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The relationship between income, changes in income and life-satisfaction in West Germany and the Russian Federation: relative, absolute, or a combination of both?
Abstract
In this article the relationship between income, changes in income and life-satisfaction was addressed. Using data from a German and Russian panel study, it was tested whether there is an absolute effect, a relative effect, or a combination of both effects of income on life-satisfaction. Need and comparison theory were combined in one empirical model. The first model that connected income directly to life-satisfaction, showed only a need effect in Russia, whereas in Germany also a small comparison effect was found. In the second model, which included income-satisfaction as an intermediary variable, need and comparison effects appeared in both countries. In Russia, the need effect was stronger than in Germany. Contrary to Russia, in Germany, comparison effects did not decrease in size over a four-year period. Substitution of normal income with the logarithm of income resulted overall in stronger effects. Still, effects are rather small. Implications of the results are discussed and some thoughts for future research are presented.
... This pattern suggests the possibility that financial satisfaction is closer in the causal chain to life satisfaction than is income. To assess this possibility, Schyns (2000) performed a mediational analysis for both West Germany and Russia, examining the direct and indirect paths of income's influence on life satisfaction. In Germany the path was indirect through financial satisfaction, whereas in Russia the direct effect was significant. ...
... found that the group whose income declined were the happiest, and the group whose income increased reported the lowest well-being, a surprising finding that is consistent with the negative income tax study described below. The Schyns (2000) and Bradburn (1969) studies found nonsignificant effects for income change. In a study not shown in the table, Saris (2001) found stronger effects of income, after controlling for previous income, in Russia compared to in Germany, suggesting that the effect of income change might be stronger in poorer nations. ...
... Longitudinal studies Diener et al. (1993) General well-being in U.S. singnificantly different across income change groups, the income increase group was lowest in SWB Schyns (2000) Income change correlated nonsignficantly with life satisfaction in both Russia and W. Germany Bradburn (1969) Changes in income over a one-year period were not related to changes in affect balance Marks and Fleming (1999) Australian young adults, income change predicted by SWB, and SWB (happy with aspects of life) change predicted by income Experimental or quasi-experimental studies Thoits and Hannan (1979) Larger payments to welfare recipients led to greater stress Brickman et al. (1978) Nonsignificantly higher happiness among lottery winners compared to comparison group. Pleasure in mundane pleansant activities significantly lower. ...
Four replicable findings have emerged regardingthe relation between income and subjectivewell-being (SWB): 1. There are largecorrelations between the wealth of nations andthe mean reports of SWB in them, 2. There aremostly small correlations between income andSWB within nations, although these correlationsappear to be larger in poor nations, and therisk of unhappiness is much higher for poorpeople, 3. Economic growth in the last decadesin most economically developed societies hasbeen accompanied by little rise in SWB, andincreases in individual income lead to variableoutcomes, and 4. People who prize materialgoals more than other values tend to besubstantially less happy, unless they are rich.Thus, more money may enhance SWB when it meansavoiding poverty and living in a developednation, but income appears to increase SWBlittle over the long-term when more of it isgained by well-off individuals whose materialdesires rise with their incomes. Several majortheories are compatible with most existingfindings: A. The idea that income enhances SWBonly insofar as it helps people meet theirbasic needs, and B. The idea that the relationbetween income and SWB depends on the amount ofmaterial desires that people's income allowsthem to fulfill. We argue that the firstexplanation is a special case of the secondone. A third explanation is relativelyunresearched, the idea that societal norms forproduction and consumption are essential tounderstanding the SWB-income interface. Inaddition, it appears high SWB might increasepeople's chances for high income. We review theopen issues relating income to SWB, anddescribe the research methods needed to provideimproved data that will better illuminate thepsychological processes relating money to SWB.
... However, what is missing from the literature is a focused attempt to explore and understand subalterns' QOL perceptions. The existing research on poor consumers' QOL so far investigated the impact of material resources (Veenhoven, 1991(Veenhoven, , 1995Schyns, 2000;Biswas-Diener and Diener, 2001), primary goods (Rawls, 1971;Rawls and Kelley, 2001), capabilities (Sen, 1985;Nussbaum and Sen, 1993), and dignity (Nussbaum, 2011;Jagadale et al., 2018). These studies offer different solutions such as enhancement of economic capital, income, and other material endowments, primary resources such as democracy and justice, capabilities, functions and skills, and dignity-based social capital. ...
... Taking a sociological perspective, Veenhoven (1991Veenhoven ( , 1995 proposed livability theory suggesting income plays a significant role in the enhancement of QOL for the poor. According to this theory, even a marginal increase in income would allow the poor to meet their most substantial needs (Veenhoven, 1995;Schyns, 2000;Biswas-Diener and Diener, 2001). A similar but broader approach was advanced by Rawls, who envisioned the necessity of primary goods: income/wealth as well as rights, liberties, opportunities, justice, and self-respect (Rawls, 1971;Rawls and Kelley, 2001). ...
In the poverty‐ridden settings in neo‐liberal India, we explore how subsistence consumers construct their quality‐of‐life (QOL). Drawing on the concepts of chronotope and futurization, we posit two additional dimensions of subsistence consumers’ construction of QOL viz. chronotopefication and futurization. Our findings suggest that chronotopefication and futurization are defining processes of subsistence consumers’ construction of QOL perceptions; their sacrifices, efforts, and costs, however painful they may be, would be perceived as QOL enhancing from the prism of chronotopefication and futurization; and subsistence consumers chronotopize and futurize QOL for the whole extended household within the inter‐generational temporal space by focusing on stable input‐outcome pathways. Based on the evidence, we propose QOL as chronotopefication and futurization framework (QOL‐CFF). The framework suggests that subsistence consumers construct QOL as chronotope building, futurized and having a symbolic effect. They consider current agonies as a foundation for future building.
... In the literature on Quality of Life (QoL), many studies have replicated the finding that within nations, the relation between income and subjective well-being is positive but weak (Ahuvia and Friedman, 1998;Diener and Oishi, 2000;Schyns, 2000;Diener and Biswas-Diener, 1999). Although richer people are found to be more satisfied with their lives than poor people, correlations usually only lie between the range of 0.10 and 0.25. ...
... It is also known from other studies (e.g., Schyns, 2000) that income-satisfaction is an important intermediary variable connecting income and life satisfaction. Future models should take this variable into account as well. ...
In this study, individual and contextual determinants of life satisfaction in 42 countries were examined. The question was addressed whether income at the individual level and wealth at the national level affect life satisfaction of individuals. In addition, the hypothesis was tested whether the relationship between income and life satisfaction is stronger in poor countries than in more prosperous ones. Multilevel modeling allows differentiating between main and interaction effects of group and individual level variables on the dependent variable. It was used to explore a possible multilevel structure in the data, in which individuals are viewed as micro observations and countries as macro observations. The results showed that, in addition to and independent of individual income, the economic prosperity of a nation contributed to a person's life satisfaction level. Also, the hypothesized cross-level interaction between wealth and income was tested and found significant: poor people living in poor countries were less satisfied with their lives than poor people living in affluent countries. Moreover, complex variation in life satisfaction was found at the within-nation level: poor individuals varied more in their life satisfaction than rich individuals.
... Finally, pay is an important part of the work domain. A consistent finding is that there is a positive relationship between income and life satisfaction (e.g., Diener & Oishi, 2000;Schyns, 2000). But across countries, the income gap between developed and developing countries is not associated with a "happiness gap" (Becchetti & Rossetti, 2009). ...
... Moreover, life satisfaction was found to be positively related to decent work in a previous study among American workers . In addition, some studies have found positive relations between life satisfaction and some domains associated with decent work, such as work satisfaction (Adams, King, & King, 1996;Bowling, Eschlema, & Wang, 2010;Higgins, Duxbury, & Lee, 1992), adequate compensation (Judge & Locke, 1993;Schyns, 2000), occupational safety (e.g., Silla, De Cuyper, Gracia, Peiró, & De Witte, 2009), and good relations with co-workers (Michel, Mitchelson, Kotrba, LeBreton, & Baltes, 2009). ...
