Evidence for a midlife crisis in great apes consistent with the U-shape in human well-being

Abstract

Recently, economists and behavioral scientists have studied the pattern of human well-being over the lifespan. In dozens of countries, and for a large range of well-being measures, including happiness and mental health, well-being is high in youth, falls to a nadir in midlife, and rises again in old age. The reasons for this U-shape are still unclear. Present theories emphasize sociological and economic forces. In this study we show that a similar U-shape exists in 508 great apes (two samples of chimpanzees and one sample of orangutans) whose well-being was assessed by raters familiar with the individual apes. This U-shaped pattern or "midlife crisis" emerges with or without use of parametric methods. Our results imply that human wellbeing's curved shape is not uniquely human and that, although it may be partly explained by aspects of human life and society, its origins may lie partly in the biology we share with great apes. These findings have implications across scientific and social-scientific disciplines, and may help to identify ways of enhancing human and ape well-being.aging | primate | satisfaction | evolution | affect

How Does Subjective Well-Being Evolve with Age? A Literature Review

“…This is quite clearly shown in the Stone et al (2010) study that reveals different patterns depending on whether a global measure of well-being, a positive hedonic well-being measure or a negative hedonic well-being measure (such as "worry" or "sadness") is used. Recent use of more "objective" measures of subjective well-being, such as use of antidepressants (Blanchflower and Oswald, 2011) or reports of apes' well-being by their keepers (Weiss et al, 2012), tend to support the U-shape.…”

“…Three recent studies have used "non-subjective" data to assess the U-shape relation, namely Blanchflower and Oswald (2011), Lang et al (2011), and Weiss et al (2012.…”

“…A recent study by Weiss et al (2012) analysed the well-being of a sample of 508 great apes housed in zoos, sanctuaries and research centers in four countries. The well-being of the apes was reported by zoo keepers, volunteers, researchers, and caretakers who had known the apes for at least two years.…”

Putting a Price Tag on Security: Subjective Well-Being and Willingness-to-Pay for Crime Reduction in Europe

“…For instance, age has a u-shaped relationship with life satisfaction, with a turning point at the age of 53 (see e.g. Blanchflower and Oswald, 2008;Weiss et al, 2012).…”

Is envy harmful to a society's psychological health and wellbeing? A longitudinal study of 18,000 adults

“…Existing studies provide empirical support that some of the observed U shaped pattern is due to biology (Weiss et al, 2012), emotional wisdom and regulation (Baltes and Baltes, 1990;Carstensen et al 2003;Scheibe and Blanchard-Fields, 2009), and unmet expectations (Schwandt, 2016). While it is difficult to know whether any of the suggested mechanisms also interact with reduced feelings of envy observed in later years, one reason why the inclusion of envy may not alter the estimated U shape is purely mathematical in nature.…”