appears that individuals are very good at reporting their own level of happiness and that this level is predicted well by those around them (Watson & Clark, 1991;Sandvik et al., 1993;Lepper, 1998;Clark & Senik, 2011;Layard, 2010). ...
This dissertation consists of three essays on the relations of income inequality and government welfare effort with subjective well-being. The first essay introduces the concepts, reviews the literature linking income inequality and government welfare effort to subjective well-being, and identifies the research gaps. The paper concludes that the relationship between income inequality and subjective well-being is determined by how inequality is defined and what it signals. Similarly, the relationship between government welfare effort and subjective well-being is determined by factors such as ideology, quality of governance, and the magnitude of social assistance “stigma” effects. The second essay examines whether the relationship between life satisfaction and income inequality or government welfare effort differs by country income group, that is, low-income, lower middle-income, upper middle-income, and high-income countries. It further provides insight into the role of governance in mediating the relationship between inequality and life satisfaction. The essay concludes that the relationship between inequality and life satisfaction is similar (significant and negative) across all country income groups when inequality is perceived as or signals inherent unfairness. Similarly, the association between government welfare effort and life satisfaction is similar (significant and positive) across all country income groups when the government is perceived to be doing enough for the poor. Finally, it appears that confidence in national institutions and leaders may reduce the adverse effects of inequality. The final essay examines whether social protection spending is predictive of life satisfaction in Iraq, a conflict-affected and resource-rich developing country. The main finding is that there is a negative association between life satisfaction and the receipt of most types of public transfers. This negative association is mitigated and, in some cases, becomes positive for individuals in the lowest income quintiles. These patterns are also observed for families considered to be vulnerable based on region of residence and the gender of the household head. A noteworthy finding is that income assistance from private sources is also associated negatively with life satisfaction while income from property ownership and assets is associated positively with life satisfaction. This supports the idea that the source of income matters to individuals, even in the context of a conflict-affected resource-rich developing country like Iraq. This research aims to contribute to the current base of knowledge and to policy questions of interest to academia, research institutions, developing country governments, donors, and the public at large. The findings shed light on how socio-economic contexts are predictive of life satisfaction as well as on how social policies can be designed or modified to improve welfare in developing countries.
... Sandvik, Diener and Seidlitz (1993) suggested that, while respondents may misreport their internal experience, they are less likely to be able to hide their feelings from knowledgeable others. Informantreports have often been considered "objective" (judgements based on personal neutrality), while self-reports have been considered "subjective" (judgements influenced by individual personal impressions, feelings and opinions rather than external facts) (Kolanowski, Hoffman, & Hofer, 2007;Lepper, 1998;Pavot & Diener, 1993). Therefore, informant-reporting is considered less likely to be affected by responding biases (Sandvik et al., 1993). ...
... Therefore, in providing autonomous support in terms of choice, a lecturer can allow students to find information from a variety of resources such as the Internet and choose their own topics to perform their ICT skills. According to Lepper (1998), intrinsically motivated students employ strategies with more effort, process information more deeply, and are persistent in learning. Thus, the passive learners who are dependent on the teachers will be more confident to explore their own information if provided an interesting ICT learning environment. ...
The demand of responsibilities among teachers has evolved not only in classroom management but also to the extent of promoting communication and interpersonal skills. Social media is integrated in schools and higher learning institutions for communication and reflection of learning which enhance teachers' performance in leadership quality and effective teaching. This study was designed in a qualitative approach mainly to explore the extent of interest and enjoyment students experienced during an intensive ICT course. Blog was used as a medium for reflection during the class where students posted their creations of videos, posters and other ICT materials. The three needs investigated were namely autonomy, competence, and relatedness support. The researcher further examined on students' awareness of the usefulness of the ICT skill they learned and how much they can use the blog for teaching and learning. Based on the Basic Psychological Needs Theory framework (BPNT), this study has adopted the direct observation, journal entry, and interviews as a triangulation approach.
... The literature on self-and other-ratings of life satisfaction is rather expansive. For example, Judge, Locke, Durham, and Kluger (1998; see also Lepper, 1998) reported substantial correlations between self-reports and significant other-reports on measures of life satisfaction among adults. A meta-analysis by Schneider and Schimmack (2009) found that the average correlation between self-and other-ratings of life satisfaction was .42. ...
... A meta-analysis by Schimmack and Oishi (2005) found that there are only very weak context effects, and a similar response with respect to weather was reported by Lucas and Lawless (2013). Sandvik et al. (1993), Lepper (1998) and Zou et al. (2013) all show that self-reporting on happiness is strongly correlated with evaluations by others close to the person (see also Diener and Myers 1995;Veenhoven 1996;Diener et al. 1999;Frey and Stutzer 2013). Blanchflower and Oswald (2008) show that happier nations report systematically lower levels of hypertension. ...
