Happiness

Subjective well-being
The extent of happiness
• What percent of US adults consider
themselves happy most or all of the
time?
• 80% happy most of the time.
• 80% consider themselves optimists.
• How accurate do you think these
statistics are?
Some people are skeptical
• Pessimists are better judges of
reality.
• Don’t look at the world through rose
colored glasses.
• Must be willing to keep an open
mind.
• Nurture optimism in ourselves and
others.
Elements of subjective well-being
• 1. Happiness:
• --an emotional state.
• --how you feel about yourself and
the world.
• 2. Satisfaction with Life:
• --more global judgment about your
acceptance with your life.
• --more of a cognitive assessment.
How happy are we?
• Time magazine poll (12/2004)
• “Would you say that so far you have lived
• --the best possible life you could have.
• --a very good life
• --a good life
• --a fair life
• --a poor life
How happy are we? Results.
• Time magazine poll (12/2004)
• “Would you say that so far you have lived
• --the best possible life. 13%
• --a very good life 37%
• --a good life 33%
• --a fair life 15%
• --a poor life 2%

• Good + very good + best possible = 83%

Last element of SWB
• 3. Emotional stability:
• --low level of neuroticism.
• --lack of serious personality flaws.
• Neurosis: “poor ability to adapt to one's
environment, an inability to change one's
life patterns, and the inability to develop a
richer, more complex, more satisfying
personality." (Boeree, 2002)
How do we measure SWB?

• Most widely
used scale
developed by
Ed Diener
• “Dr. Happiness”
Satisfaction with Life Scale

Edward Diener
 • Not at all Moderately Absolutely
true true true
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. In most ways my life is close to my ideal.

2. The conditions of my life are excellent.

3. I am satisfied with my life

• Not at all Moderately Absolutely
true true true
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4. So far I have gotten the important things I want

in life.

5. If I could live my life over, I would change

almost nothing.
Scoring the Diener SWB

• 31-35 Extremely satisfied

• 26-30 Very satisfied
• 21-25 Slightly satisfied
• 20 Neutral point
• 15-19 Slightly dissatisfied
• 10-14 Dissatisfied
• 5-9 Extremely dissatisfied
Can we trust self report?
• Is person telling the truth
• Or giving socially acceptable answer?
• Diener found high correlation between
self report and reports of family and
friends of subject.
• Joe and Joe’s spouse and friends.
• Other’s perceive same happieness.
• Also agreement with overt behavior of
subject (actions and expressions).
What do numbers represent?
• Not at all Moderately Absolutely
true true true
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Rank ordered scale (ordinal data) not

“real numbers” like height and weight (ratio data).
But, after all, this is called subjective well-being.
Even IQ is really a subjective construct.
Is SWB stable over time?
• All have mood swings.
• Some days better than others.
• Get good or bad news.
• Solution: Event sampling.
• Csikszentmihalyi gave subjects pagers.
• When pager beeps, have to enter mood
and activity into a journal or mini
computer.
• SWB small changes but quite stable.
Changes in SWB
• Life crisis will cause a dip.
• Celebration will cause a rise.
• But SWB quite consistent.
• A few long term studies.
Aging with Grace
• David Snowdon
• Longitudinal study
• Essays written when take
their vows.
• Those who expressed
positive themes had high
SWB at advanced age.
• Low level of Alzheimer’s.
Yearbook pictures
• Harker and Kettner (2001)
• Compared college
yearbook photos with
SWB 30 years later.
• Looking for Duchenne
smile.
• Duchenne did first studies
on facial expressions
(1862) in France.
Varieties of smile
• Pan American smile

• Duchenne smile
Varieties of smile
• Duchenne vs. Pan
American smiles

• Correlates of Duchenne
smile
• Greater enjoyment
• Broad smile that you
can read in the eyes.
• Seen in lower photo.
Smiles and SWB
• Women with Duchenne smiles in college
yearbook photos.
• 30 years later:
• Had happier marriages
• Felt less stress
• Had higher SWB scores.
• Conclusion SWB stable over time.
• Related to psychological wellness.
Psychological components of SWB
• Ed Diener and David Myers
• 1. High self esteem
• Most important predictor of SWB
• Western cultures value individual
achievement and success
• Eastern cultures value group success.
• Self esteem tied to group membership.
Psychological components #2
• 2. Sense of perceived control.
• Belief some measure of control over life
events (in cases where possible).
• Rutter: Locus of Control
• Internal locus best.
• Newer term: personal control: belief that
you can effect outcomes.
Not always in control
• Some occasions may turn over control.
• Example: higher power in AA.
• Relinquish perceived control.
• Hurricane, floods, acts of God.
• Events outside your control.
• Wisdom to know when to depend on
this belief.
Psychological components #3
• 3. Extroversion
• Higher SWB in people who are
interested in things outside themselves.
• Extroverts generally have higher SWB.
• Seek and enjoy company of others.
• Doesn’t mean that all introverts are
unhappy.
• Introverts prefer join a few close friends.
Psychological components #4
• Optimism
• “a tendency to expect the best possible
outcome; to dwell on the most hopeful
aspect of a situation.”
• Look to the future with hope and
positive expectations.
• Optimistic explanatory style
Explanatory style example
• Professor doesn’t return my phone call
about writing a recommendation.
• Negative:
• professor hates me; he is ignoring me.
• Positive:
• out of town, will respond when he
returns.
• Make another call in a week.
Psychological components #5
• 5. Positive social relationships
• High correlations of SWB with
satisfaction with family and friends.
• Social support and emotional intimacy.
• Important for physical and psychological
health.
• Strongest external source of SWB.
• Social contact better predictor than
wealth, education or career.
Importance of family
• Rare person who,
as his life draws
to a close, wishes
he had spent
more time with at
work.
Psychological components #6
• 6. Sense of meaning and purpose.
• Defined as spirituality by some.
• Doesn’t have to be religious.
• Belief that your life is connected to a
greater good.
• Your life will make a difference.
Man’s search for meaning
• Viktor Frankl
• Concentration camp survivor.
• Belief that you can find a
purpose in life even in terrible
conditions.
• To give up hope is to give up
the will to live.