The current labor market context is characterized by a diversification of forms of employment, a transformation of work organizations and a singularization of career paths. This article aims to analyze and describe how young adults conceive their professional future and how they define a decent job. Data were obtained through semistructured interviews with ten young adults. The corpus of interviews was subjected to content analysis. The results show that work is a necessity for young people, without being a priori an end in itself. Some criteria of decent work (ILO) are more widespread than others, however, the links with the desire to maintain an activity and the social and fulfillment dimensions tend to show that models of a job integrating the dimension of personal development remain prevalent. This study leads to a reflection on the value of the diploma, which had been meaningless in school and is now presented as a passport to renew professional life. It is true that the emerging adult finds work, but to aspire to more, he or she will have to undergo training, which is now essential for personal and professional development.
... In addition, self-reported relative income is a closer indicator of economic satisfaction than absolute income is. Moreover, economic satisfaction plays a mediate role on the relationship of absolute income and life satisfaction (George, 1992;Schyns, 2000). These studies indicate that relative income is more closely related to SWB than absolute income is in the relation of income and SWB. ...
Is the Easterlin paradox lost, or has it been regained? Scholars have started to debate this topic in recent years. This paper explores the association between income and happiness in cities with different levels of economic development, which provides new evidence for the Easterlin paradox. 11,791 participants from 32 cities reported their absolute income (real income), relative income (subjective evaluation of their family’s economic status), and subjective well-being (SWB). We also obtained the total gross domestic product (GDP) of each city from the Urban Statistical Yearbook as an indicator of regional economic development level. We applied the MLmed macro in SPSS to test the multilevel moderated mediation model. The results show that individual absolute income has significant predictive effects on relative income and SWB, and that relative income play a mediating role on the association between absolute income and SWB. Moreover, GDP moderates the association between absolute income and SWB, and the association between absolute income and SWB is stronger in cities with higher GDP. In addition, GDP moderates the relationship between absolute income and relative income, and the relationship between absolute income and relative income is stronger in cities with lower GDP. Furthermore, GDP moderates the mediating effect between absolute income and SWB not only at the individual level but also at the city level. The insights gained in this study may facilitate a more detailed understanding of the relation between income and SWB, and provide advice for individuals and governments.
... Compared with absolute income, self-reported relative income is subjective and relies heavily on individuals' reference standards, which reflect their evaluation of and satisfaction with their economic status. Previous studies indicated that financial satisfaction plays a mediating role in the relationship between absolute income and general life satisfaction (Schyns, 2000). This pattern indicates that, in the causal chain from income to life satisfaction, relative income may be a stronger contributor to SWB than absolute income. ...
Many studies have examined the roles of absolute income and relative income in subjective well‐being. However, previous studies focused mainly on individual‐level indicators and neglected the interdependent effects of each spouse’s income in the family context. In this study, we focused on the relationships among absolute income (real income), relative income (subjective evaluation of the family economic status), and life satisfaction. We applied the actor–partner interdependence mediation model, and our results, which we derived from 1,744 Chinese dyadic samples, indicated that absolute and relative income were crucial indicators of subjective well‐being. Interdependencies existed between husbands and wives, but the effects were asymmetrical. Specifically, wives cared more about their husbands’ absolute income, whereas husbands cared more about their wives’ subjective evaluation of the family’s economic status. In addition, the relationship between absolute income and life satisfaction was mediated by the wife’s evaluation of the family’s economic status. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
... An example supporting this view is a study of lottery winners reporting higher levels of satisfaction only for a short time after winning a lottery (Brickman et al., 1978). Similarly, Schyns (1999Schyns ( , 2000 found a small coefficient for the effect of changes in income on life satisfaction in Germany and the Russian Federation. In an extensive literature review, Diener and Biswas-Diener (1999) conclude that changes in income do not influence SWB, contrary to expectations, while average income does. ...
The rural South Pare highlands in Tanzania experience a deteriorating environmental situation. Of particular importance is the disappearance of forests and woodlands. The consequences are declining amounts and reliability of rainfall, declining amounts of water levels and loss of biodiversity. Deterioration of environmental resources increases the costs of collecting environmental products, which in many respects have no feasible close substitutes. One of the major components of the increased costs is labour time allocated by household members to collecting environmental products and/or grazing activities.
This study presents an empirical investigation of the impact of this reallocation of intra-household labour resources on livelihood for different members of a household. We used cross-sectional data. To analyse how variations in environmental degradation affect intra-household labour allocation, three types of areas were distinguished: severely-degraded, medium-degraded, and non-degraded environments.
Our findings show that (1) the environmental products collection and/or grazing activities were gender-biased with husbands specializing in grazing while wives and children fetching water and fuelwood, and labour time allocation was significantly influenced by environmental condition; (2) environmental degradation was limiting the production and consumption potentials in the area and limited adoption of agricultural modernization further aggravated this problem; (3) factors like school crowdedness, illness, bad weather, poor school quality, and school absenteeism due to street vending contributed negatively to the probability of primary school attainment for children apart from the environmental degradation situation; and (4) subjective welfare and well-being of household members were affected by the quality of the environment.
This study contributes to the understanding of the situation and setting proper measures towards solving the problems of sustainable development, poverty alleviation, environmental policy, and human capital formation in South Pare.
... There are some hints that education has a significant effect on life satisfaction independent of its effect on income, with higher-educated individuals tending to be more satisfied with life in general (see Salinas-Jiménez, Artés and Salinas-Jiménez 2011). Furthermore, the relationship between individual economic resources, such as income, and subjective well-being is also positive but weak (see Schyns 2002Schyns , 2000Diener and Oishi 2000). ...
Individual prosperity and welfare can be measured using both objective and subjective criteria. Although theory and previous research suggest that these two methods can produce corresponding results, the measurements can also be inconsistent. Against this background, the current paper investigates the relationship between the objective income position of older Europeans (aged 50 + years) and their perception of their financial situation, using the seventh wave of the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) conducted in 2017. The main research questions include (1) how is objective income distributed in old age across Europe?, (2) how do elderly Europeans evaluate their income situation subjectively?, (3) is there a discrepancy between the objective prosperity position and their subjective perception observable?, (4) are there country-specific differences that are observable?, and (5) how can such discrepancies be explained?
The results show that objective income positions can be congruent with subjective self-perceptions, both good (well-being) and bad (deprivation), of one’s income situation. However, this is not always the case, and country-specific variations do exist. In analyzing the causes of the 2 forms of nonconformance—namely, adaptation (satisfaction paradox) and dissonance (dissatisfaction dilemma)—this paper concludes that sociodemographic and socioeconomic determinants alone cannot account for discrepancies. The consideration of certain social-psychological influences or personality traits and especially social comparison processes (namely, with one’s past) is essential in explaining both the satisfaction paradox and the dissatisfaction dilemma.
... Diener and Oishi's (2000) analysis of the World Value Survey II data showed the relationship between income and SWB was stronger in very poor nations and weaker in wealthier nations. Longitudinal studies provide further evidence that increased income does not bring increased SWB (Schyns 2000), and one study found that even a group whose income had declined was the happiest, whereas a group whose income increased reported the lowest well-being (Diener et al. 1993). The research literature seems to suggest that although social class may account for part of the proportion of variance in adolescents' SWB, the impact of social class may be depend upon other unexplored factors. ...
Empirical evidence indicates the links between social class and subjective well-being are numerous and varied, and Need Theory proposes that their relationship depends, in part, on whether people’s basic needs are being met. Given that sense of control is one of the fundamental social needs of human beings, the present research examined a mediated moderation model between the social class and subjective well-being by testing whether sense of control moderates this relationship, and whether this moderating effect is mediated through self-esteem. A sample of 536 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 13.79 years, SD = 0.95) completed anonymous questionnaires about their subjective and objective social class, sense of control, self-esteem, and subjective well-being. Consistent with the hypothesized mediated moderation model, the association between social class and subjective well-being was moderated by sense of control, with social class significantly influencing the subjective well-being of adolescents when their sense of control was low but not high. This moderation effect was then mediated by self-esteem. In addition, this model was found to be more suitable for adolescent boys than girls. The findings demonstrate that adolescents’ personal sense of control and self-esteem represent key mechanisms determining how social class is associated with subjective well-being.