Many believe that the lack of correlation between happiness and income, first discovered by Richard Easterlin in 1974, entails the conclusion that well-being policies should be made based on happiness measures, rather than income measures. I argue that distinguishing between how well-being is characterized and how that characterization is measured introduces ways of denying the conclusion that policies should be made based on happiness measures. It is possible to avoid the conclusion either by denying that well-being hedonism is true or by denying that happiness measures are a better way of operationalizing hedonism than income measures are. By making these possibilities explicit, we find that less hinges on whether income and happiness are correlated than is often thought.
... For instance, people with higher reported SWB frequently smile and are rated as happy by their family members and close friends (Costa & McCrae, 1988;Fernández-Dols & Ruiz-Belda, 1995;Lepper, 1998;Sandvik, Diener, & Seidlitz, 1993). Moreover, reliability tests suggest that SWB is relatively stable over the life course (Ehrhardt, Saris, & Veenhoven, 2000;Headey & Wearing, 1991). ...
... About 48% of the respondents report 'satisfied' while 20 and 32% report less than satisfied and more than satisfied, respectively (see Table 2). It should be noted that while arguably better measures of subjective wellbeing (which are not available in the TS) exist (Kahneman and Krueger 2006;Knabe et al. 2010), there is significant support for life satisfaction as a reliable, stable and important measure of subjective well-being that is strongly correlated with other indicators of overall well-being (Larsen et al. 1985;Lepper 1998;Sandvik et al. 2009;Ng 1997). ...
I examine the relationship between economic position relative to local neighbors and life satisfaction in rural Bangladesh. In particular, I exploit a novel household level census of three villages that includes the geospatial coordinates of every household and a perception measure of economic position relative to neighbors. This allows for exploring the sensitivity of the aforementioned relationship to (1) different objective definitions of neighborhood, and (2) the type of positional measure used, objective or perceived. I find that a higher perceived position improves life satisfaction while objective position has no statistically significant effect. This difference stems from a very low correlation between the objective and perceived positional measures. The low correlation can be explained by individual specific heterogeneity in definitions of neighbor. However, observable socioeconomic and demographic variables cannot explain the difference.
... The literature on self-and other-ratings of life satisfaction is rather expansive. For example, Judge, Locke, Durham, and Kluger (1998; see also Lepper, 1998) reported substantial correlations between self-reports and significant other-reports on measures of life satisfaction among adults. A meta-analysis by Schneider and Schimmack (2009) found that the average correlation between self-and other-ratings of life satisfaction was .42. ...
... " Answers include a ten steps ladder where '1' stands for "Dissatisfied " and '10' stands for "Satisfied ". This is a common question used in happiness research and validation studies conducted by psychologists and social scientists show that answers to such questions are reliable (Lepper 1998, Sandvik et al. 1993, Fordyce 1988, Inglehart 1990, Saris and Scherpenzel 1996. ...
... About 48% of the respondents report 'satisfied' while 20% and 32% report less than satisfied and more than satisfied, respectively (see table 2). It should be noted that while arguably better measures of subjective wellbeing (which are not available in the TS) exist (Kahneman and Krueger, 2006; Knabe et al., 2010), there is significant support for life satisfaction type instruments as a reliable, stable and important measure of subjective well-being that is strongly correlated with other indicators of overall well-being (Larsen et al., 1985; Lepper, 1998; Sandvik et al., 2009; Ng, 1997). The data on income and consumption expenditures is not very reliable and has a significant amount of missing values. ...
... Our article is thus limited to checking for robust determinants of the LS. Several studies find the LS measures to be reliable, stable over time, and strongly correlated with other known well-being measures (Frey and Stutzer 2002;Larsen, Diener, and Emmons 1985;Lepper 1998;Sandvik, Diener, and Seidlitz 2009;Ng 1997). The WVS also offers another measure of SWB, 'feeling of happiness'. ...
This article presents a global sensitivity analysis of micro determinants of life satisfaction (LS), a subjective well-being (SWB) measure of quality of life, as it relates to economic development. We test 53 micro variables using extreme bound analysis on a pooled cross-section data from the World Value Survey representing 98 countries between 1989 and 2014. Several standard variables frequently included in SWB regressions are controlled for. The test variables are broadly categorized as demographic, personal–economic, individual traits and values, social attitudes and collectivism, social relationships and perceptions of control. We find subjective health status, household income rank, family savings, religiosity, most perceptions of control and several social attitudes and collectivism measures to be universal LS determinants. Generally, the determinants of LS vary by a country’s level of economic development. In particular, we provide suggestive evidence that as countries develop, certain needs are satisfied and stop being important contributors to LS while others take their place.
