0 Collective Prosperity: Wealth and Happiness

Question 1

Satisfaction can be short-lived or long-lasting

Answer 1

– “Momentary experiences of happiness”
• short-lived
• source: situations
• result from positive emotions

– “Life happiness”
• long-lasting
• source: person
• result from cognitive evaluations of one´s own opportunities, goals, etc.

Question 2

Emotional well-being

Answer 2

– emotional component of subjective well-being
– current positive and negative affect, and happiness as more enduring positive emotional state
– situation-dependent

Question 3

Life satisfaction

Answer 3

– cognitive-evaluative component of subjective well-being
– long-lasting
– not situation-dependent

Question 4

Forms of well-being

Answer 4

– Momentary mental well-being (e.g., feelings of joy, happiness)
– Habitual mental well-being (e.g., persistent optimism)
– Momentary physical well-being (e.g., feelings of strength, vitality)
– Habitual physical well-being (e.g., persistent health)

Question 5

• Well-being as a multidimensional construct

* PERMA model

Answer 5

– five factors essential for well-being:
– positive emotions (P): good feelings, optimism
– engagement (E): being absorbed by an activity, flow
– close relations (R): connectedness, love – meaning (M): purpose
– accomplishment (A): achievement of goals, fulfilment

• Five critical Areas
– career well-being 
– social well-being 
– financial well-being 
– physical well-being 
– community well-being

Question 6

Problems with self-reporting measures typically used in Surveys (Lifesatisfaction/ Surveys)

Answer 6

– social desirability and use of stereotypes (e.g., overestimating relationship satisfaction

– correct distinction between experience and memory (e.g., complex everyday experiences difficult to report in a prestructured survey)

– mood effects (e.g., mood-as-information)
– question wording (e.g., specific vs. general question)
– answer choices available (e.g., low- vs. high-frequency scale)

Question 7

Diary Methods (Life-satisfaction)

Answer 7

Diary methods allow measuring well-being in everyday life (e.g., in the presence of friends vs alone; at work vs at home; in close relationships)

Question 8

Time-sample diary

Answer 8

– a diary method where respondents report at specific times on their current experience (e.g., well-being)
– diary entries are scheduled to be made at random predetermined times, several times a day, over a longer period of time
– often includes potential determinants of well-being (e.g., objective situation, subjective causes)

Question 9

Determinants of well-being and satisfaction

Answer 9

• Most important determinants for individual well-being are not material factors but
– well-functioning partnership, close Friends
– participation in clubs and organisations, volunteer work
– having a job
– religious faith
– disposition towards optimism

• Distinction between five determinants
– personality factors 
– socio-demographic factors 
– economic factors
– situational factors 
– institutional factors

Question 10

Personality factors

Answer 10

• Personality factors
– self-esteem, perceived control, optimism, extraversion, emotional stability correlate positively with well-being
– anxiety, hostility, impulsiveness correlate negatively with well-being
– genetic differences: up to 40% explained variation
– sociability particularly important:
• social connections provide opportunities for positive emotional experiences and social support, contributing to well-being

Question 11

Socio-demographic factors

Answer 11

– overall, only small differences in life satisfaction
– Gender: women higher satisfaction
– Age: U-shaped relationship: younger and older people report higher satisfaction, age groups 32-50 lower satisfaction
– Marital status: married people report higher satisfaction; couples with small children often report lower satisfaction, couples whose children have already grown up and left home report higher satisfaction

Question 12

– daily hassles

Answer 12

• events that occur on a day-to-day basis and by themselves only produce minor stress, but cumulatively impact well-being

Question 13

Economic factors (Happiness)

Answer 13

– income and material possessions do not have longlasting effects due to adaptation
– incomes increases happiness, but only up to a certain point (US$ 75,000 a year)
– reasons for striving for increased income even if it does not increase happiness
• people do not learn from past experiences of adaptation
• social recognition as additional motivation beyond happiness

Question 14

Situational factors (happiness)

Answer 14

– good social relationships (friends, co-workers) more important for satisfaction than material possessions
– inactive leisure (e.g., watching TV too much) and not spending time with friends and family lowers satisfaction
– long commutes and stress at work reduce satisfaction – „flow“ leads to satisfaction

Question 15

flow

Answer 15

the feeling of being completely absorbed in an activity • is possible when capabilities and difficulty of assignments are equally high

Question 16

Institutional factors

Answer 16

– economic freedom (e.g., free exchange of goods and labour) and personal liberties (e.g., religious freedom, freedom of travel) important for satisfaction
– satisfaction higher in countries with civil liberties and political freedom
– good governance (stability and security, distributive and procedural justice by state authorities) positively correlated with life satisfaction

Question 17

Psychological processes (Happiness 3)

Answer 17

• Adaptation processes
– people become used to changed circumstances, after a while their well-being adjusts to changes
• Social comparisons
– people compare their situation with those of other People
• Aspiration Levels
– people evaluate their situation with reference to standards and expectations
– aspirations can rise after being fulfilled or they can be reduced so that the current situation seems satisfactory