... The findings presented here underscore the commuters' high economic orientation and motivation, as was expected by previous literature on the motives for East-West cross-border commuting to Austria (Haindorfer, 2019;Lechner et al., 2010;Nowotny, 2011). Theoretically, these findings substantiate the relevance of aspirations and social comparisons for individuals' life satisfaction (Schyns, 2000). Overall, the present article concludes that cross-border commuters are economically highly motivated and also gain life satisfaction primarily from the perception that their living conditions have improved in comparison with others from their country of origin (relative wealth development), enqueuing them in line with the characterization of temporary European East-West mobile workers who are primarily target-oriented in economic terms (Favell, 2008;Johnston et al., 2015). ...
This article investigates the impacts of negative labor market experiences on the life satisfaction of European East–West mobile workers by taking Czech, Slovak and Hungarian cross-border commuters working in Austria as an example. The recent literature has indicated a ‘dark side’ of East–West mobility, as many mobile Eastern Europeans face negative labor market experiences in the Western labor markets. If East–West commuters accept such experiences, employers and employees may quite easily subvert working standards, with detrimental effects on host countries that are intertwined in cross-border labor markets. Empirically, this study used a sequential mixed-methods design, based on quantitative and qualitative data from a research project on East–West commuters in Austria. The empirical findings showed that the negative labor market experiences are not important for commuters’ life satisfaction. From a multitude of those experiences under investigation, only ethnic discrimination experiences had a significantly negative impact. Instead, life satisfaction was mainly influenced by the overall health status and the perception that one’s own living conditions have improved in comparison with those of others from one’s country of origin. The in-depth qualitative findings corroborated the quantitative findings in terms of the low relevance of negative labor market experiences for the subjective assessments of commuting.
... Moreover, life satisfaction was found to be positively related to decent work in a previous study among American workers . In addition, some studies have found positive relations between life satisfaction and some domains associated with decent work, such as work satisfaction (Adams, King, & King, 1996;Bowling, Eschlema, & Wang, 2010;Higgins, Duxbury, & Lee, 1992), adequate compensation (Judge & Locke, 1993;Schyns, 2000), occupational safety (e.g., Silla, De Cuyper, Gracia, Peiró, & De Witte, 2009), and good relations with co-workers (Michel, Mitchelson, Kotrba, LeBreton, & Baltes, 2009). ...
The first aim of this study was to validate a French version of the Decent Work Scale (DWS) proposed by Duffy, Allan, Blustein, England, Douglass, Ferreira, and Santos (2017). Our second aim was to gain insight into French people's representations of decent work using a qualitative approach. A representative sample of 300 French employees completed the DWS, as well as measures of life satisfaction, work satisfaction, work-family conflict, meaningful work, and withdrawal intentions. Participants also responded to an open-ended question asking them to define decent work. Confirmatory factor analyses, as well as correlation and internal-consistency analyses, indicated satisfactory internal and convergent validity for the French version of the DWS. The qualitative results showed that French representations for decent work only partially overlapped with the initial conceptualizations of decent work in the United States. These findings are discussed in reference to notions of decent work in vocational psychology and to the cultural context of work within French society.
... In this study, the sub-dimensions used were those obtained using the confirmatory factor analysis as conducted by Spaiser, Ranganathan, Swain, and Sumpter (2016) (Stevenson & Wolfers, 2008;Veenhoven, 1991), improvements in economic sustainability in developed countries do not affect happiness after a certain point (Diener et al., 1993;Easterlin, 1974;Schyns, 2000). Therefore, each country should establish its own national and regional policy in terms of economic sustainability. ...
The concept of sustainable development has become the focal point of modern debates. The purpose of sustainable development is to improve the quality of life of people of the world. It could only be possible to talk about sustainable welfare and happiness for all when and if we achieve sustainable development. In 2015, the United Nations developed the Sustainable Development Goals. In order to ensure the welfare and happiness of countries in the future, it is argued that these objectives should be achieved. In this study, it has been investigated whether the dimensions of sustainable development are effective in explaining the sustainable happiness that provides welfare and life satisfaction. For example, does economic freedom also lead to higher levels of happiness? Do environmental impacts have a direct impact on happiness beyond the effects on human health? Can social sustainability bring satisfaction to happiness in society? In this context, three dimensions of sustainable development were analyzed with respect to sustainable happiness by using the structural equation model. According to the analysis results, it was found that the environmental dimension of sustainable development has a positive correlation with sustainable happiness. Furthermore, another finding was that improvements in social sustainability have a positive effect on sustainable happiness. On the other hand, there were no statistically significant correlations between the economic dimension and sustainable happiness. The results support previous work and emphasize that sustainable development should be taken into account clearly to ensure sustainable happiness.
... on unemployment;Schwarze and Härpfer (2002) on income inequality;Frijters et al. (in press) on German reunification;Lucas et al. (2003) andStutzer and Frey (2003c) on marriage;Saris (2001) andSchyns (2000) on income;Stutzer and Frey (2003b) on commuting;Hamermesh (2001) andFrey and Benz (2002) on job satisfaction; and vanPraag et al. (2003) on a wider set of domain satisfaction measures. For a broader discussion on subjective well-being in general and on measuring life satisfaction in the GSOEP, seeStutzer and Frey (2003a). ...
Die Dissertation präsentiert eine empirische Analyse von Spendeverhalten von Zürcher Studierenden zu zwei sozialen Fonds und von Freiwilligenarbeit in Deutschland. Die Resultate der Dissertation können in fünf Kernpunkten zusammengefasst werden: Erstens, Menschen sind in bestimmten, anonymen Entscheidungssituation bereit, zu einem öffentlichen Gut beizutragen. Mehr als 65 Prozent der Studierenden der Universität Zürich zahlen in beide sozialen Fonds ein. Zweitens, soziale Vergleiche sind für pro-soziales Verhalten entscheidend. In einem Feldexperiment, in welchem exogen die Erwartungen der anderen variiert wurden, kann nachgewiesen werden, dass das Verhalten der Umgebung das eigene Verhalten beeinflusst: Menschen sind eher bereit, zu einem öffentlichen Gut beizutragen, wenn dies andere auch tun. Drittens, in einem zweiten Feldexperiment wurde die Spende von gewissen Personen von einer anonymen Institution erhöht. Die entsprechenden Studierenden reagierten mit einer erhöhten Spendebereitschaft. Viertens, es gibt systematische Unterschiede im Spendenverhalten zwischen Ökonomen und Nichtökonomen, diese Unterschiede haben aber nichts mit der Lehre der Ökonomie zu tun. Ökonomen sind bereits am Anfang des Studiums weniger bereit, in die beiden sozialen Fonds einzuzahlen. Fünftens, basierend auf dem deutschen Panel empirisch, wird gezeigt, dass Spenden und Freiwilligenarbeit machen glücklich. Um die Kausalität zu klären, ob Freiwilligenarbeit glücklicher macht oder ob glücklichere Menschen eher freiwillig arbeiten, wird in der Dissertation auf die Wiedervereinigung als exogenen Schock zurückgegriffen. Der partielle Zusammenbruch der Infrastruktur für Freiwilligenarbeit erlaubt es empirisch zu zeigen, dass tatsächlich freiwilliges Engagement einen direkten Nutzen in Form von subjektivem Wohlbefinden bewirkt. The dissertation analyses empirically contributions of money and time to public goods. The empirical analysis is based on contributions of students to two social funds at the University of Zurich and on patterns of volunteering in Germany. The dissertation points out five main results: First, people are willing to contribute to a public good even in an anonymous decision situation. More than 65 percent of the student population is prepared to donate money to the two social funds. Second, people's pro-social behavior is influenced by the behavior of their reference group. The dissertation shows based on a field experiment that an exogenous variation in the average group behavior influences subject's behavior. People's willingness to behave pro-socially increases if others do so as well. Third, pro-social behavior is price sensitive. In a second field experiment, people's donations were matched by a third party. A higher matching resulted in an increased willingness to contribute to the two social funds. Fourth, economists are on average less likely to behave pro-socially than non- economists. The difference is, however, due to a selection process of 'selfish' people into economics. Training in economics does not increase people's selfishness. The dissertation therefore rejects the indoctrination hypothesis. Fifth, pro-social behavior increases people's subjective well-being. Based on a natural experiment in East Germany, the empirical results shows that an exogenous loss of the opportunity to volunteer decreases people's happiness level.