... The life satisfaction question appeared since wave 6 but paused on wave 11. To have a series of continuing years, we choose all waves after wave 11. 6Lepper (1998) andSandvik et al. (1993) also adopt this view. ...
Duesenberry’s (Income, saving, and the theory of consumer behavior. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1949) relative income hypothesis says that the utility of an individual depends not only on his absolute income level, but also on his relative income position in society. An individual gains utility if his income exceeds the income of most members in his comparison group and loses utility if his income falls below the income of most members in the group. Many empirical studies already show that these relative income effects have a significant role in determining well-being. However, most of them consider a symmetric case where the relative effects are homogenous among the population, or a simple version of an asymmetric case in which the population is categorized into two groups, conditioning on whether one’s income level is higher or lower than the income level of his reference group. The nature of relative income effects may be much more complicated, however, as two similarly-situated individuals may feel differently about their relative positions. The current analysis uses the British Household Panel Survey to depict a broader heterogeneity—income-dependent relative income effects. To explore the empirical possibility of income-dependent relative income effects, we regress a utility proxy on own income, the average income of the reference group, and an interaction of the two. Results suggest that one’s relative income effect indeed depends on one’s current income level.
... Happy people, for example, are rated as happy by friends and family members, as reported by e.g. Lepper (1998), as well as by spouses. Furthermore, ordinal and cardinal treatments of satisfaction scores generate quantitatively very similar results in microeconometric happiness functions; see e.g. ...
... Several studies have shown that responses to SWB measures are consistent over time, explicit (self report) measures of SWB correlate significantly with implicit (non self-report) measures, and outside reports of SWB (usually by a friend or spouse) typically correlate quite highly with self-reported SWB (Diener, Sandvik, Pavot, & Gallagher, 1991;Sandvik, Diener, & Seidlitz, 2009). Men and Women's self-reports of their SWB were highly correlated with significant others (spouse, close friend, or relative) reports of these same individual's well-being (r = 0.64) suggesting that these individuals are being honest about their reported levels of happiness (Lepper, 1998). ...
... However, it should be noted that .68 is well within the range of internal consistency achieved by other available scales. For example, Bradburn's (1969) Affect Balance Scale, the most common measure of subjective well-being, has alpha coefficients ranging from .50 to .80 when it is administered to samples including older adults (Kozma, Stones, & McNeil, 1991;Lepper, 1998). Viewing in this light, our alpha level of .68 is acceptable, particularly given the demographic heterogeneity of our sample. ...
Socioemotional selectivity theory contends that as people become increasingly aware of limitations on future time, they are increasingly motivated to be more selective in their choice of social partners, favoring emotionally meaningful relationships over peripheral ones. The theory hypothesizes that because age is negatively associated with time left in life, the social networks of older people contain fewer peripheral social partners than those of their younger counterparts. This study tested the hypothesis among African Americans and European Americans, two ethnic groups whose social structural resources differ. Findings confirm the hypothesis. Across a wide age range (18 to 94 years old) and among both ethnic groups, older people report as many emotionally close social partners but fewer peripheral social partners in their networks as compared to their younger counterparts. Moreover, a greater percentage of very close social partners in social networks is related to lower levels of happiness among the young age group, but not among the older age groups. Implications of findings for adaptive social functioning across the life span are discussed.
... A third limitation of this study is that the use of a single source of information can result in inflated correlations between outcomes , particularly as self-report measures are open to social desirability biases (Flouri, 2005). However, there is no better way to measure subjective wellbeing than through self-report, and research has supported the veracity of such measures (Lepper, 1998). There is also evidence that adolescents' perceptions of their parents are more important for their mental health than parent's reports of their parenting practices (Fletcher et al., 2004). ...
The objective of this study was to examine whether mother, father, and closest grandparent involvement are associated with South African adolescents’ mental health (internalizing and externalizing problems and prosocial behavior) and substance use. A sample of 512 Grade 8 and Grade 9 learners in Cape Town (M age = 14 years) completed a structured survey. Of the participants, 57% were female, and 85% identified themselves as “colored” (mixed race). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses, controlling for age, sex, and socioeconomic status, indicated that mother and father involvement were negatively associated with adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems, whereas mother and closest grandparent involvement were positively associated with prosocial behavior. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses revealed that parent involvement was negatively associated with past-month cigarette use, but not with past-month alcohol or past-year marijuana use. The findings suggest the importance of considering parents and grandparents in interventions to promote adolescent mental health.
