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Major Theoretical Questions Theories about subjective well-being have grown over the past several decades, but have been re ned only slowly as adequate data have been compiled to test them. We can characterize the theories describing happiness along several dimensions. The rst dimension is whether the theory places the locus of happiness in external conditions such as income and status, as many sociological theories do, or within the attitudes and temperament of the individual, as many psychological theories do. Some have maintained that people adapt to all circumstances over time, so that only individual personality matters for producing happiness, whereas others believe that economicandothersocietalfactorsarethedominantforcesinproducingwell-being. Throughout my writings there is a mix of both the internal and external factors that in uence well-being. A second dimension that characterizes scholarship on well-being is the issue of whether the factors affecting well-being are relative or absolute. That is, are there standards used by people at all times and places in judging their lives and in reacting to events? Or are standards dependent on what other people possess, on expec- tions,andonadaptationlevelsbasedonpastcircumstances?Again,thereisevidence supporting the role of both universal and relative standards. People around the globe are probably in uenced by common factors such as friendship versus loneliness, but even these universal in uences on happiness are probably subject to some degree of comparison depending on what the person is used to and what others have. However, some factors might be much more comparative than other in uences, as Hsee, Yang, Li, and Shen (in press) have described.
List of contents
Introduction-The Science of Well-Being: Reviews and Theoretical Articles by Ed Diener.- Subjective Well-Being.- In Pursuit of Happiness: Empirical Answers to Philosophical Questions.- Personality and Subjective Well-Being.- Beyond the Hedonic Treadmill: Revising the Adaptation Theory of Well-Being.- Will Money Increase Subjective Well-Being?: A Literature Review and Guide to Needed Research.- The Well-Being of Nations: Linking Together Trust, Cooperation, and Democracy.- The Optimum Level of Well-Being: Can People Be Too Happy?.- Beyond Money: Toward an Economy of Well-Being.- Conclusion: The Well-Being Science Needed Now.
Report
From the reviews: "The Science of Well-Being, is a potpourri of papers-literature reviews and theory pieces-that overview the field that Diener helped establish. ... Certainly academic researchers interested in well-being will find them extremely useful. ... The audience should extend beyond research psychologists and include policy makers as well as interested members of the general public. ... the collected works of Ed Diener are timely, impressive, and useful." (Christopher Peterson, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 54 (50), 2009)