... Life satisfaction is another indicator of hedonist well-being that focuses on the cognitive aspect [39][40][41]. The cognitive operation involves an implicit comparison of perception with expectation such that the surplus gives satisfaction [42]. Life satisfaction can be a composite of satisfactions with various life domains, such as study and extracurricular activity [43]. ...
... First, SWB is an overall measure of well-being and therefore has a variety of facets that, while they impact decision making, will be more or less removed from direct economic decisions and circumstances. In order to better understand economic decision making in relation to income and personality we assess a form of utility more directly related to economic utility in the form of SFWB, which has been shown to correlate more strongly with income than other forms of wellbeing (Diener and Oishi, 2000) and act as a mediator in the income-SWB relationship (George, 1992;Schyns, 2000). ...
... Income is an important part of the work domain. Studies (Diener and Oishi, 2000;Schyns, 2000) consistently show a positive relationship between income and life satisfaction (Erdogan et al., 2012). The study by Mullen et al. (1989) examined the interrelationship between group size, leadership behavior and job satisfaction, and considered such moderating variables as income, age, work group and gender. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the moderating effects of gender and income on the relationship between leadership style and quality of work life (QWL). This study provides meaningful implications for the hospitality industry in terms of gender and income between leadership and QWL.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are collected from five-star hotel employees (n = 443) in Turkey. The hypotheses are tested using hierarchical linear regression. The independent and dependent variables used to test the hypotheses involving the dependent variable of QWL are centered prior to the empirical analysis to avoid potential multicollinearity.
Findings
Transformational and transactional leadership styles were significant predictors of QWL, controlling for the demographic variables (i.e. age, employment statistics and education level), but gender and income were not significant antecedents of QWL. When it comes to the interaction effect of leadership styles and gender, gender showed a statistically significant moderating effect between transformational leadership and QWL, but not between transactional leadership and QWL. Income had a statistically significant moderating effect between both leadership styles and QWL.
Practical implications
The findings of the study potentially affect hotel management by identifying the moderating effect of gender and income of the employees and demonstrating how quality of life of the employees can be improved by leadership styles of managers.
Originality/value
Previous literature has addressed the issue of leadership and its outcomes. However, there has been limited research on examining the relationship among gender, income, leadership style and QWL in the case of hospitality management.
... However, studies of income level in individuals have found ambiguous results. Several studies have found decreases in well-being alongside higher income (Diener et al., 1993), while others have failed to find a relationship (Schyns, 2000). Similarly, Muthitacharoen et al. (2014) examined vulnerable households are households with low income because they have low financial literacy, financial access limit and heavy debt service burden. ...
... However, studies of income level in individuals have found ambiguous results. Several studies have found decreases in well-being alongside higher income (Diener et al., 1993), while others have failed to find a relationship (Schyns, 2000). Similarly, Muthitacharoen et al. (2014) examined vulnerable households are households with low income because they have low financial literacy, financial access limit and heavy debt service burden. ...
Financial world is crucial as people assume more responsibility for their own financial security. For that reason, financial literacy play a critical role in helping individual to manage their money wisely. Moreover, the needs to study into a national wide strategy to enhance Malaysians personal financial literacy and improve the necessary abilities to keep their personal financial health in the proper insightful are significantly important. Hence, the objectives of this paper is to identify the understanding level of financial literacy in Malaysia and strategies to enhance financial literacy level among Malaysian. Questionnaires were distributed to 2500 Malaysian in Peninsular Malaysia, age ranging from 18 to 45 years old in 2014. The survey shows that Malaysian consider themselves good in financial literacy but in reality they are still weak in mastering financial literacy knowledge. This study also shows that, in Malaysia context, financial literacy among young men who earn below RM1500 and certificate qualification holders need to be targeted as focus group to increase their financial literacy awareness and financial knowledge. Therefore, strategies to create awareness and improve financial literacy knowledge among Malaysian has been identified in this study. Moreover, a good knowledge in financial literacy will make an important contribution to the soundness and efficiency of the financial system and to the performance of the country’s economy.
... The demographic variables of the family determine the levels of life satisfaction. For example, the financial income affects positively life satisfaction (Schyns, 2000;Selim, 2008). Likewise, wife's employment has significant impacts on life satisfaction (Brereton et al., 2008;Holloway et al., 2006). ...
Working wives have become obvious partners in the progress of societies, beside of their recognized household responsibilities. Such multiple roles probably affect negatively their satisfaction with life. The current research aimed to study the impacts of the conflicting roles of the Egyptian wife on her satisfaction with life. The research presents a satisfaction pyramid model to achieve this objective. The base of the pyramid comprises (1) the motivation and readiness for the role (2) family support (3) effective communication, while the summit of the pyramid comprises the satisfaction with life. Data collection took place through personal communications with 400 working and non-working wives. The study followed the descriptive analytical method. The results showed that there was no significant difference in life satisfaction between working and non-working wives in the different subscales of the satisfaction measurement. However, the levels of life satisfaction varied significantly according to the wives’ career. Life satisfaction of wives increased with increasing the age level up to 40-50 years old; afterwards, significant reductions occurred. Socioeconomic status of the family also played positive significant influences on the levels of life satisfaction. Satisfaction with "readiness and motivation", "family support", and "effective communication" were significantly correlated with "life satisfaction”. Such a result verifies the success of the scale used for describing life satisfaction of the Egyptian wives.
Available at:
www.agr.alexu.edu.eg/Data/Sites/1/pdffiles/2015,%2060,%202,%2041-51.pdf
... It is likely that they have higher job performance and chances for promotion and consequently more income (Hanson et al. 2006;Scandura and Schriesheim 1994). Research has suggested that income significantly improved an individual's life satisfaction (Diener et al. 2013;Diener and Oishi 2000;Kahneman and Deaton 2010;Schyns 2000). Conversely, in groups with low LMX mean, only limited resources are available to cope with job demands and complete tasks. ...
While prior studies have focused on the effect of leader–member exchange (LMX), representing a dyadic differentiated exchange relationship between a leader and followers, on employees’ job-related outcomes, how LMX at the group level influences one’s life domain has been ignored. The present study shifted attention to the relationship between LMX mean and employee life satisfaction as well as the boundary conditions. Using a sample of 471 employees from 53 groups and hierarchical linear modeling, we examined the cross-level main effect of LMX mean on life satisfaction and the moderation of group power distance and individual political skill. The results revealed that LMX mean had a work-to-life spillover effect on employee life satisfaction. Employee political skill positively moderated the relationship between LMX mean and life satisfaction, whereas group power distance negatively moderated the relation. Theoretical and practical implications were further discussed.
... ! financial well-being (SFWB), which has been shown to correlate more strongly with income than 172! other forms of well-being (Diener & Oishi, 2000) and act as a mediator in the income-SWB 173! relationship (George, 1992;Schyns, 2000). ...
Increasing levels of financial inequality prompt questions about the relationship between income and well-being. Using a twins sample from the Survey of Midlife Development in the U. S. and controlling for personality as core self-evaluations (CSE), we found that men, but not women, had higher subjective financial well-being (SFWB) when they had higher incomes. This relationship was due to ‘unshared environmental’ factors rather than genes, suggesting that the effect of income on SFWB is driven by unique experiences among men. Further, for women and men, we found that CSE influenced income and SFWB, and that both genetic and environmental factors explained this relationship. Given the relatively small and male-specific relationship between income and SFWB, and the determination of both income and SFWB by personality, we propose that policy makers focus on malleable factors beyond merely income in order to increase SFWB, including financial education and building self-regulatory capacity.