Governments, civic society, businesses, and citizens all strive to make cities more livable. However, evidence about what aspects of cities actually contribute to the subjective well-being of their residents is incomplete. This paper examines the links between life satisfaction and indicators of the “quality” of U.S. metropolitan areas such as leisure/cultural opportunities, crime, climate, transportation, racial/ethnic diversity, incomes, cost of living, income inequality, the environment, healthcare, population growth, and political affiliation and polarization. Using mixed-effects regression and controlling for individual demographics, data on 9,498 respondents in 161 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) suggest that MSA characteristics have little relationship with life satisfaction. The only consistently significant characteristics are the natural log of median MSA per capita income, which is negatively associated with life satisfaction, and climate quality, which is positively associated with it. The association between the percentage of the population voting Republican and life satisfaction is negative but only borderline significant. Further, principal components analysis shows that MSAs with characteristics similar to California's Central Valley or the Texas/Mexico border are actually associated with higher life satisfaction. The finding that subjective well-being tends to be higher in places with better climates is well-supported by prior literature; past research also helps explain why poorer places may be happier, since people tend to be happier when their income compares favorably to their peer group's.
India is on route to becoming the largest population in the world, with around 50 % of its population estimated to be living in cities by 2050. However, for a country that is undergoing substantial changes on the economic and demographic front, India remains mostly understudied when it comes to subjective well-being (SWB). In light of a growing urban population and a consistently low rank on SWB indices, we investigate the association between urbanisation and SWB in India using ordinary least squares regression. We use the nationally representative 1995–2012 World Values Surveys and control for an extensive set of SWB predictors. We find that while Indians in cities (>500,000) report high SWB, those living in small towns (10,000–50,000) report the highest SWB. Contrary to the Western countries and China, Indians living in rural areas with small communities report low SWB, but the lowest SWB is reported by those living in areas with a population size of 50,000–100,000.
This paper discusses the feasibility on applicability of well-being index to national land and urban planning policy. The diversification of national values point out the limit of the conventional national land and urban planning policy from the view points of economic efficiency. In recent years, many international organizations or countries make efforts to build the happiness index applicability to national policy. Based on the above, this paper discusses the applicability of well-being index to urban policy planning. This paper clearly shows the definition of well-being index form the view point of urban planning policy.
Walking around gardens during the summer period is a distraction appreciated by many people, because of the sensory pleasures experienced and the refreshed microclimate of these spaces. The botanical garden of Algiers knows this craze by many visitors in search of nature and contentment. However, what would be the influence of the various sensory parameters in the well-being of walkers during the hot days of summer ? The present article focuses on the study of alliesthesias of visitors to a botanical garden, as positive emotions having an important contribution in subjective well-being. This contribution has been studied using observation techniques, surveys, self-assessment tests. Special attention has been paid to thermal alliesthesia in the context of hot days. Therefore, climatic measurements were carried out and crossed with the results of self-assessment tests and commented routes. This research made it possible to propose a subjective well-being index based on the state of multi-sensory pleasures, and to present a map of thermal alliesthesias. The results showed different appreciations of sensory pleasures in the studied garden spaces, which influenced the evaluation of their indices of subjective well-being
Commuting comes with costs, in terms of money, the opportunity cost of time, emotional burdens, and danger. Yet Americans take on considerably longer commutes than are strictly necessary. This suggests that longer commutes must have benefits, or that many people who take on long commutes are not maximizing their utility. This research seeks evidence for compensation for longer-duration commuting. It finds four possible sources. First, longer commutes are associated with higher wages. Second, longer commutes are associated with higher rates of homeownership, possibly in part because they facilitate suburban living. Third, long commutes may benefit spouses, since marriage is associated with longer commutes, although there is no association between commute duration and the presence of children in the household. Fourth, spouses of those with longer commutes are less likely to work, which appears to be due in part to higher wages for the worker. However, there is no evidence that a longer commute is associated with higher wages for the commuter's spouse when the spouse works. Longer commute trips are not associated with poorer mood during the trip, but also are not associated with more emotionally fulfilling work. Finally, commute duration is not associated with life satisfaction, perhaps because the net benefits and costs of commutes are roughly equal across varying commute durations, or because the burdens and benefits of the commute are not strong enough to impact as broad a construct as life satisfaction. The absence of an association between well-being and commute duration suggests that people are doing a reasonable job of maximizing their utility when selecting home and work locations.
