This authoritative volume reviews the breadth of current scientific knowledge on subjective well-being (SWB): its definition, causes and consequences, measurement, and practical applications that may help people become happier. Leading experts explore the connections between SWB and a range of intrapersonal and interpersonal phenomena, including personality, health, relationship satisfaction, wealth, cognitive processes, emotion regulation, religion, family life, school and work experiences, and culture. Interventions and practices that enhance SWB are examined, with attention to both their benefits and limitations. The concluding chapter from Ed Diener dispels common myths in the field and presents a thoughtful agenda for future research. --- from the publisher Reviews: "What makes us happy? One might think this a very simple question, but the contributors to this volume suggest that many of our intuitions are not well supported by science. Instead, subjective well-being in individuals and societies is only partially about accumulating hedonic pleasures and stores of wealth, and even these relationships are not what one might predict. Eid and Larsen have gathered together brilliant thinkers and lively writers who explore just what it is that makes us feel good about our lives."-Peter Salovey, PhD, Dean of Yale College and Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology, Yale University "Research into subjective well-being has a sustained and honored lineage within psychology, in large part due to the work of Ed Diener and his associates. This book describes what researchers in this area have learned and where we might be headed in the future. It deserves a prominent place on every psychologist's bookshelf. The book is a valuable resource-thorough, intelligent, and provocative-and an action plan for a topic of great individual and societal importance." -Christopher Peterson, PhD, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan "This terrific book captured my attention for hours of nonstop, riveting reading. The contributors are all first-rate, consisting of both eminent social scientists in the field of well-being and innovative young scholars. With a combination of breadth and depth, the book provides comprehensive treatment of cutting-edge theory and research. Chapters cover a broad array of topics, as varied as evolutionary and developmental psychology, behavioral genetics, measurement, happiness interventions, history, and philosophy. This book is indispensable for anyone interested in positive psychology, and is an ideal resource for graduate-level and advanced undergraduate classes." -Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside Contents: 1. Ed Diener and the Science of Subjective Well-Being, Randy J. Larsen and Michael Eid I. The Realm of Subjective Well-being 2. Philosophy and the Science of Subjective Well-Being, Daniel M. Haybron 3. Sociological Theories of Subjective Well-Being, Ruut Veenhoven 4. Evolution and Subjective Well-Being, Sarah E. Hill and David M. Buss 5. The Pursuit of Happiness in History, Darrin M. McMahon II. Measuring Subjective Well-being 6. The Structure of Subjective Well-Being, Ulrich Schimmack 7. The Assessment of Subjective Well-Being: Successes and Shortfalls, William Pavot 8. Measuring the Immeasurable: Psychometric Modeling of Subjective Well-Being Data, Michael Eid III. The Happy Person 9. Personality and Subjective Well-Being, Richard E. Lucas 10. Happiness and the Invisible Threads of Social Connection: The Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study, John T. Cacioppo, Louise C. Hawkley, Ariel Kalil, M. E. Hughes, Linda Waite, and Ronald A. Thisted 11. The Happy Mind in Action: The Cognitive Basis of Subjective Well-Being, Michael D. Robinson and Rebecca J. Compton 12. The Frequency of Social Comparison and Its Relation to Subjective Well-Being, Frank Fujita 13. Regulation of Emotional Well-Being: Overcoming the Hedonic Treadmill, Randy J. Larsen and Zvjezdana Prizmic 14. Two New Questions about Happiness: "Is Happiness Good?" and "Is Happier Better?", Shigehiro Oishi and Minkyung Koo 15. Material Wealth and Subjective Well-Being, Robert M. Biswas-Diener 16. Religion and Human Flourishing, David G. Myers IV. Subjective Well-Being in the Interpersonal Domain 17. What Makes People Happy?: A Developmental Approach to the Literature on Family Relationships and Well-Being, Marissa L. Diener and Mary Beth Diener McGavran 18. Research on Life Satisfaction of Children and Youth: Implications for the Delivery of School-Related Services, E. Scott Huebner and Carol Diener 19. Job Satisfaction: Subjective Well-Being at Work, Timothy A. Judge and Ryan Klinger 20. Comparing Subjective Well-Being across Cultures and Nations: The "What" and "Why" Questions, Eunkook M. Suh and Jayoung Koo V. Making People Happier 21. Interventions for Enhancing Subjective Well-Being: Can We Make People Happier, and Should We?, Laura A. King 22. Promoting Positive Affect, Barbara L. Fredrickson 23. Gratitude, Subjective Well-Being, and the Brain, Robert A. Emmons VI. Conclusions and Future Directions 25. Myths in the Science of Happiness, and Directions for Future Research, Ed Diener Contributors: Robert M. Biswas-Diener, MS, Department of Psychology, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon David M. Buss, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas John T. Cacioppo, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Rebecca J. Compton, PhD, Department of Psychology, Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania Carol Diener, PhD, JD, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois Ed Diener, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois Marissa L. Diener, PhD, Department of Family and Consumer Studies, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah Mary Beth Diener McGavran, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky Michael Eid, DSc, Department of Psychology, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany Robert A. Emmons, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California at Davis, Davis, California Barbara L. Frederickson, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina Frank Fujita, PhD, Department of Psychology, Indiana University South Bend, South Bend, Indiana Louise C. Hawkley, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Daniel M. Haybron, PhD, Department of Philosophy, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri E. Scott Huebner, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina at Columbia, Columbia, South Carolina M. E. Hughes, PhD, Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina Sarah E. Hill, PhD, Department of Psychology, California State University-Fullerton, Fullerton, California Timothy A. Judge, PhD, Department of Management, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Ariel Kalil, PhD, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Laura A. King, PhD, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri Ryan Klinger, MSM, doctoral student, Department of Management, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Jayoung Koo, MA, Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea Minkyung Koo,MA, doctoral student, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia Randy J. Larsen, PhD, Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri Richard E. Lucas, PhD, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan Darrin M. McMahon, PhD, Department of History, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida David G. Myers, PhD, Department of Psychology, Hope College, Holland, Michigan Shigehiro Oishi, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia William Pavot, PhD, Department of Social Science, Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall, Minnesota Zvjezdana Prizmic, PhD, Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri Michael D. Robinson, PhD, Department of Psychology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota Ulrich Schimmack, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Eunkook M. Suh, PhD,Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea Ronald A. Thisted, PhD, Departments of Health Studies and Statistics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Ruut Veenhoven, PhD, Faculty of Social Science, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Linda Waite, PhD, Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois |