W. Wilson's (1967) review of the area of subjective well-being (SWB) advanced several conclusions regarding those who report high levels of "happiness". A number of his conclusions have been overturned: youth and modest aspirations no longer are seen as prerequisites of SWB. E. Diener's (1984) review placed greater emphasis on theories that stressed psychological factors. In the current article, the authors review current evidence for Wilson's conclusions and discuss modern theories of SWB that stress dispositional influences, adaptation, goals, and coping strategies. The next steps in the evolution of the field are to comprehend the interaction of psychological factors with life circumstances in producing SWB, to understand the causal pathways leading to happiness, understand the processes underlying adaptation to events, and develop theories that explain why certain variables differentially influence the different components of SWV (life satisfaction, pleasant affect, and unpleasant affect).

Subjective Well-Being: Three Decades of Progress

W Wilson's (1967) review of the area of subjective well-being (SWB) advanced several conclusions regarding those who report high levels of "happiness" A number of his conclusions have been overturned: youth and modest aspirations no longer are seen as prerequisites of SWB E Diener's (1984) review placed greater emphasis on theories that stressed psychological factors In the current article, the authors review current evidence for Wilson's conclusions and discuss modern theories of SWB that stress dispositional influences, adaptation, goals, and coping strategies The next steps in the evolution of the field are to comprehend the interaction of psychological factors with life circumstances in producing SWB, to understand the causal pathways leading to happiness, understand the processes underlying adaptation to events, and develop theories that explain why certain variables differentially influence the different components of SWB (life satisfaction, pleasant affect, and unpleasant affect) In 1967, Warner Wilson presented a broad review of subjective well-being (SWB) research entitled, "Correlates of Avowed Happiness" Based on the limited data available at that time, Wilson concluded that the happy person is a "young, healthy, welleducated, well-paid, extroverted, optimistic, worry-free, religious, married person with high self-esteem, job morale, modest aspirations, of either sex and of a wide range of intelligence" (p 294) In the three decades since Wilson's review, investigations into SWB have evolved Although researchers now know a great deal more about the correlates of SWB, they are less interested in simply describing the demographic characteristics that correlate with it Instead, they focus their effort on understanding the processes that underlie happiness This trend represents a greater recognition of the central role played by people's goals, coping efforts, and dispositions In this article, we review research on several major theoretical approaches to well-being and then indicate how these theories clarify the findings on demographic correlates of SWB Throughout the review we suggest four directions that researchers should pursue in the decades ahead These are by no means the only questions left to answer, but we believe they are the most interesting issues left to resolve First, the causal direction of the correlates of happiness must be examined through more sophisticated methodologies Although the causal priority of demographic factors such as marriage and income is intuitively appealing, it is by no means certain Second, researchers must focus greater attention on the interaction between internal factors (such as personality traits) and external circumstances As we shall see, demographic factors have surprisingly small effects on SWB, but these effects may depend on the personalities of those individuals being studied Thus, future research must take Person X Situation interactions into account Third, researchers must strive to understand the processes underlying adaptation Considerable adaptation to both good and bad circumstances often occurs, yet the processes responsible for these effects are poorly understood Research that examines how habituation, coping strategies, and changing goals influence adaptation will shed much light on the processes responsible for SWB Finally, theories must be refined to make specific predictions about how input variables differentially influence the components of SWB In the past, many researchers have treated SWB as a monolithic entity, but it is now clear that there are separable components that exhibit unique patterns of relations with different variables In each section of this article we discuss progress and opportunities in these four areas

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Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress

In 1937 the Grant Study of Adult Development was conceptualized and funded with the purpose of selecting a small group of Harvard undergraduates who seemed healthy and were thought likely to do well in life. These individuals agreed to participate in a unique prospective study, which has reaped a harvest of more than 35 years of follow-up. Although the author has already published many separate scientific articles based on data from this cohort, this book brings together a useful synthesis. References and appendixes document the scholarly approach of this serious research project. Yet the reader is charmed with the author's wit and common sense as the heuristic model of adaptive ego-defense mechanisms is introduced and carefully illustrated with examples from the participants' lives. Although clinical candor is used in describing case vignettes, a deliberate attempt to camouflage individual identities succeeds through the use of case examples that describe more than

