What is subjective well-being and how can you improve yours?

What is subjective well-being?

Subjective well-being refers to how people experience and evaluate their lives and specific domains and activities in their lives. This information cannot be gathered from objective conditions or observations, and it is typically gathered through self-report methods.

Professor Ed Diener, one of the world’s foremost subjective well-being researchers, defines it as “people’s cognitive and affective evaluations of their lives.” In layman’s terms, subjective well-being means thinking and feeling that your life is going very well.

8 types of subjective well-being

Subjective well-being is often categorized into different components or types, capturing various dimensions of an individual's overall sense of happiness and life satisfaction. The key types of subjective well-being include:

1. Life satisfaction: This aspect involves an individual's overall evaluation and assessment of their life as a whole. It reflects a cognitive judgment of how well one's life is going.
2. Hedonic well-being: This focuses on the pursuit and experience of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. It includes the frequency and intensity of positive emotions (joy, happiness) and the absence of negative emotions (stress, sadness).
3. Eudaimonic well-being: Eudaimonia emphasizes living a meaningful and purposeful life. It involves self-realization, personal growth, and pursuing one's potential, often through activities that provide a sense of purpose.
4. Emotional well-being: This aspect concentrates on the subjective experience of positive and negative emotions. It includes emotional balance, resilience, and managing and navigating emotions effectively.
5. Psychological well-being: Psychological well-being encompasses various factors such as autonomy, self-acceptance, positive relations with others, personal growth, purpose in life, and environmental mastery. It reflects a more comprehensive view of mental health.
6. Social well-being: This type of well-being emphasizes the importance of positive social relationships, social support, and a sense of belonging within a community. Strong social connections contribute to overall life satisfaction.
7. Subjective health: The perception of one's health status and how it contributes to well-being. This includes feelings of vitality, energy, and overall physical well-being.
8. Cultural well-being: Recognition of the impact of cultural values, beliefs, and practices on an individual's well-being. Cultural well-being considers the alignment of an individual's values with those of their cultural context.

These types of subjective well-being are interconnected, and individuals may experience a combination of them. Researchers use various measures and scales to assess these dimensions to understand an individual's overall well-being better.

It's important to recognize the subjective nature of well-being and that individuals may prioritize different aspects based on personal values and life circumstances.

Subjective well-being and positive psychology

According to research by Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, positive psychology and subjective well-being are greatly intertwined. There are three primary areas of studying positive psychology:

1. positive subjective experiences such as happiness
2. positive individual traits such as orientations to happiness
3. positive institutions such as schools and workplaces, etc.

And these three areas overlap and inform our perception of subjective well-being. 

Why is subjective well-being important?

Subjective well-being influences subjects such as physical health and mental health, not only at the individual level but also through our relationships. The cumulative effect on the physical and mental health of individuals rolls up to have a significant impact on groups and organizations and communities as well.

Physical health and subjective well-being

Subjective well-being can have a direct impact on our physical health. Here are the most ground-breaking outcomes from studies:

• Subjective well-being can protect against developing illnesses. Individuals with a more negative emotional style tend to have a poorer immune system and may be at more risk of illness than those with a positive emotional style. In addition, a tendency to experience positive emotions is associated with greater resistance to developing the common cold.
• Subjective well-being aids wound healing. Stress — a proxy for the opposite of well-being — can lead to slower wound healing. For example, wound healing can take 24 percent longer in those who are exposed to stress.
• Subjective well-being can undo the effects of negative emotions on health. Negative emotions generate increased cardiovascular activity, and positive emotions can undo harmful physiological effects by speeding physiological recovery to desirable levels.

Mental health and subjective well-being

Mental health and subjective well-being are interlinked. Happy people report lower levels of mental health conditions, and individuals with low levels of mental health conditions report feeling happier.

Subjective well-being also influences the well-being, happiness, and mental health of others. Happiness can spread through social networks. People with happy social contacts are more likely to be happy themselves. Researchers theorize that the spread of happiness in social networks may be due to emotional contagion. In effect, people catch emotional states from those near to them, either emotionally or physically close. 

Quality of life and subjective well-being

Subjective well-being is also important in the context of our quality of life. The way we perceive our emotional well-being and experiences directly impacts our quality of life. For example, individuals who feel satisfied with their lives, and who frequently experience positive feelings such as joy, contentment, hope, are more inclined to be seen as enjoying a high quality of life.

