Well-Being

There is a convergence of opinion among well-being researchers that the notion of well-being can be construed in terms of happiness, life satisfaction, eudaimonia, and the absence of ill-being. Happiness refers to an affective state that involves both positive and negative affect. This affect reflects the emotional reactions an individual experiences from life events. Happiness researchers make the distinction between short-term and long-term happiness. Short-term happiness is mostly influenced by environmental factors, whereas long-term happiness is more dispositional.

Life satisfaction involves cognitive evaluation of one’s life. Life satisfaction is the result of comparing one’s current life situation or accomplishment against certain standards of comparison (e.g., one’s ideal life, expectations of personal utility, individual goals, values, needs, opulence, and the lives of significant others). Life satisfaction is ...