This article investigates whether homeownership provides psychological benefits, particularly as mediated through the act of working on the dwelling. It examines whether work on the home potentially increases subjective well-being (SWB) for home occupants because such work improves the dwelling or because the work is fulfilling and promotes feelings of mastery and control. It also investigates whether homeowners are more likely to perform such work compared with renters. The article finds that homeownership is associated with somewhat elevated life satisfaction, but that homeowners tend to experience less intense positive affect than renters. Homeowners spend much more time working on the home than renters. Strong links between work on the home and life satisfaction are not found, but certain types of home work activities—such as interior or exterior decoration and repairs and yard work—tend to be experienced as psychologically meaningful. Gender also plays a role in the division of home labor and the psychological costs and benefits of homeownership and work on the home. Women are much more likely than men to clean the interiors of dwellings, an activity associated with poor affect. Men perform more of most of the other types of work on the home; in homeowning households these burdens tend to balance each other out, but in renting households there tends to be a dramatic disparity in terms of work on the home, raising concerns about gender inequity.
There is no consensus on the single best practice to assess subjective well-being including happiness. As a result, researchers typically employ several measures. The most common approach is to use self-reports and other reports to estimate well-being, including happiness. These measures can be single or multi-item measures, and they usually correlate well. Additional methods include the Experience Sampling Method which typically uses some form of a pager to signal participants at random times throughout each day over a period of a week or two. When paged, the participants rate their current levels of well-being as well as some additional information (e.g., who they are with and what they are doing). Alternatively, the Day Reconstruction Method requires participants to systematically reconstruct from memory their previous day, reporting their activities and experiences. Because self-report and other report measures are vulnerable to response biases, positive psychologists are also attempting to develop implicit measures (i.e., disguised measures) and biological assays.
Invited Speaker at the Applied Microeconomics Seminar (Economics, Northwestern University)
This paper examines the effect of commuting on life satisfaction. In order to evaluate the consequences of commuting, additional models test the effects of commuting on wages as well as satisfaction with both the work and the residential situation. The empirical analysis is based on longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) for the period 1998-2009 and the Indicators and Maps on Spatial Development (INKAR) of the (German) Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs, and Spatial Development. Fixed-effects models reveal a small but robust negative effect of commuting on life satisfaction. Furthermore, the results prove the expected positive relationship between commuting distance and earnings. Job and housing satisfaction are, however, not influenced by the distance between work and home. Consequently, commuting pays off financially but adversely affects life satisfaction.
Oit is a vector of ownership/ tenancy- related dummies, Rit a vector controlling for type of residence, and Ait a vector of size dummies. For comparison, this vector is replaced by continuous variables for size in regressions 2, 4, and 6. Ln(sqm) and ln(sqm)² are employed to ensure that the resulting coefficients are large enough to be meaningful. Other individual or household characteristics are grouped in vector Xit, which includes standard controls such as variables related to age, marital status, number of children, individual earnings, household income and wealth, province of residence. (For a detailed description of all variables used in this study, see Table A1 in the appendix.) Finally, υt represents time effects. Whether we can estimate equation (1) with least squares depends on the assumptions we make about the error term. Certainly, ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation requires an i.i.d. error term uit.
There is, however, good reason to believe that the error term of SWB models is non-random, rather that uit consists of an unobserved individual fixed effect, μi, and a random component, ϵit.
Size effects are added to the models in columns 2 to 6. In column 2 and 4, residence size is measured in terms of ln(sqm) with a squared term ln(sqm)². The inclusion of size effects does slightly lower the absolute magnitude of the coefficients for type of residence. However, it does not change their highly significant effects. The coefficient for ln(sqm) is about twice as high in OLS models compared to FE models. Again, this might indicate tendencies of richer households to underreport total household wealth. The positive ln(sqm) and negative ln(sqm)² coefficients in column 4 of Table 4 indicate that SWB is positive with diminishing returns and a peak value, implying a threshold effect after which increasing size reduces SWB gains. Similar results are observed in column 6 for the effect of ln(sqm per capita). Instead of using ln(sqm), columns 3 and 5 use a set of size dummies to account for nonlinear effects and to mitigate potential bias caused by outliers. Again, we find that size matters: doubling size from 60-85m² to 135-164m² leads to increased life satisfaction by 0.0878 or approximately 14 percent of a standard deviation in life satisfaction. It is important to note that the greatest increase in SWB occurs in the move to residences from those smaller than 40m² and that satisfaction peaks in apartments between 135m² and 164m², again indicating a threshold effect. Other forms of housing, like self-constructed housing and SROs are associated with decreases in SWB.
