Rising income and the subjective well-being of nations
01 Feb 2013-Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (American Psychological Association)-Vol. 104, Iss: 2, pp 267-276
TL;DR: It is found that changes in household income were associated with concomitant changes in life evaluations, positive feelings, and negative feelings, which suggest that income standards are now largely global, with little effect of national social comparison.
Abstract: We explored whether rising income in nations is associated with increasing subjective well-being (SWB), with several advances over earlier work. Our methods are improved in that across time, the same well-being questions were asked in the same order, and we employed broad and equivalent representative samples over time from a large number of nations. We also assessed psychosocial factors that might mediate the relation of income and SWB. We found that changes in household income were associated with concomitant changes in life evaluations, positive feelings, and negative feelings. The effects of gross domestic product (GDP) change were weaker and significant only for life evaluations, perhaps because GDP was a less certain index of the standard of living of the average household. The association of income and SWB is more likely to occur when the average person's material welfare accompanies rising income, when people become more satisfied with their finances, and when people become more optimistic about their futures. People did not adapt to the income rises during the period of years we studied, in that income rises produced SWB increases that did not return to earlier levels. It appears that previous researchers failed to come to agreement because of the small sample sizes of the nations, the inconsistent methods across years and surveys, and the lack of measures of potential mediating variables. Analyses of income relative to people in one's nation and between-nation slopes together suggest that income standards are now largely global, with little effect of national social comparison. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
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TL;DR: Findings from psychology and economics on subjective well-being across cultures are synthesized and identified to identify outstanding questions, priorities for future research and pathways to policy implementation.
Abstract: The empirical science of subjective well-being, popularly referred to as happiness or satisfaction, has grown enormously in the past decade. In this Review, we selectively highlight and summarize key researched areas that continue to develop. We describe the validity of measures and their potential biases, as well as the scientific methods used in this field. We describe some of the predictors of subjective well-being such as temperament, income and supportive social relationships. Higher subjective well-being has been associated with good health and longevity, better social relationships, work performance and creativity. At the community and societal levels, cultures differ not only in their levels of well-being but also to some extent in the types of subjective well-being they most value. Furthermore, there are both universal and unique predictors of subjective well-being in various societies. National accounts of subjective well-being to help inform policy decisions at the community and societal levels are now being considered and adopted. Finally we discuss the unknowns in the science and needed future research.
560 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe five sets of recent findings on subjective well-being: (a) the multidimensionality of SWB, (b) circumstances that influence long-term SWB; (c) cultural differences in SWB and (d) the beneficial effects of SWBs on health and social relationships; and (e) interventions to increase SWBs.
Abstract: Recent decades have seen rapid growth in the science of subjective well-being (SWB), with 14,000 publications a year now broaching the topic. The insights of this growing scholarly literature can be helpful to psychologists working both in research and applied areas. The authors describe 5 sets of recent findings on SWB: (a) the multidimensionality of SWB; (b) circumstances that influence long-term SWB; (c) cultural differences in SWB; (d) the beneficial effects of SWB on health and social relationships; and (e) interventions to increase SWB. In addition, they outline the implications of these findings for the helping professions, organizational psychology, and for researchers. Finally, they describe current developments in national accounts of well-being, which capture the quality of life in societies beyond economic indicators and point toward policies that can enhance societal well-being. Nous avons assisté lors des dernières décennies à une forte croissance de la science du bien-être subjectif, les publications se chiffrant actuellement à environ 14 000 par année. Les constats dont cette littérature savante grandissante font état peuvent être utiles aux psychologues œuvrant dans les domaines de la psychologie appliquée et de la recherche. Les auteurs y décrivent cinq ensembles de récents constats au sujet du bien-être subjectif : (a) la multidimensionnalité du bien-être subjectif; (b) les circonstances qui influencent le bien-être subjectif; (c) l’impact des différences culturelles sur le bien-être subjectif; (d) les effets bénéfiques du bien-être subjectif sur la santé et les relations sociales; et (e) les interventions visant à augmenter le bien-être subjectif. On y précise également les implications de ces constats pour les professions d’aide, la psychologie organisationnelle et les chercheurs. Finalement, les auteurs y décrivent les développements actuels des témoignages de bien-être, lesquels rendent compte de la qualité de vie dans les sociétés, au-delà des indicateurs économiques, et nous guident vers des politiques visant à augmenter le bien-être de la société.
