The Science of Subjective Well-Being [Hardcover]

Michael Eid (Editor), Randy J. Larsen PhD (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1593855818 | ISBN-13: 978-1593855819 | Publication Date: November 6, 2007 | Edition: 1

This authoritative volume reviews the breadth of current scientific knowledge on subjective well-being (SWB): its definition, causes and consequences, measurement, and practical applications that may help people become happier. Leading experts explore the connections between SWB and a range of intrapersonal and interpersonal phenomena, including personality, health, relationship satisfaction, wealth, cognitive processes, emotion regulation, religion, family life, school and work experiences, and culture. Interventions and practices that enhance SWB are examined, with attention to both their benefits and limitations. The concluding chapter from Ed Diener dispels common myths in the field and presents a thoughtful agenda for future research.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What makes us happy? One might think this a very simple question, but the contributors to this volume suggest that many of our intuitions are not well supported by science. Instead, subjective well-being in individuals and societies is only partially about accumulating hedonic pleasures and stores of wealth, and even these relationships are not what one might predict. Eid and Larsen have gathered together brilliant thinkers and lively writers who trace from ancient philosophy to contemporary behavioral economics what it is that makes us feel good about our lives."--Peter Salovey, PhD, Dean of Yale College and Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology, Yale University

"Research into subjective well-being has a sustained and honored lineage within psychology, in large part due to the work of Ed Diener and his associates. This book describes what researchers in this area have learned and where we might be headed in the future. It deserves a prominent place on every psychologist's bookshelf. The book is a valuable resource--thorough, intelligent, and provocative--and an action plan for a topic of great individual and societal importance."--Christopher Peterson, PhD, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan

"This terrific book captured my attention for hours of nonstop, riveting reading. The contributors are all first-rate, consisting of both eminent social scientists in the field of well-being and innovative young scholars. With a combination of breadth and depth, the book provides comprehensive treatment of cutting-edge theory and research. Chapters cover a broad array of topics, as varied as evolutionary and developmental psychology, behavioral genetics, measurement, happiness interventions, history, and philosophy. This book is indispensable for anyone interested in positive psychology, and is an ideal resource for graduate-level and advanced undergraduate classes."--Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside

About the Author

Michael Eid, DSc, is Professor of Psychology at the Free University of Berlin, Germany. Dr. Eid is currently Editor of Methodology--European Journal of Research Methods for the Behavioral and Social Sciences and Associate Editor of the Journal of Positive Psychology. His main research interests are subjective well-being, mood regulation, multimethod measurement, and longitudinal data analysis.

 

Randy J. Larsen, PhD, is the William R. Stuckenberg Professor of Human Values and Moral Development and Chair of the Psychology Department at Washington University in St. Louis. He conducts research on emotion, primarily in terms of differences between people, and studies such topics as subjective well-being, mood variability, jealousy, attraction, depression, and strategies for the self-management of self-esteem and emotion. Dr. Larsen is an elected member of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology and is listed as one of the highly cited psychologists by the Institute for Scientific Information.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 546 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (November 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593855818
• ISBN-13: 978-1593855819
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,966,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Latest and Greatest Happiness Research, November 9, 2009

By 

psych major - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Science of Subjective Well-Being (Paperback)

First off, potential readers need to know that this is basically an academic book and not written for the popular read. People looking for a general book about happiness that discusses ways to increase long-term happiness might want to check out books more for the lay-person, such as "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World".

Secondly, if you're confused by the term "subjective well-being", feel free to substitute it with the word "happiness." Although a lot of happiness researchers study "subjective well-being" and not "happiness", I can tell you that most researchers use the two interchangeably in their writing for clarity's sake. For those wondering, studying subjective well-being is preferred by researchers because it taps into several aspects of happiness such as life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect.

Having said that, this is just a great book that looks at cutting edge happiness research. As with most academic texts, it is written by not one, but many experts in the field, each contributing a chapter or two to the book- and then the whole thing being edited by one or two prominent experts.

Briefly, the book is divided up into VI sections:

Section I covers some history and philosophy.

Section II discusses how researchers measure subjective well-being.

Section II talks about "the happy person".

Section IV looks at the subjective well-being research in specific areas such as young people, job satisfaction, in other cultures and nations and so on.

Section V discusses the various interventions that have been shown to increase happiness (goal setting, expressing gratitude, etc.)

And lastly, Section VI covers a few of the common myths in the science of happiness and talks about future directions. 7 myths are presented and address some pretty misunderstood issues, such as why you can't understand the causes of well-being by looking at a pie chart of influences (ex. 50% of your happiness is determined by your genetics, 10% by demographics, and so on).

No doubt parts of this book will become obsolete in 10 years or so as new research continues to pour in from the flourishing field of positive psychology. But for now, its just a great up-to-date look at the latest and greatest findings.