The stability of individual differences is a fundamental issue in personality psychology. Although accumulating evidence suggests that many psychological attributes are both stable and change over time, existing research rarely takes advantage of theoretical models that capture both stability and change. In this article, we present the Meta-Analytic Stability and Change model (MASC), a novel meta-analytic model for synthesizing data from longitudinal studies. MASC is based on trait-state models that can separate influences of stable and changing factors from unreliable variance (Kenny & Zautra, 1995). We used MASC to evaluate the extent to which personality traits, life satisfaction, affect, and self-esteem are influenced by these different factors. The results showed that the majority of reliable variance in personality traits is attributable to stable influences (83%). Changing factors had a greater influence on reliable variance in life satisfaction, self-esteem, and affect than in personality (42%-56% vs. 17%). In addition, changing influences on well-being were more stable than changing influences on personality traits, suggesting that different changing factors contribute to personality and well-being. Measures of affect were less reliable than measures of the other 3 constructs, reflecting influences of transient factors, such as mood on affective judgments. After accounting for differences in reliability, stability of affect did not differ from other well-being variables. Consistent with previous research, we found that stability of individual differences increases with age. (PsycINFO Database Record
We compiled a new, enhanced data set on the population share of overseas Chinese covering 147 countries over the period 1970-2010. Linking the migration and economic growth literature, this article attempts to estimate the impact of the Chinese diaspora on economic growth in host countries. Regression results from both, "Barro-type" and dynamic panel data models suggest that a country's initial relative endowment with overseas Chinese is positively related to subsequent growth. Results are robust to a number of sensitivity tests. The effect is transmitted via increased trade openness, enhanced investment, and general TFP effects.
How and why travel contributes to our life satisfaction is of considerable import for transportation policy and planning. This paper empirically examines this relationship using data from the American Time Use Survey. It finds that, controlling for relevant demographic, geographic, and temporal covariates, travel time per day is significantly and positively associated with life satisfaction. This relationship is attenuated, but still significant, when the amount of time spent participating in out-of-home activities is controlled for. Time spent bicycling is strongly associated with higher life satisfaction, though it attains significance only in some models; time spent walking is also quite positive, though it is not significant. However, both walking and bicycling are positively and significantly associated with life satisfaction when time spent on purely recreational walking and bicycling is included. Life satisfaction is positively and significantly associated with time spent traveling for the purposes of eating and drinking, religious activities, volunteering, and playing and watching sports. Travel time exhibits a strong positive relationship with life satisfaction in smaller towns and cities, but in large cities the association weakens, and for very large cities travel time may actually not be associated with life satisfaction at all. This may be due to the costs of traffic congestion, which disproportionately exists in large cities. In all, while the associations between travel and life satisfaction are clear, the causal story is complex, with the positive relationships potentially being explained by (1) travel allowing us to access destinations that make us happy, (2) the act of travel itself being fulfilling, and/or (3) intrinsically happier people being more likely to travel. In all likelihood, all three factors are at play.
The rational pursuit of happiness requires knowledge of happiness and in particular answers to the following four questions: (1) Is greater happiness realistically possible? (2) If so, to what extent is that in our own hands? (3) How can we get happier? What things should be considered in the choices we make? (4) How does the pursuit of happiness fit with other things we value? Answers to these questions are not only sought by individuals who want to improve their personal life, they are also on the mind of managers concerned about the happiness of members of their organization and of governments aiming to promote greater happiness of a greater number of citizens. All these actors might make more informed choices if they could draw on a sound base of evidence. In this paper I take stock of the available evidence and the answers it holds for the four types of questions asked by the three kinds of actors. To do this, I use a large collection of research findings on happiness gathered in the World Database of Happiness, which serves as an online supplement to this paper. The data provide good answers to the questions 1 and 2, but fall short on the questions 3 and 4. Priorities for further research are indicated.