403 citations
24 May 2018
TL;DR: This review provides an overview of many major areas of research, including the measurement of subjective well-being, the demographic and personality-based predictors of SWB, and process-oriented accounts of individual differences in SWB.
Abstract: Subjective well-being (SWB) is an extremely active area of research with about 170,000 articles and books published on the topic in the past 15 years. Methodological and theoretical advances have been notable in this period of time, with the increasing use of longitudinal and experimental designs allowing for a greater understanding of the predictors and outcomes that relate to SWB, along with the process that underlie these associations. In addition, theories about these processes have become more intricate, as findings reveal that many associations with SWB depend on people’s culture and values and the context in which they live. This review provides an overview of many major areas of research, including the measurement of SWB, the demographic and personality-based predictors of SWB, and process-oriented accounts of individual differences in SWB. In addition, because a major new focus in recent years has been the development of national accounts of subjective well-being, we also review attempts to use SWB measures to guide policy decisions.
396 citations
Cites background from "Rising income and the subjective we..."
...In a large and representative sample of nations and individuals, Diener, Tay, and Oishi (2013) found that rising income was associated with both positive affect and life satisfaction....
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...Furthermore, in explicit tests of social comparison effects, Diener, Sandvik, Seidlitz, and Diener (1993) did not find significant effects for social comparisons on SWB, and this was replicated by Diener, Tay, and Oishi (2013)....
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TL;DR: Psychologists can enlarge their role in the formulation and adoption of policies by actively studying and using accounts of subjective well-being to evaluate and support the policies they believe are needed.
Abstract: Diener (2000) proposed that National Accounts of Well-Being be created to complement existing economic and social indicators that reflect the quality of life in nations. These national accounts can provide valuable information to policymakers and other leaders. Systematic measurement of subjective well-being provides novel information about the quality of life in societies, and it allows for the accumulation of detailed information regarding the circumstances that are associated with high subjective well-being. Thus, accounts of subjective well-being can help decision makers evaluate policies that improve societies beyond economic development. Progress with well-being accounts has been notable: Prestigious scientific and international institutions have recommended the creation of such national accounts, and these recommendations have been adopted in some form in over 40 nations. In addition, increasing research into policy-relevant questions reveals the importance of the accounts for policy. Psychologists can enlarge their role in the formulation and adoption of policies by actively studying and using accounts of subjective well-being to evaluate and support the policies they believe are needed.
333 citations
TL;DR: Results are consistent with bottom-up models of SWB and suggest that the leisure domain is a potentially important target for enhancing SWB.
Abstract: Numerous studies show a link between leisure engagement and subjective well-being (SWB). Drawing on common experiential features of leisure, psychological need theories, and bottom-up models of SWB, we suggest that leisure engagement influences SWB via leisure satisfaction. We examine the proposed cross-sectional relations and mediation model using random-effects meta-analyses that include all available populations. To provide a stronger test of causal influence, we also examine longitudinal relations between leisure satisfaction and SWB and effects of experimental leisure interventions on SWB using random effects meta-analyses of all available populations. Findings based on 37 effect sizes and 11,834 individuals reveal that leisure engagement and SWB are moderately associated (inverse-variance weighted r = .26) and mediated by leisure satisfaction. Cross-lagged regression analyses of longitudinal studies, controlling for prior SWB, reveal bottom-up effects of leisure satisfaction on SWB (β = .15) and top-down effects of SWB on leisure satisfaction (β = .16). Experimental studies reveal that leisure interventions enhance SWB (d = 1.02). Compared with working samples, retired samples exhibit a stronger relation between leisure engagement and SWB, and between leisure satisfaction and SWB. Measures of the frequency and diversity of leisure engagement are more strongly associated with SWB than measures of time spent in leisure. Overall, although not minimizing top-down influences, results are consistent with bottom-up models of SWB and suggest that the leisure domain is a potentially important target for enhancing SWB
306 citations
References
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03 Mar 1992TL;DR: The Logic of Hierarchical Linear Models (LMLM) as discussed by the authors is a general framework for estimating and hypothesis testing for hierarchical linear models, and it has been used in many applications.
