A Theory of Subjective Wellbeing

Abstract

The study of “subjective wellbeing” has seen explosive growth in recent decades, opening important new discourses in personality and social psychology, happiness economics, and moral philosophy. Now it is moving into the policy domain. In this it has arguably overstepped its limits. The shallow theoretical base of subjective wellbeing research, the limitations of its measurement instruments, and its ethical naivety make policymaking on the basis of its findings a risky venture. The present volume is an attempt to shore up these weaknesses and set subjective wellbeing scholarship on a course for several more decades of growth and maturation. It presents a theory of subjective wellbeing in two parts. The first is the subjective wellbeing production function—a model of wellbeing as outcome. The second is the coalescence of being—a model of the self-actualization process by which wellbeing is achieved. This two-part model integrates ideas from subjective wellbeing studies with complementary ideas in analytical and continental philosophy, clinical, moral, and developmental psychology, and welfare economics. Importantly, this theory is ethically sensitive, bridging the gap between the philosophical and psychological perspectives on wellbeing in a way that illuminates the complexities facing the application of subjective wellbeing in public policy. The book also provides a thorough review of various ways in which subjective wellbeing can be studied empirically, and the hard trade-offs we face between long surveys that capture the richness of the concept and the parsimony required by social surveys and policy analysis.

Asymmetric sampling of personality (ASP): A novel approach to understanding validity limits in personality assessment and possible remedies

“…To the degree that the discrepancy between self and ideal has became larger (e.g., due to recent experiences) individuals should be particularly prone to seek out self-affirming situations. As motivated selection of certain situations for enacting any behavior that is more in line with the ideal self is only one of multiple factors driving an individual's self-selection mechanism, one should keep in mind that other desired characteristics (i.e., values,;Fabian, 2022) or situationally induced behavioral norms (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1974) can govern the situation selection, thus influence the exerted behavior.…”

“What Have I Learned … ” and How Did I Get There? Reflection on a Research Journey

“…Subjective well-being refers to general levels of happiness, and/or aspects such as quality of life, satisfaction with life overall and various life domains (e.g., work, family, health, and leisure time) which all contribute to higher levels of well-being (Fabian, 2022). Not surprisingly, the measuring challenges continue.…”

The Value of Researcher Reflexivity in the Coproduction of Public Policy: A Practical Perspective

“…For example, one analyst has a well-publicised view of what wellbeing is (Fabian 2022). This view is antithetical to the perspective in hedonic psychology and happiness economics that wellbeing is defined by experienced moods and evaluations of life satisfaction.…”