Using data from 4 waves of an Australian panel study, this study offers a dynamic account of relations between personality, life events, and subjective well-being (SWB). Members of the Victorian Quality of Life panel study were interviewed in 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1987. The initial sample size was 942; 649 respondents remain. The study shows that very stable personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience) predispose people to experience moderately stable levels of favorable and adverse life events and moderately stable levels of SWB. However, contrary to previous research (P. T. Costa and R. R. McCrae, 1984) life events influence SWB over and above the effects of personality. A dynamic equilibrium (DE) model is outlined, in which each person is regarded as having "normal" equilibrium levels of life events and SWB, predictable on the basis of age and personality. Only when events deviate from their equilibrium levels does SWB change. The DE model is compared with 3 alternatives: personality models, adaptation level models, and models that treat life events as being wholly exogenous. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The structure of subjective well-being has been conceptualized as consisting of two major components: the emotional or affective component and the judgmental or cognitive component (Diener, 1984; Veenhoven, 1984). The judgmental component has also been conceptualized as life satisfaction (Andrews & Withey, 1976). Although the affective component of subjective well-being has received considerable attention from researchers, the judgmental component has been relatively neglected. The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985) was developed as a measure of the judgmental component of subjective well-being (SWB). Two studied designed to validate further the SWLS are reported. Peer reports, a memory measure, and clinical ratings are used as external criteria for validation. Evidence for the reliability and predictive validity of the SWLS is presented, and its performance is compared to other related scales. The SWLS is shown to be a valid and reliable measure of life satisfaction, suited for use with a wide range of age groups and applications, which makes possible the savings of interview time and resources compared to many measures of life satisfaction. In addition, the high convergence of self- and peer-reported measures of subjective well-being and life satisfaction provide strong evidence that subjective well-being is a relatively global and stable phenomenon, not simply a momentary judgment based on fleeting influences.
Previous longitudinal studies of personality in adulthood have been limited in the range of traits examined, have chiefly made use of self-reports, and have frequently included only men. In this study, self-reports (N = 983) and spouse ratings (N = 167) were gathered on the NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1985b), which measures all five of the major dimensions of normal personality. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses on data from men and women aged 21 to 96 years showed evidence of small declines in Activity, Positive Emotions, and openness to Actions that might be attributed to maturation, but none of these effects was replicated in sequential analyses. The 20 other scales examined showed no consistent pattern of maturational effects. In contrast, retest stability was quite high for all five dimensions in self-reports and for the three dimensions measured at both times in spouse ratings. Comparable levels of stability were seen for men and women and for younger and older subjects. The data support the position that personality is stable after age 30.
This article reports the development and validation of a scale to measure global life satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Among the various components of subjective well-being, the SWLS is narrowly focused to assess global life satisfaction and does not tap related constructs such as positive affect or loneliness. The SWLS is shown to have favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and high temporal reliability. Scores on the SWLS correlate moderately to highly with other measures of subjective well-being, and correlate predictably with specific personality characteristics. It is noted that the SWLS is Suited for use with different age groups, and other potential uses of the scale are discussed.
This article reports the development and validation of a scale to measure global life satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Among the various components of subjective well-being, the SWLS is narrowly focused to assess global life satisfaction and does not tap related constructs such as positive affect or loneliness. The SWLS is shown to have favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and high temporal reliability. Scores on the SWLS correlate moderately to highly with other measures of subjective well-being, and correlate predictably with specific personality characteristics. It is noted that the SWLS is suited for use with different age groups, and other potential uses of the scale are discussed.
The SWLS consists of 5-items that require a ratingon a 7-point Likert scale. Administration is rarely morethan a minute or 2 and can be completed by interview(including phone) or paper and pencil response. The in-strumentshouldnotbecompletedbyaproxyansweringfortheperson.Itemsofthe SWLSaresummedtocreatea total score that can range from 5 to 35.The SWLS is in the public domain. Permission isnot needed to use it. Further information regardingthe use and interpretation of the SWLS can be foundat the author’s Web site http://internal.psychology.illinois.edu/∼ediener/SWLS.html. The Web site alsoincludes links to translations of the scale into 27languages.
Subjective well-being (SWB) comprises people's longer-term levels of pleasant affect, lack of unpleasant affect, and life satisfaction. It displays moderately high levels of cross-situational consistency and temporal stability. Self-report measures of SWB show adequate validity, reliability, factor invariance, and sensitivity to change. Despite the success of the measures to date, more sophisticated approaches to defining and measuring SWB are now possible. Affect includes facial, physiological, motivational, behavioral, and cognitive components. Self-reports assess primarily the cognitive component of affect, and thus are unlikely to yield a complete picture of respondents' emotional lives. For example, denial may influence self-reports of SWB more than other components. Additionally, emotions are responses which vary on a number of dimensions such as intensity, suggesting that mean levels of affect as captured by existing measures do not give a complete account of SWB. Advances in cognitive psychology indicate that differences in memory retrieval, mood as information, and scaling processes can influence self-reports of SWB. Finally, theories of communication alert us to the types of information that are likely to be given in self-reports of SWB. These advances from psychology suggest that a multimethod approach to assessing SWB will create a more comprehensive depiction of the phenomenon. Not only will a multifaceted test battery yield more credible data, but inconsistencies between various measurement methods and between the various components of well-being will both help us better understand SWB indictors and group differences in well-being. Knowledge of cognition, personality, and emotion will also aid in the development of sophisticated theoretical definitions of subjective well-being. For example, life satisfaction is theorized to be a judgment that respondents construct based on currently salient information. Finally, it is concluded that measuring negative reactions such as depression or anxiety give an incomplete picture of people's well-being, and that it is imperative to measure life satisfaction and positive emotions as well.