Common signs of subjective well-being

Subjective well-being is a complex and multidimensional concept, and different individuals may experience it in various ways. However, here are 20 signs that can indicate subjective well-being:

• Positive emotions: Frequent experiences of joy, happiness, and contentment.
• Life satisfaction: Overall contentment with one's life.
• Optimism: Having a positive outlook on the future.
• Gratitude: Feeling thankful for what one has.
• Sense of purpose: A clear sense of meaning and purpose in life.
• Positive relationships: Healthy and fulfilling connections with others.
• Resilience: The ability to bounce back from challenges and setbacks.
• Self-esteem: Positive self-regard and a healthy level of self-confidence.
• Autonomy: Feeling in control of one's life and choices.
• Mindfulness: Being present and engaged in the current moment.
• Altruism: Engaging in acts of kindness and helping others.
• Work satisfaction: Finding fulfillment and enjoyment in one's work.
• Physical health: Good overall health and well-being.
• Work-life balance: Balancing work, personal life, and leisure activities.
• Financial stability: Having a sense of financial security.
• Optimal challenge: Engaging in activities that provide a balance of challenge and skill.
• Leisure and recreation: Enjoying hobbies and recreational activities.
• Personal growth: A continuous process of self-improvement and learning.
• Positive coping strategies: Effective coping mechanisms in the face of stress.
• Social connection: Feeling connected to a supportive community or social network.

What are the causes of subjective well-being?

Diener and other researchers have identified several internal and external factors in people’s happiness.

Internal causes

• Inborn temperament and personality: Our genes and learned behaviors impact our happiness. For example, you can inherit a trait like self-confidence or rewire your brain to become more confident. This can help you experience the world around you more positively, leading to higher subjective well-being.
• Outlook on life: Some people tend to interpret things either positively or negatively. And, as we know, those with more positive thoughts and emotions experience higher subjective well-being. 
• Adaptation and resilience: Things around us change all the time. Life events can influence an individual’s subjective well-being, driving an improvement or deterioration. Resilience and adaptation to these changes are crucial components of subjective wellness, allowing individuals to return to their baseline happiness levels.

External causes

• Material resources: Research shows that we need enough income to meet our basic needs, like food and housing. Beyond meeting those needs, however, more money does not increase happiness.
• Social health: A trusted and supportive network of friends, loved ones, and family is necessary for subjective wellness, though the amount of social contact needed to feel supported may vary.
• The circumstances in which you live: The society in which we live influences our happiness. Living in a society of war and hunger lowers levels of happiness while living in an economically developed society, in peacetime, with good social resources and healthcare, increases levels of happiness. Similarly, a workplace that fosters belonging and inclusion will be associated with higher levels of happiness, while a toxic work environment will be associated with higher levels of stress and anxiety.

Measuring subjective well-being

Subjective well-being is often measured by self-report assessments of three types of happiness. Each is independent and should be measured separately.

What are the types of happiness?

There are three main types of happiness:

1. High life satisfaction: High life satisfaction is when we think our life is great. For example, when we are in a great romantic relationship, we often feel more contentment from our family and friendships, and we love our work. Possible causes of this happiness include nurtured relationships, deep connections, and a job that we enjoy and that pays well.
2. Frequent positive affect or feelings: Frequent positive feelings happen when we enjoy life. For example, when we are able to see the little things and draw contentment and other positive feelings out of them. Possible causes of this happiness include supportive friends and family, a regular mindfulness practice, or a mindful approach to life.
3. Infrequent negative affect or feelings: Infrequent negative feelings happen when you have very few concerns or worries and you rarely feel unpleasant emotions, such as anger. Possible causes to this happiness may include an alignment with your values and goals, and low neuroticism.

As you can see, there is not one single cause of happiness. Some people may experience the three types of happiness outlined above, some only one. For example, someone may enjoy life a lot but also be prone to anxiety and stress. 

Like with any self-reported measures, there are concerns over the accuracy of the results given the number of factors that could influence us as we go through the questionnaire. For example, the environment we are in, our understanding of the scoring system or of the language used, or our mood when we take the questionnaire.

Example questions and tools to measure subjective well-being

• What makes us think or believe that our life is going well?
• How satisfied are you with your life, generally speaking, and about specific areas of your life, such as your work or your health?
• A visual tool, such as the Wheel of Life tool, can help you think about and score your satisfaction in the different areas of life. Does it look balanced? Are there obvious high points and low points, or are you relatively satisfied in most aspects of your life? In parallel, without overthinking it, what would you say about your overall life satisfaction at this point in time, on a scale from 1 (not at all satisfied) to 10 (it couldn’t get any better)? Does this overall rating fit with what you see on the wheel?
• What makes us feel that our life is going well?
• Are the feelings and emotions we experience pleasant (positive) or unpleasant (negative)? For example, joy is a positive emotion, while anger and guilt are negative ones.
• Questionnaires such as the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)

What are some tips to be happier?