Adaptation to Life

THINKING Young children understand the relation between objects and events in a functional manner, such that the first object is seen to go with or to operate on the second object. Complementarity criteria are an integral component of their thinking. Older children and young adults, by contrast, tend to use similarity criteria. In old age, however, the use of complementarity criteria has been found to increase once again (Reese & Rodeheaver, 1985). The reversal to complementarity in old age is thought to be caused by environmental factors rather than being attributable to changes in competence. Young children as well as the elderly are rarely required to state their thoughts in a specifically prescribed way, and complementary categorization therefore seems more natural, since such categorization groups occur naturally in time and space. Older adults do not neces-

The encyclopedia of aging

Measures of psychological maturity based on personal strivings (R. A. Emmons, 1989) were administered to 108 adults aged 17-82. On the basis of organismic-theoretical assumptions regarding maturity, age was hypothesized to be positively associated with K. M. Sheldon and T. Kasser's (1995, 1998) two goal-based measures of personality integration. E. Erikson's (1963) assumptions regarding maturity were the basis for the hypothesis that older people would tend to list more strivings concerning generativity and ego integrity and fewer strivings concerning identity and intimacy. Finally, on the basis of past research findings, maturity and age were hypothesized to be positively associated with subjective well-being. Results supported these hypotheses and also showed that measured maturity mediated the relationship between age and well-being. Thus, older individuals may indeed be more psychologically mature than younger people and may be happier as a result.

https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/37/4/491.pdf

Getting older, getting better? Personal strivings and psychological maturity across the life span.

https://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(76)80143-6/pdf

Intraluminal pressures during perfusion of the human colon in situ.

With a sentence completion technique, 708 elderly participants (65 to 90 years of age) expressed 15,027 personal aspirations. These goals were classified according to their motivational content in ten major categories and their relationships with various aspects of subjective well-being were studied. Two goal profiles emerged from this analysis. Aspirations centered on self-preservation were associated with poor self-rated physical health, being burden by difficulties, lack of meaning to life, dissatisfaction with life, and negative expectations for the future. Aspirations of self-development and interest in the well-being of others were associated with feelings of well-being in later life. Development of meaningful personal goals was discussed as a new intervention approach with the elders.

Personal Goals and Subjective Well-Being in Later Life:

With a sentence completion technique, 708 elderly participants (64 to 90 years of age) expressed 15,020 personal aspirations. These goals were classified according to their motivational content in ten major categories and their relationships with different sociodemographic variables were studied. Two goal profiles emerge from this analysis. Aspirations centered on self-preservation are associated with very old age, functional impairment, lower S.E.S. and education, being alone or institutionalized. Aspirations of self-development and interpersonal relationships are associated with younger age, physical autonomy, higher S.E.S. and education, being married or living at home. Development of meaningful personal goals are discussed as a mean of intervention with elderly individuals.

Motivational goal objects in later life.

Une demarche axee sur les objectifs personnels est offerte a des etudiants universitaires, dans le cadre d’un cours, en vue de favoriser un apprentissage significatif, un fonctionnement optimal et l’augmentation du bien-etre psychologique. Plus specifiquement, la demarche implique la precision d’un objectif concret, la planification et la poursuite du but et se termine par l’evaluation du progres realise. Cette forme d’intervention, realisee aupres d’etudiants universitaires, a produit une augmentation significative de tous les indices de bien-etre evalues comparativement aux scores de bien-etre obtenus par un groupe temoin. Cette approche qui a aussi ete benefique pour des personnes âgees et des retraites est donc susceptible de s’appliquer a d’autres groupes d’âge et a des personnes vivant diverses situations de vie.

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La gestion des buts personnels, un apprentissage significatif pour des étudiants universitaires

Bowel sounds were recorded under standard conditions for 30 minutes before, and for 90 minutes after a standard meal in 12 healthy human volunteers. The sounds were analyzed with the aid of a computer, and the evolution in time of specific parameters obtained as a quantitative printout. The number, total duration, and mean energy of sounds totaled for ten minute periods were found to be markedly influenced by the ingestion of the meal. A peak of activity occurred immediately after the meal; the activity then decreased to 85% of premeal value 60 minutes later, and a second peak followed after a further 60 minutes. An excellent correlation (correlation coefficient better than 0.9) was found at two recording sites between the three analyzed parameters, taken in pairs. For any given parameter, a correlation was also found between its value at the two sites (k better than 0.9),but the actual value were significantly different (p <0.001). When bowel sounds are interpreted, therefore, food ingestion should be taken into consideration.

Etienne Bastin

Papers

Intraluminal pressures during perfusion of the human colon in situ.

Personal Goals and Subjective Well-Being in Later Life:

Motivational goal objects in later life.

La gestion des buts personnels, un apprentissage significatif pour des étudiants universitaires

Postprandial Bowel Sounds