... Follow-up studies have shown that changes in income affect happiness, in particular income loss. Yet the effects appear to be short lived, even in a poor nation like Russia (Schyns 2000). ...
Happiness is often seen as the fruit of an easy life, but empirical studies show that happiness can
go together with considerable hardship. Average happiness is high in current western nations, in
spite of chronic problems such as criminality, time-pressure and social inequality. Likewise, the
happiness of the average citizen is not affected by calamities such as the 11 September terrorist
attack on New York. At the individual level there are also examples of happiness in hardship: the
happiness of poor and handicapped people is only slightly below average.
These paradoxical findings can be explained in three ways: one explanation is that they
do not adequately reflect reality, because of measurement bias or false consciousness. A second
explanation holds that subjective happiness is insensitive to objective conditions. A third
explanation is that we can live with some problems and even flourish when confronted with
challenge.
These three explanations are considered in the light of the available evidence. It is
concluded that the last one fits best. Happiness requires livable conditions, but not Paradise.
... Some research has indicated that people high in SES report higher levels of positive psychological outcomes such as happiness and life satisfaction compared to people low in SES (Argyle, 1987;Myers & Diener, 1995;Mirowsky & Ross, 2003). Other research has indicated that little to no relationship between income and feelings of well-being or happiness (Ahuvia & Friedman, 1998;Csikszentmihalyi, 1999;Diener, 2000;Myers, 2000;Oishi et al., 1999;Oropesa, 1995;Richins & Rudmin, 1994;Schyns, 1998Schyns, , 2000. Ryan and Deci (2001) suggest that once certain levels of wealth have been obtained, the feelings of security and stability have been met. ...
... Similarly, the correlation between financial satisfaction and global life satisfaction is also stronger than the correlation between money and global life satisfaction, indicating that financial satisfaction can contribute more variance than actual money does (George, 1992;Zhang & Yu, 1998). In a more direct manner, Schyns (2000) reported that the influence of income on SWB is fully mediated by financial satisfaction in Germany. Johnson and Krueger (2006) also demonstrated that financial satisfaction and perceived control over life completely mediate the association between objective measures of wealth and life satisfaction. ...
The purpose of the current study was to more fully investigate the association between money and Subjective Well-Being (SWB) by treating face consciousness as a moderator variable and financial satisfaction as a mediator variable. We examined a sample of college students and found the effect of money on SWB is contingent on subjects' face consciousness, and further this moderation is completely mediated by financial satisfaction. These results indicated that people high in face consciousness may derive a higher level of financial satisfaction and then SWB out of money than those low in face consciousness, although face consciousness itself hurts SWB. Our findings were consistent with the view that the effect of money on SWB depends on different types of people and supported the value-as-a-moderator theory in SWB. The implications of these findings are discussed.
... Finally, pay is an important part of the work domain. A consistent finding is that there is a positive relationship between income and life satisfaction (e.g., Diener & Oishi, 2000;Schyns, 2000). But across countries, the income gap between developed and developing countries is not associated with a "happiness gap" (Becchetti & Rossetti, 2009). ...
Life satisfaction is a key indicator of subjective well-being. This article is a review of the multidisciplinary literature on the relationship between life satisfaction and the work domain. A discussion of top-down and bottom-up theories of life satisfaction is included, and the literatures on work-related antecedents of life satisfaction, the proximal mediators (quality of work life, quality of nonwork life, and feelings of self-worth), and consequences of life satisfaction were reviewed. A meta-analysis of life satisfaction with respect to career satisfaction, job performance, turnover intentions, and organizational commitment was performed. Each major section of the article concludes with a future opportunities subsection where gaps in the research are discussed.
... Yet the pursuit of wealth continues among the middle and upper classes in America. If wellbeing and happiness are attained at lower levels of income, as Tatzel and others (Czikszentmihalyi, 1999;Diener, 2000;Myers, 2000;Schyns, 2000) have suggested, then what drives Americans in this incessant pursuit? Again, this necessitates a closer consideration of the health-wealth doctrine as an etiological agent for activity in America. ...
Historical and contemporary discourses on American culture were applied to work stress for the purpose of identifying the cultural assumptions, values, and beliefs that may predispose Americans to certain types of distress and, by association, stress-related illnesses within the context of work. Six primary American (albeit democratic) values and beliefs were identified and applied to work stress. The findings suggest that for work stress to be addressed effectively, professionals who study and seek to ameliorate it should understand the cultural underpinnings and assumptions that drive American business specifically, and all democratic societies generally; influence worker behaviors; shape employee-employer cognitions; and bias work stress research. Suggestions for future research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... In a broad review of the research on income and happiness Diener and Biswas-Diener (2002) reported on correlations between mean income, as assessed by measures of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Purchasing Price Parity (PPP), and mean subjective well-being in a variety of previously published studies (e.g. Inglehart and Klingemann 2000;Schyns 2000;Veenhoven 1991). Diener and Biswas-Diener found that the mean correlation between income and SWB at the national level was 0.60 across all the studies. ...
Although income and happiness have been linked at both the individual and national levels of analysis, few studies have specifically
examined the different relationships between these two variables in affluent nations. This study investigates various measures
of well-being in both the United States and Denmark. Respondents in both countries reported high levels of well-being but
Americans generally reported greater positive and negative affect while Danes reported higher levels of satisfaction and enjoyment.
Interestingly, low income respondents in the United States reported higher negative affect and lower life satisfaction than
their counterparts in Denmark. For positive affect, the major difference between the two countries was found among high income
respondents. The key to understanding differences in the well-being of these two nations appears to lie in understanding the
well-being of the poor. Suggestions for future directions in research are discussed.
KeywordsLife satisfaction-Positive affect-Happiness-Denmark-USA-Income
Research has shown that social class is an important predictor of life satisfaction. However, the underlying mechanism for this relationship is yet to be fully elucidated. The study examined the underlying mechanism based on the social identity approach to health. Study 1 recruited 577 community residents to complete self-report questionnaires. Correlation analysis showed that social class, community identity, and life satisfaction were positively correlated with each other. Regression analysis showed that community identity mediated the relationship. To increase the replicability and derive causal inference of the results, Study 2 was a randomized control trial ( N = 76) that used the resource-availability task to manipulate subjective social class, and found that life satisfaction in the lower-class group was significantly lower than that in the control group. Further analysis showed that social class predicted life satisfaction through the mediating role of community identity. The findings provide potential strategies to enhance community residents’ life satisfaction.
Using data from a survey of refugees from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, and
Iraq in Vienna, Austria, most of whom arrived in 2015, we employ path
analysis to study the effects of various integration resources on life satisfaction.
In addition, we consider sociodemographic effects. We find that
refugees who scored higher on host-country-specific language proficiency,
social contacts, and a feeling of relatedness have significantly higher levels
of life satisfaction. Origin-country-specific integration resources are not
significantly related. Our findings imply that opportunities in the host country
are crucial for a satisfying integration process of refugees.
Based on conceptualizations of a continuum of exploitation to examine phenomena related to precariousness and modern slavery, this article examined Romanian transnational live-in care workers’ job perceptions based on thematic analysis of qualitative interviews. As a framework, we adopted a five-dimensional concept of work-related precariousness, comprising (1) reproductive–material, (2) social–communicative, (3) legal–institutional (participation), (4) status and recognition, and (5) meaningful–subject-related aspects. While interviewees reported job satisfaction, they gave many accounts of unfair or exploitative treatment. Prime aspects of exploitation included low wages, extensive working hours and insecure self-employment, being tricked to work without remuneration, being urged to engage in work beyond care, being withheld food and sanitation, inadequate training, low status and recognition, and fulfilling excessive demands due to a strong sense of commitment. We align our findings with the literature to identify urgent fields of action for improving working conditions in live-in care.
