What Is Subjective Well-Being?

By 
Kendra Cherry 
Published on March 11, 2022
 Medically reviewed by 
Rachel Goldman, PhD, FTOS
What Is Subjective Well-Being?
Subjective well-being (SWB), also known as self-reported well-
being, refers to how people experience and evaluate different
aspects of their lives. It is often used to measure mental health
and happiness, and it can be an important predictor of individual
health, wellness, and longevity. 

It has become a useful measure of societal health. In addition to

providing psychologists a way to assess how people feel about their
lives, it also offers insights that can be used to guide public health,
economic, and social policies. Policymakers utilize assessments of
subjective well-being to gauge the health of societies and measure
the impact of social policies.

History of Subjective Well-Being

In 1984, psychologist Ed Diener introduced a model of subjective
well-being made up of three components. According to this model,
there are three distinct but related aspects of how people perceive
their own well-being: 

 Frequent positive affect: This involves experiencing positive

emotions and moods on a frequent basis.
 Infrequent negative affect: This involves not experiencing
negative feelings or moods often.
 Cognitive evaluations: This aspect of the model relates to
how people think about their lives and overall life satisfaction.

According to Diener, these three factors control how people

experience the quality of their lives. It also encompasses the
emotional reactions people have and the cognitive judgments they
make about their own life experiences.

Since its original inception in the mid-1980s, subjective well-being

as a measure of overall life satisfaction, happiness, and well-being
has become increasingly common. It is frequently used as a
measure in psychological research and as a marker of individual
health. Data about the subjective well-being of groups is can also be
used to measure the efficacy of different public health initiatives.

Recap

Subjective well-being emerged as a measure of happiness and life

satisfaction in 1984. It is now widely used today as a way to gauge
self-perceived individual and societal health.

Signs of Subjective Well-Being

In his research, Diener found that most people generally report
positive feelings about their well-being. In studies of very happy
individuals, researchers found that while no single factor determined
happiness, those who reported the highest levels of subjective well-
being had satisfying social lives and were rarely lonely.

Additional signs of subjective well-being include:

 Being accepting of other people

 Being socially engaged
 Belongingness and being accepted by others
 Community support and resources
 Experiencing a sense of meaning and purpose
 Feeling independent
 Feeling like your life is close to what you think of as the ideal
life
 Feeling as if the conditions of your life are excellent
 Feeling satisfied with your life
 Feeling that you have gotten the things that you want in life
 Having more positive emotions than negative ones
 Having opportunities to engage in spiritual practices
 Mastering areas that are important to you
  Physical wellness such as feeling like you are getting enough
sleep, exercise, and nutritious food
 Self-acceptance

If you had the opportunity to live your life over again, would you
change anything? According to Diener, people who have a high level
of subjective well-being would say that they would change almost
nothing.

Types of Subjective Well-Being

As it was originally conceived by Diener, subjective well-being
primarily focused on affective and cognitive well-being. Other
researchers have suggested that another aspect of well-being
focused on a sense of purpose and meaning also plays an important
role in how people feel about their lives.

Experienced Well-Being

Experienced well-being refers to how often and how strongly people

have feelings of happiness and joy. This type of well-being is also
often referred to as hedonic well-being. It encompasses both
affective and cognitive appraisals of overall well-being.

This type of well-being can also play a powerful role in health. For
example, research has found that people who experience positive
emotions more frequently tend to have stronger immune systems.

Eudaimonic Well-Being

Subjective well-being primarily focuses on experienced well-being.

However, another type of well-being that can contribute to how
people appraise their life and happiness is known as eudaimonic
well-being. 

Eudaimonic well-being stems from living a meaningful life. Working

toward goals, caring for others, finding a sense of purpose, and
living up to your own personal ideals are important components of
this type of subjective well-being.
Causes of Subjective Well-Being
Subjective well-being is influenced by a number of different factors.
These influences can include those that are internal, such as
personality, or external, such as the environment or culture in which
a person lives.

How you feel about your life often stems from your inborn
temperament and overall outlook, but the circumstances in which
you live also play an important part in how happy and satisfied you
feel. And everyone differs in terms of what brings them happiness,
so a factor that is important to one person might carry less weight
for somebody else.

