The Science of Well-Being and Societal Quality of Life

Ed DienerUniversity of Illinois and the Gallup Organization

American Association for the Advancement of Science

San Diego, February 20th, 2010(Annual Meeting, February 18-22)

Proposal for National Accounts of Well-Being

• Will complement economic accounts, and social indicators

• Provides information about which groups are flourishing or floundering in terms of their own subjective evaluations of life

• Provides information about which activities are rewarding versus punishing

• Can yield information that is valuable to policy makers and leaders in making better decisions

Examples

• Cleaner air raises life satisfaction• Difficult commutes lower life satisfaction• Green space raises life satisfaction• Unemployment lowers life satisfaction, even

after return to work• Trust and social capital raise well-being

But issues:

• Are the measures valid?

• Is “happiness” a personal matter, rather than a societal matter?

• Is “happiness” such a good thing?

Are the Measures Valid?

• Survey measures of life satisfaction and feelings of well-being, “Happiness,” correlate with:– Future suicide– Physiological measures such as cortisol and brain

wave activity– Reports of family and friends– Smiling– Experience-sampling measures

Is SWB Just Personal?

• Impact of genes, yes

• Impact of personality, yes

• Impact of circumstances such as marital quality and personal income, yes

But HUGE Societal Effects

• Nations differ from miserable to quite positive in life evaluations

E.G., Denmark vs. Zimbabwe

International Differences in "Ladder" Scores

World Countries & "Ladder" Scores0 to 55 to 66 to 9No data

Societal Factors Predicting High SWB

• Wealth• Democracy and human rights• Psychosocial resources

Trust, can count on othersLearning new things; using one’s talents

BUT is high SWB a good thing?

• People claim “happiness” makes people act stupid

• Too much optimism might lead people to not be motivated or careful

Research

• Cross-sectional correlationsWhat is high SWB correlated with?

• Causal: Longitudinal studies– what happens to “happy” people over time?

• Causal: Experimental studies– manipulated moods and emotions, comparison of groups

Outcomes of High SWB

• Health– Longevity– Immune function– Cardiovascular fitness– Wound healing– Health behaviors

Work and Income

• Satisfied workers are better organizational citizens

• Happy workers earn more money in future years

Social Relationships

• Happy people get married, stay married, and have more rewarding marriages

• Happy people have more friends; people like them more

Citizenship

• Happy people volunteer more• Happy people have more pro-peace and pro-

democracy views• Happy people are more cooperative in lab

experimental games

A Few Caveats

• Not absence of negative emotions• Not elation or euphoria

• Might be optimal levels of well-being that are not the maximum

So: We need to measure the SWB of nations to create policies to monitor itLooking at groups and activities

• Old people, caretakers• Minority groups• Enhancing worklife• Unemployment• Green cities

Additional References