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TL;DR: This chapter discusses Hierarchical Linear Models in Applications, Applications in Organizational Research, and Applications in the Study of Individual Change Applications in Meta-Analysis and Other Cases Where Level-1 Variances are Known.
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"Rising income and the subjective we..." refers methods in this paper
...This type of analysis is statistically optimal compared to traditional ordinary least squares (OLS) because it accounts for autocorrelations among country waves typically present in time series data (see Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002)....
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Book•
01 Jan 1999
5,306 citations
"Rising income and the subjective we..." refers background in this paper
...Kahneman (1999) drew a critical distinction between two forms of SWB—global evaluative judgments and the ongoing momentary experience of feelings of well-being....
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01 Jan 1974
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the association of income and happiness and suggest a Duesenberry-type model, involving relative status considerations as an important determinant of happiness.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the association of income and happiness. The basic data consist of statements by individuals on their subjective happiness, as reported in thirty surveys from 1946 through 1970, covering nineteen countries, including eleven in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Within countries, there is a noticeable positive association between income and happiness—in every single survey, those in the highest status group were happier, on the average, than those in the lowest status group. However, whether any such positive association exists among countries at a given time is uncertain. Certainly, the happiness differences between rich and poor countries that one might expect on the basis of the within-country differences by economic status are not borne out by the international data. Similarly, in the one national time series studied, for the United States since 1946, higher income was not systematically accompanied by greater happiness. As for why national comparisons among countries and over time show an association between income and happiness that is so much weaker than, if not inconsistent with, that shown by within-country comparisons, a Duesenberry-type model, involving relative status considerations as an important determinant of happiness, is suggested.
4,235 citations
"Rising income and the subjective we..." refers background or methods in this paper
...Richard Easterlin (1974) caused widespread debate with his suggestion that the economic growth of nations does not produce rising happiness in them....
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...Easterlin (1974) suggested that rising incomes are not associated with rising SWB because people use others in their society to evaluate their own incomes....
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...Richard Easterlin (1974) caused widespread debate with his suggestion that the economic growth of nations does not produce rising happiness in them....
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...The paradox posed by Easterlin continues to be debated, with Easterlin’s research supporting the idea (Easterlin, 1974; Easterlin & Sawangfa, 2010), other research not supporting it (Hagerty & Veenhoven, 2003; Inglehart, Foa, Peterson, & Welzel, 2008; Stevenson & Wolfers, 2008; Veenhoven & Hagerty,…...
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...Easterlin (1974) postulated that social comparisons within nations were responsible for a hedonic treadmill because people’s standards for incomes rise when the income of others in their society rise, and therefore there is no net gain in life satisfaction as average societal incomes increase....
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TL;DR: The DRM's utility is shown by documenting close correspondences between the DRM reports of 909 employed women and established results from experience sampling, and an analysis of the hedonic treadmill shows its potential for well-being research.
Abstract: The Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) assesses how people spend their time and how they experience the various activities and settings of their lives, combining features of time-budget measurement and experience sampling. Participants systematically reconstruct their activities and experiences of the preceding day with procedures designed to reduce recall biases. The DRM's utility is shown by documenting close correspondences between the DRM reports of 909 employed women and established results from experience sampling. An analysis of the hedonic treadmill shows the DRM's potential for well-being research.
2,933 citations
"Rising income and the subjective we..." refers background in this paper
...Kahneman et al. (2004) found that higher income women enjoyed both work and leisure more than poorer women....
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