However, researchers have identified some key causes that play an

important role in overall subjective well-being:

 Basic resources: Having what you need in life, whether it is

money, housing, or healthcare, is an important part of your
subjective sense of well-being.
 Personality and temperament: Your inborn temperament
can affect your happiness levels throughout life. Your
personality is another key component. Traits such
as extroversion tend to be linked to more positive feelings
about life, while neuroticism tends to be connected to a more
negative outlook.
 Mindset and resilience: People who maintain a
positive mindset and who possess a strong sense of resilience
tend to feel more optimistic even when facing difficult life
events.
 Social support: Research has shown that having social
support has a powerful impact on both physical and mental
well-being. 
 Societal factors: Characteristics of the society in which you
live, including whether it is affected by problems such as
crime, war, poverty, or conflict, can also influence how you
feel about your life.

Recap
Many different factors impact your subjective well-being.
Personality, temperament, and social support can affect how you
feel about your life, but so can characteristics about your society,
including your access to basic resources.

Impact of Subjective Well-Being

Subjective well-being doesn't just help you feel good about your
life; it also has a powerful impact on your wellness in both the short
and long term. In fact, subjective well-being may be one of the
most powerful predictors of overall health and happiness. 

Health Benefits

Research suggests that people who have a more positive subjective

well-being tend to be healthier and live longer. 

 One 2017 study found that subjective well-being may play a

protective role in health. It was associated with decreased
mortality and increased longevity.
 Research has also shown that positive emotions and well-being
are also linked to stronger immunity and reduced
inflammation.
 While stress and negative emotions can take a toll on your
health, researchers have found that subjective well-being can
provide a buffer against these effects and may even undo
some of the damage. Because positive emotions lower stress
and promote healing, you may be better able to recover after
coping with a stress-inducing situation.

Researchers also suggest that subjective well-being is linked to a

decreased risk of heart disease and stroke, faster recovery after
illness, and increased practice of health-promoting behaviors.

Other Benefits

Studies have also shown that people who experience positive

emotions frequently are more likely to be productive and creative.
They tend to earn more money, cooperate more with others, and
engage in fewer risky behaviors. They also have better social
relationships and engage in more prosocial behaviors.

Recap

Having high levels of subjective well-being means that you are

generally happy and satisfied with your life. This can have a positive
impact on your physical and mental health, including your overall
longevity.

How to Improve Subject Well-Being

So if you're looking for a way to improve your life, start by working
on your subjective well-being. Because subjective well-being has
such profound effects on both individual and societal health, there
has been considerable interest devoted to ways to help people
become happier and more satisfied with their lives.

Some specific strategies that have been shown to be effective

include mindfulness and cognitive behavioral interventions.

 Mindfulness is a practice that involves learning how to focus

on and appreciate the present. Instead of worrying about the
past or future, people learn how to live in the moment and pay
attention to the things that bring them joy and peace in the
here and now.
 Cognitive behavioral approaches focus on helping people
recognize negative thought patterns that interfere with
happiness. Replacing these automatic ways of thinking with
more positive, helpful patterns can lead to greater optimism
and happiness.

Strategies That Can Help

Improving subjective well-being is a personal process that will be

different for everyone. Other strategies that can help include:

 Building positive relationships

 Getting regular physical exercise
 Practicing gratitude
  Setting goals that are meaningful to you

Summary
Subjective well-being refers to how you feel about your life and is
often used as a measure of happiness. The concept emerged in the
1980s and is characterized by frequent positive emotions,
infrequent negative emotions, and positive thoughts about life.
Factors that contribute to how people feel about their lives include
access to resources, personality, and social support. Higher levels of
subjective well-being are linked to better health, lower stress levels,
and longer life. 

A Word From Verywell

It is important to remember that while subjective well-being is
influenced by your environment and your circumstances, it is also
about how you respond and feel. Happiness isn’t passive, and there
are steps that you can take to feel better about your life. 

This includes making sure that you are doing things that help bring
you happiness and joy. Subjective well-being is all about finding
what works for you and making happiness a priority.

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