Using panel data, this study is the first to offer an empirical analysis of the effect that absolute income and three specifications of comparison income have on individual happiness in a transitional country. We use unique data from the Viet Nam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) in three cycles (2012, 2014, and 2016), including a representative sample of 6,575 respondents from 12 provinces in rural areas in Vietnam. Taking advantage of panel data, we use a fixed-effects regression approach to control for individual unobservable heterogeneity. The approach taken in this paper divides subgroups according to relative income instead of absolute income. This analysis allows the elimination of opposing relations to see the same direction effect of social comparison income on individuals’ happiness The results reveal that individuals compare themselves to more than one reference group, and compare themselves both with those better off and those worse off. Nevertheless statistically significant results only attain when one outweighs the other or when they both look downward or upward in their comparison. Interestingly, the outcome turns from asymmetry to near symmetry when the reference group’s interaction effects change from opposed to the same.
This chapter discusses the effects of resources such as time, money, income, and wealth on subjective aspects of quality of life (hedonic wellbeing, life satisfaction, and Eudaimonia). With respect to time, much research in this area attempts to answer questions such as, what activities people spend time to produce the greatest happiness, how savoring time can produce happiness, and how people extract meaning from time. With respect to money, the research highlights those things that people spend money to enhance their wellbeing. Also, the research addresses conditions that shed light on the wellbeing effects of time versus money. Followingly, research dealing with the effects of income and wealth on wellbeing is discussed. This discussion is broken down by level of analysis (individual versus national) and time frame (short term versus long term).
Research has shown that personality has a strong effect on happiness, subjective wellbeing, and positive mental health. More specifically, research has shown that subjective wellbeing is positively related with traits such as extraversion, self-esteem, positive affective disposition, mindfulness, optimism, locus of control, expectancy of perceived control, pollyannaism, and resilience. Subjective wellbeing is also negatively related with many forms of psychopathology—neuroticism, anxiety, and depression. The positive traits predispose people to seek positive situations and respond to them is ways that enhance their subjective wellbeing, while the negative traits have the opposite effect. Also, people who are mindful of their surrounding tend to report higher levels of subjective wellbeing, especially using measures that focus on the here and now. From positive psychology we learn that people who have certain character strengths (signature strength: hope, zest, gratitude, love, and curiosity) are likely to experience higher levels of wellbeing compared to those who lack these strengths. The effect of personality on wellbeing and positive mental health can be explained by instrumental theory, temperament theory, top-down theory, set-point theory, the genotype theory of happiness, dynamic equilibrium theory, and homeostatically-protected mood theory.
I discuss in this chapter the effects of goals on happiness, subjective wellbeing and positive mental health. The focus is on a variety of ways that people set their goals biased by goal valence (i.e., they set life goals that are high in positive valence). Goals with high positive valence can be set using meaningful goals, abstract goals, motivational goals, approach goals, goals associated with deprived needs, autonomous goals, and goals related to flow. They set goals that are likely to be met (high goal expectancy). They do so by choosing adaptable goals, goals that are congruent with cultural norms and personal motives and resources, goals that are realistic, and goals involving little or no role conflict. Also, they plan strategies and tactics that they execute to achieve their life goals. This is done by committing to goal attainment and persist goal pursuit in light of failure. Concrete thinking also plays an important role in goal implementation. Goal attainment results in increased levels of wellbeing and positive mental health. Goal attainment occurs through recognition of attainment and perception of progress.
This book addresses the sustainability of happiness and well-being in Chinese societies. It starts by introducing the various conceptions of well-being, particularly in the Chinese sociocultural context.
The book then proceeds with the examination of the sustainability of well-being by scrutinizing the effects of sociocultural, contextual, and personal factors on well-being. The contextual factors are the aggregates or averages of personal factors at the contextual levels of the regions and colleges in Mainland China, its special administrative region, and Taiwan. These factors cover personality traits, strengths, orientations, beliefs, values, and idolizing.
By bringing together empirical studies and theoretical perspectives applied to Chinese societies, this book offers researchers in social science and humanities a valuable reference work on happiness and well-being in Chinese societies.
In the poverty‐ridden settings in neo‐liberal India, we explore how subsistence consumers construct their quality‐of‐life (QOL). Drawing on the concepts of chronotope and futurization, we posit two additional dimensions of subsistence consumers’ construction of QOL viz. chronotopefication and futurization. Our findings suggest that chronotopefication and futurization are defining processes of subsistence consumers’ construction of QOL perceptions; their sacrifices, efforts, and costs, however painful they may be, would be perceived as QOL enhancing from the prism of chronotopefication and futurization; and subsistence consumers chronotopize and futurize QOL for the whole extended household within the inter‐generational temporal space by focusing on stable input‐outcome pathways. Based on the evidence, we propose QOL as chronotopefication and futurization framework (QOL‐CFF). The framework suggests that subsistence consumers construct QOL as chronotope building, futurized and having a symbolic effect. They consider current agonies as a foundation for future building.
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Based on economic and sociological research, this chapter examines (in)stability of behavioural patterns across developed countries and countries in transition. At first it introduces the notion of subjective well-being (SWB) and its components. Then it turns to the existing SWB gap between developed countries and countries in transition and defines the socio-demographic characteristics of the winners of transition. Further on, the focus moves to the role of economic environment and labour market conditions. Finally, we consider the role of societal and institutional characteristics, which are increasingly recognized as being more important than economic ones.
This chapter describes the effects of goals on subjective well-being. As a foundation to a better understanding the effects of goals on subjective well-being, let us begin by examining measures that are guided by the theoretic concept of goals. Consider the Cantril Ladder (Cantril, 1965), which is considered to be a seminal measure in QOL studies. Respondents are provided with the following instructions:
In the last 30–40 years, we have seen burgeoning research on the predictive effects of income and wealth on subjective aspects of QOL. Because of the largess of this research literature, I am treating this topic as a separate Chapter 6 will continue by examining the effects of other demographic variables on subjective QOL.
This chapter describes the effects of personality factors on subjective well-being. Lucas and Diener (2009), in their article on personality and subjective well-being, made reference to a seminal article written by Warner Wilson (1967) who compiled the first scientific literature review of studies related to subjective well-being (Wilson called subjective well-being “a vowed happiness”). In that seminal article, he concluded that happy people are extraverted, optimistic, worry free, have high self-esteem, and modest aspirations. Lucas and Diener asserted that much of the research relating personality with subjective well-being conducted after 1967 have reinforced Wilson’s original observations. But the research says more, much more. Let us now look at the evidence closely.
The nurturing culture in the organization means the common practices of attention, recognition, and appreciation about employees’ skill, performance, and work and life quality in the workplace. To clarify the contributions of the culture and their variations among employees, the study surveyed 765 employees in all the 14 work units of a social service organization in Hong Kong, China. Results showed the expected contributions of organizational nurturing culture of the work unit to the employee’s job performance and mental health. Furthermore, results revealed that the contributions are weaker on the employee with higher education or income.
The current research examines the impact of income comparisons on life satisfaction in Turkey which has a feature of “collectivism” or “low individualism”. This is done by analyzing the results of the “Life Satisfaction Survey” applied by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) for 2011. Using ordered logit estimations, this paper reveals that most of the income comparison, interaction variables and socio-economic variables have a significant explanatory power on life satisfaction levels in Turkey. The main emphasis of the paper is that reference group’s self-reported life satisfaction is related to income comparisons, along with other socioeconomic factors. The impact of comparisons is asymmetric, in that in most cases, under-performing one’s benchmark had a greater effect than out-performing it.
The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of different types of income comparison on subjective well-being in transition countries and developed European countries. The paper relies on the Life in Transition Survey (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development 2011), which was conducted in late 2010 jointly by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank. The emphasis of the paper is on income comparisons, specifically; local comparisons and self-ranking. The main findings reveal that comparisons have a significant impact on life satisfaction in transition countries, whereas the relationship between comparison and life satisfaction is ambiguous in developed European countries. In transition countries, the impact of comparisons is asymmetric: in most cases, under-performing one’s benchmark has a greater effect than out-performing it. In transition countries, both downward and upward evaluations have an impact on life satisfaction, while it is worthy of note that all upward evaluations have no effect on life satisfaction in developed European countries.