Recent research has reported high stability for subjective well-being over periods as long as 9 years, concluding that well-being is essentially unaffected by environmental change. Other research has suggested well-being is responsive to change in life circumstances, and appropriate for use as an adaptational outcome variable. The present research examined the stability of well-being over short periods (3–6 months) using a range of well-being measures. Two different samples, mothers with young children and elderly persons, provided assessments of well-being and every day stressors (hassles) on three occasions, three months apart, as well as the personality measure, sense of coherence. Results demonstrated high consistency in well-being, but also found it to be influenced by environmental events and personality. With prior well-being controlled, current well-being was predicted by current hassles but not by past hassles. Coherence explained limited variance in current well-being with pror well-being controlled. Of the three factors, prior well-being, current hassles, and coherence, prior well-being was the strongest predictor of present well-being. These findings were consistent across the range of well-being measures, and replicated across the samples. Implications for the use of well-being as an adaptational outcome are discussed.
A longitudinal investigation of the stability and sensitivity of several subjective social indicators is presented. Over a seven year period, data collected from 93 Canadians indicated moderate stability for measures of enjoyment, satisfaction, and life quality. When respondents were divided into change and no change groups on the basis of their self-reported health status, the self-anchoring ladder of present life quality was found to be sensitive to change. Implications of this methodological inquiry are examined.
Subjective well-being (SWB) comprises people’s longer-term levels of pleasant affect, lack of unpleasant affect, and life
satisfaction. It displays moderately high levels of cross-situational consistency and temporal stability. Self-report measures
of SWB show adequate validity, reliability, factor invariance, and sensitivity to change. Despite the success of the measures
to date, more sophisticated approaches to defining and measuring SWB are now possible. Affect includes facial, physiological,
motivational, behavioral, and cognitive components. Self-reports assess primarily the cognitive component of affect, and thus
are unlikely to yield a complete picture of respondents’ emotional lives. For example, denial may influence self-reports of
SWB more than other components. Additionally, emotions are responses which vary on a number of dimensions such as intensity,
suggesting that mean levels of affect as captured by existing measures do not give a complete account of SWB. Advances in
cognitive psychology indicate that differences in memory retrieval, mood as information, and scaling processes can influence
self-reports of SWB. Finally, theories of communication alert us to the types of information that are likely to be given in
self-reports of SWB. These advances from psychology suggest that a multimethod approach to assessing SWB will create a more
comprehensive depiction of the phenomenon. Not only will a multifaceted test battery yield more credible data, but inconsistencies
between various measurement methods and between the various components of well-being. Knowledge of cognition, personality,
and emotion will also aid in the development of sophisticated theoretical definitions of subjective well-being. For example,
life satisfaction is theorized to be a judgment that respondents construct based on currently salient information. Finally,
it is concluded that measuring negative reactions such as depression or anxiety give an incomplete picture of people’s well-being,
and that it is imperative to measure life satisfaction and positive emotions as well.
Longitudinal analyses were performed on changes in life satisfaction among a sample of 378 community residents, aged 46-70.
There were no significant changes in the mean life satisfaction scores for any age-sex cohort and no significant differences
between the sexes, although there were some individual changes. Life satisfaction at the end of a 4-year period was significantly
related to initial levels of self-rated health, social activity, and sexual enjoyment. Attempts to predict residual change
in life satisfaction by initial levels or by changes in these variables were largely unsuccessful.
The Cantrill Ladder scale has been shown to have a stability coefficient of 0.7 for a two year period Additionally, in a large panel study of older adults, Headey and Wearing (1989) found that SWB measures had six year stability coefficients ranging from 0
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8 for happiness and life satisfaction. The Cantrill Ladder scale has been shown to have a stability coefficient of 0.7 for a two year period (Palmore and Kivett, 1977). Additionally, in a large panel study of older adults, Headey and Wearing (1989) found that SWB measures had six year stability coefficients ranging from 0.5 to 0.
The Quality of American Life (Russell Sage Foundation
- A Campbell
- P Converse
- W Rodgers
Campbell, A., P. Converse, W. Rodgers: 1976, The Quality of American Life (Russell Sage Foundation, New York).
The stability and validity of quality of life measures’ Social Indicators Research 10
- T Atkinson