Experiential purchases are differentiated from material purchases in terms of objective; experiential purchases serve the purpose of acquiring a life experience, while material purchases serve the purpose of acquiring an object. Research has demonstrated that experiential purchases are associated with more happiness than material purchases. The current study investigated two explanations for this relationship that focused on the how the purchase influenced the self and how the purchase influenced interpersonal relationships. In addition, the study explored whether social economic status would influence the strength of the relationship between the type of purchase and happiness. Participants were required to recall either a recent experiential or material purchase and rate their happiness with the purchase. Then participants completed scales designed to measure the purchase's impact on the self and interpersonal relationships. Last, participants completed a scale to measure social economic status. It was found that Impacts on the Self mediated the relationship between purchase type and happiness and Socioeconomic Status moderated the relationship.
Filtering the measure of life satisfaction through the bias of social desirability and response styles would furnish an adequate
analysis of socioeconomic impacts on the filtered life satisfaction. The filtering is necessary because social desirability
and the response styles of acquiescence, extremity, and centrality are likely to contaminate the measure of life satisfaction.
Based on survey data from 1,993 Hong Kong Chinese adults, the study applied the filtering on the Personal Wellbeing Index
to obtain filtered life satisfaction. Results indicated the bias of social desirability and response styles to justify the
filtering. They further manifested that socioeconomic impacts on filtered life satisfaction were somewhat different from those
on unfiltered life satisfaction. Some of the impacts on unfiltered life satisfaction were attributable to the contamination
of life satisfaction by social desirability. Eventually, family income per capita appeared to contribute to filtered life
satisfaction; and education and receiving public benefits tended to diminish the satisfaction. The results imply that while
the availability of resources explains some of the findings, it does not provide the only or dominant explanation.
In this study, individual and contextualdeterminants of life satisfaction in 42countries were examined. The question wasaddressed whether income at the individuallevel and wealth at the national level affectlife satisfaction of individuals. In addition,the hypothesis was tested whether therelationship between income and lifesatisfaction is stronger in poor countries thanin more prosperous ones. Multilevel modelingallows differentiating between main andinteraction effects of group and individuallevel variables on the dependent variable. Itwas used to explore a possible multilevelstructure in the data, in which individuals areviewed as micro observations and countries asmacro observations. The results showed that, inaddition to and independent of individualincome, the economic prosperity of a nationcontributed to a person's life satisfactionlevel. Also, the hypothesized cross-levelinteraction between wealth and income wastested and found significant: poor peopleliving in poor countries were less satisfiedwith their lives than poor people living inaffluent countries. Moreover, complex variationin life satisfaction was found at thewithin-nation level: poor individuals variedmore in their life satisfaction than richindividuals.
This article reports two studies in which the relationship between income, income-satisfaction and life satisfaction in Germany
and Russia was examined. In Study I, the effect of a major shift in income (either upward or downward) over a two year period
on income-satisfaction and life satisfaction was investigated. Compared to the reference group (i.e., the average German or
Russian), the upward group appeared to become somewhat more satisfied with their lives and income after two years, whereas
the downward group became less satisfied to quite some extent.
In Study II, it was examined whether there is a different relationship between income-satisfaction and life satisfaction for
poor people and for rich people. It was found that in Germany there were slightly stronger top-down effects of life satisfaction
on income-satisfaction than bottom-up effects of income-satisfaction on life satisfaction for both poor and rich people, whereas
in Russia strong bottom-up effects of income-satisfaction on life satisfaction were found for both groups. Results provide
support for a combination of different theories, namely need, adaptation, loss aversion and personality theory.
Proponents of social equality attribute low life satisfaction to income inequality in society, an inequality which occurs
when most people have relatively low income and only a few have high income. In contrast, range-frequency theory and other
social comparison theories predict that when most people have low income, they are satisfied because of the absence of relative
deprivation among themselves. This prediction essentially suggests that that the size of the group of individuals with comparable
income (i.e., income parity) sustains their life satisfaction. This theoretical prediction, however, does not consider their
desire to be distinctive. By incorporating the notion of optimal distinctiveness, the size of income parity may have a quadratic
effect on the individual’s life satisfaction. This is a hypothesis that receives support from the present study in Hong Kong,
China. The study finds a saddle point of income parity size associated with the lowest life satisfaction, other things being
equal. Furthermore, middle-income individuals have income parity size equal to or above this saddle point. They would have
higher life satisfaction with increased income parity size, which therefore leads to a more enlarged income inequality. Others,
however, may have higher life satisfaction with reduced income parity size. Hence, reducing income inequality would have mixed
effects on people with different levels of income.
Social welfare is supposedly beneficial not only to the needy receiving it but to citizens in general who expect social welfare
to help the needy. Whereas direct benefits to the needy represent the gratification of material needs, the fulfillment of
citizens–expectation registers an idealistic path to life satisfaction. These materialistic and idealistic paths may also
be useful for explaining citizens–perception about the adequacy of social welfare. The reciprocal relationships between adequacy
perception and life satisfaction are subject to an empirical study based on panel survey data obtained from Hong Kong, China.
Results lend more support to the idealistic explanation than to the materialistic explanation in that the citizen’s postmodern
orientation appeared to moderate the reciprocal relationships in some ways, whereas most of the citizen’s material conditions
did not manifest moderating effects. Accordingly, the needy did not benefit from the perceived adequacy of social welfare
and their life satisfaction did not have pervasive effects on the perceived adequacy in return. Results support the view that
postmodernization would erode citizens–support for social welfare.
KeywordsLife satisfaction-Social welfare-Postmodern orientation-Need fulfillment
Two studies tested the hypothesis that self-rated unhappy individuals would be more sensitive to social comparison information than would happy ones. Study 1 showed that whereas unhappy students’ affect and self-assessments were heavily affected by a peer who solved anagrams either faster or slower, happy students’ responses were affected by the presence of a slower peer only. These between-group differences proved to be largely independent of 2 factors associated with happiness, i.e., self-esteem and optimism. Study 2 showed that whereas the unhappy group's responses to feedback about their own teaching performance were heavily influenced by a peer who performed even better or even worse, happy students’ responses again were moderated only by information about inferior peer performance. Implications for our appreciation of the link between cognitive processes and “hedonic” consequences are discussed.
Subjective well-being (SWB) in 55 nations, reported in probability surveys and a large college student sample, was correlated with social, economic, and cultural characteristics of the nations. The SWB surveys, representing nations that include three fourths of the earth's population, showed strong convergence. Separate measures of the predictor variables also converged and formed scales with high reliability, with the exception of the comparison variables. High income, individualism, human rights, and societal equality correlated strongly with each other, and with SWB across surveys. Income correlated with SWB even after basic need fulfillment was controlled. Only individualism persistently correlated with SWB when other predictors were controlled. Cultural homogeneity, income growth, and income comparison showed either low or inconsistent relations with SWB.
Predictions about level and dispersion of happiness in nations are derived from three theories of happiness: comparison-theory, folklore-theory and livability-theory. The predictions are tested on two cross national data-sets: a comparative survey among university students in 38 nations in 1985 and a collection of comparable general population surveys in 28 nations around 1980. Most predictions of comparison-theory and folklore-theory are defied by the data. The predictions of livability-theory are all confirmed.
Reviews the literature since 1967 on subjective well-being (SWB [including happiness, life satisfaction, and positive affect]) in 3 areas: measurement, causal factors, and theory. Most measures of SWB correlate moderately with each other and have adequate temporal reliability and internal consistency; the global concept of happiness is being replaced with more specific and well-defined concepts, and measuring instruments are being developed with theoretical advances; multi-item scales are promising but need adequate testing. SWB is probably determined by a large number of factors that can be conceptualized at several levels of analysis, and it may be unrealistic to hope that a few variables will be of overwhelming importance. Several psychological theories related to happiness have been proposed; they include telic, pleasure and pain, activity, top–down vs bottom–up, associanistic, and judgment theories. It is suggested that there is a great need to more closely connect theory and research. (7 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
This paper addresses issues of causal direction in research on subjective well-being (SWB). Previous researchers have generally assumed that such variables as domain satisfactions, social support, life events, and levels of expectation and aspiration are causes of SWB. Critics have pointed out that they could just as well be consequences (Costa and McCrae, 1980; Veenhoven, 1988). In some contexts this has been referred to as the top-down versus bottom-up controversy (Diener, 1984). The main purpose is to propose a general statistical model which holds promise of resolving this controversy. The model can be used when three or more waves of panel data are available. It is used here to assess causal direction between six domain satisfactions (marriage, work, leisure, standard of living, friendship and health) and SWB. Data are drawn from four waves of an Australian Quality of Life panel survey (1981–1987) with an initial sample size of 942.
The theory that happiness is relative is based on three postulates: (1) happiness results from comparison, (2) standards of comparison adjust, (3) standards of comparison are arbitrary constructs. On the basis of these postulates the theory predicts: (a) happiness does not depend on real quality of life, (b) changes in living-conditions to the good or the bad have only a shortlived effect on happiness, (c) people are happier after hard times, (d) people are typically neutral about their life. Together these inferences imply that happiness is both an evasive and an inconsequential matter, which is at odds with corebeliefs in present-day welfare society.Recent investigations on happiness (in the sense of life-satisfaction) claim support for this old theory. Happiness is reported to be as high in poor countries as it is in rich countries (Easterlin), no less among paralyzed accident victims than it is among lottery winners (Brickman) and unrelated to stable livingconditions (Inglehart and Rabier). These sensational claims are inspected but found to be untrue. It is shown that: (a) people tend to be unhappy under adverse conditions such as poverty, war and isolation, (b) improvement or deterioration of at least some conditions does effect happiness lastingly, (c) earlier hardship does not favour later happiness, (d) people are typically positive about their life rather than neutral.It is argued that the theory happiness-is-relative mixes up overall happiness with contentment. Contentment is indeed largely a matter of comparing life-as-it-is to standards of how-life-should-be. Yet overall hapiness does not entirely depend on comparison. The overall evaluation of life depends also on how one feels affectively and hedonic level of affect draws on its turn on the gratification of basic bio-psychological needs. Contrary to acquired standards of comparison these innate needs do not adjust to any and all conditions: they mark in fact the limits of human adaptability. To the extend that it depends on need-gratification, happiness is not relative.
Although it appears that income and subjective well-being correlate in within-country studies (Diener, 1984), a debate has focused on whether this relationship is relative (Easterlin, 1974) or absolute (Veenhoven, 1988, 1991). The absolute argument advanced by Veenhoven states that income helps individuals meet certain universal needs and therefore that income, at least at lower levels, is a cause of subjective well-being. The relativity argument is based on the idea that the impact of income or other resources depends on changeable standards such as those derived from expectancies, habituation levels, and social comparisons. Two studies which empirically examine these positions are presented: one based on 18 032 college studies in 39 countries, and one based on 10 year longitudinal data in a probability sample of 4 942 American adults. Modest but significant correlations were found in the U.S. between income and well-being, but the cross-country correlations were larger. No evidence for the influence of relative standards on income was found: (1) Incomechange did not produce effects beyond the effect of income level per se, (2) African-Americans and the poorly educated did not derive greater happiness from specific levels of income, (3) Income produced the same levels of happiness in poorer and richer areas of the U.S., and (4) Affluence correlated with subjective well-being both across countries and within the U.S. Income appeared to produce lesser increases in subjective well-being at higher income levels in the U.S., but this pattern was not evident across countries. Conceptual and empirical questions about the universal needs position are noted. Suggestions for further explorations of the relativistic position are offered.
The two major theories of QOL judgment – livability and comparison theories – are tested. The first states that only absolute level of objective variables will affect QOL, whereas the second states that only differences in objective variables will. A 25-year, 8-nation database was developed that allows more powerful tests than previous research. Consistent with previous studies and with livability theory, absolute level of GDP/person had the largest effect on life-satisfaction. Contrary to previous research, a reliable effect was also found for differences in GDP/person and the consumer price index. The length of these effects is 9 or 10 quarters. That is, consumers take into account changes as far back as 2 or 2 1/2 years, in addition to their absolute level of GDP/person.
Adaptation level theory suggests that both contrast and habituation will operate to prevent the winning of a fortune from elevating happiness as much as might be expected. Contrast with the peak experience of winning should lessen the impact of ordinary pleasures, while habituation should eventually reduce the value of new pleasures made possible by winning. Study 1 compared a sample of 22 major lottery winners with 22 controls and also with a group of 29 paralyzed accident victims who had been interviewed previously. As predicted, lottery winners were not happier than controls and took significantly less pleasure from a series of mundane events. Study 2 indicated that these effects were not due to preexisting differences between people who buy or do not buy lottery tickets or between interviews that made or did not make the lottery salient. Paraplegics also demonstrated a contrast effect, not by enhancing minor pleasures but by idealizing their past, which did not help their present happiness.
Publisher Summary
This chapter discusses the association of income and happiness. The basic data consist of statements by individuals on their subjective happiness, as reported in thirty surveys from 1946 through 1970, covering nineteen countries, including eleven in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Within countries, there is a noticeable positive association between income and happiness—in every single survey, those in the highest status group were happier, on the average, than those in the lowest status group. However, whether any such positive association exists among countries at a given time is uncertain. Certainly, the happiness differences between rich and poor countries that one might expect on the basis of the within-country differences by economic status are not borne out by the international data. Similarly, in the one national time series studied, for the United States since 1946, higher income was not systematically accompanied by greater happiness. As for why national comparisons among countries and over time show an association between income and happiness that is so much weaker than, if not inconsistent with, that shown by within-country comparisons, a Duesenberry-type model, involving relative status considerations as an important determinant of happiness, is suggested.
In appealing to consumers, marketers need to know what the good life means across various consumer segments. The present study seeks to deepen the understanding of consumer subjective well-being (SWB) by exploring its relationship with selected secular and sacred values. SWB, defined as individuals' cognitive and affective assessments regarding their life satisfaction (Diener, 1984), is treated as the dependent variable in investigating how SWB is influenced by individual consumer materialistic attitudes (a secular value), religiosity (a sacred value), and demographics. Significant differences between high and low religiosity consumers regarding the role of income and materialistic attitudes in predicting SWB were found. Although income and some aspects of materialism are positively related to the SWB of low religiosity consumers, these variables are negatively related to the SWB of high religiosity consumers. This study implies that marketers might benefit from considering consumer religiosity as a segmentation and targeting direction in the design of materialistic positionings and communications. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
In forty countries, happiness was correlated with national economic and cultural living conditions. Both characteristics correlated strongly and positively with happiness. Need theory predicts this observed pattern quite well. However, when exploring the independent influence on happiness of either predictors, only economic prosperity persistently correlated with happiness. The relation between culture and happiness proved to be spurious. When subgroups of countries were studied, within the group of rich countries a positive first order correlation was found between happiness and culture, whereas in the group of free countries a positive correlation between happiness and economic prosperity was found, when controlling for culture. Especially the study of countries in transition is helpful in discovering causal relations between economic prosperity, culture and happiness.
The subjective well-being of very wealthy persons was compared with that of a control group who lived in the same geographical area. One hundred persons from Forbes list of wealthiest Americans were queried, as well as 100 control persons selected from telephone directories. The 49 wealthy respondents reported average levels of subjective well-being which were higher than the 62 control group respondents and any subgroup of respondents in a national sample. However, there were unhappy wealthy people and the average level of this group was only modestly higher than for other groups. None of the respondents believed that money is a major source of happiness. When the major sources of happiness mentioned by the two groups were coded for Maslow's needs, it was found that the wealthy group more often mentioned self-esteem and self-actualization and less frequently mentioned physiological and security needs.
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Today, as in the past, within a country at a given time those with higher incomes are, on average, happier. However, raising the incomes of all does not increase the happiness of all. This is because the material norms on which judgments of well-being are based increase in the same proportion as the actual income of the society. These conclusions are suggested by data on reported happiness, material norms, and income collected in surveys in a number of countries over the past half century.
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