Subjective well-being (SWB) is a field of psychology which has been studied since time immemorial. Psychologists have attempted to understand people's evaluations of their lives. These subjective evaluations may be cognitive or (e.g., job satisfaction, life satisfaction or marital satisfaction) or may consist of the frequency with which people experience pleasant emotions (e.g., happiness, as measured by the experience sampling technique) and unpleasant emotions (e.g., sadness). Social scientists are trying to understand the undesirable clinical states and also the differences between people in positive levels of long-term well-being.
Definition of Subjective Well-Being
Subjective well-being (SWB) relates to how people evaluate their own lives. The variables can include life satisfaction, marital satisfaction, lack of depression/anxiety, and positive mood states. The concept of SWB, in recent years, has been measured and studied in a systematic way. An individual’s evaluation of his / her life may be in the form of cognitions (e.g., evaluative judgments about satisfaction with living conditions as a whole, or evaluative judgments about specific circumstances of life). Lastly, it may be in the form of affect (experiencing unpleasant or pleasant moods). So, a person is said to have high SWB if she or he experiences life satisfaction and frequent joy, and only infrequently experience unpleasant emotions. Conversely, a person is said to have low SWB if he or she is dissatisfied with life, experiences little joy and affection, and frequently feels negative emotions. The cognitive and affective components of SWB are highly interrelated. Now, social researchers are beginning to understand the relations between various types of SWB.
All individuals have a level of SWB even if they are not consciously thinking about it. Measuring SWB offers a constant evaluation of what is happening to the person.
Hallmarks of subjective well-being.
Principal characteristics in the study of SWB (Diener, 1984).
First, the definition covers the entire range of well-being from pain to elatedness. Second, SWB is defined in terms of the internal experience of the respondent. An external frame of reference is not imposed when assessing SWB. Although many criteria of mental health are dictated from outside by social scientists, SWB is measured from the individual's own perspective. In the field of SWB, a person's beliefs about his or her own well-being are of paramount importance. Naturally, this approach has both advantages and disadvantages. The last hallmark of SWB is that the field focuses on longer-term states, not just momentary moods.
Constituent Parts of subjective well-being.
There are three primary components of SWB:
- Life satisfaction
- Pleasant affect and
- Low levels of unpleasant affect
These are the three interrelated variables which can in turn be broken into subdivisions such as recreation, love, marriage, friendship, and so forth, and these domains can in turn be divided into facets.
Pleasant affect can be divided into specific emotions such as joy, affection, and pride. Lastly, unpleasant or unpleasant affect can be separated into specific emotions and moods such as shame, guilt, sadness, anger, and anxiety.
Each of the subdivisions of affect can also be subdivided even further. Subjective well-being can be assessed at the most global level, or at progressively narrower levels, depending on one's purposes for measuring SWB.
The usual method of measuring SWB is through self-report surveys in which the respondent judges and reports his life satisfaction.
Using the 1 - 7 scale below, indicate your agreement with each item by placing the appropriate number on the line preceding that item. Please be open and honest in your responding.
7 - Strongly agree
6 - Agree
5 - Slightly agree
4 - Neither agree nor disagree
3 - Slightly disagree
2 - Disagree
1 - Strongly disagree
_____ In most ways my life is close to my ideal.
_____ The conditions of my life are excellent.
_____ I am satisfied with my life.
_____ So far I have gotten the important things I want in life
_____ If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.
Once you have completed the evaluation add up the numbers you have placed in the blank section of the question.
30 to 35: Indicates you are happy and comfortable with yourself and your circumstances.
25 to 29: Indicates that you are close to achieving your desired state.
20 to 24: You are thriving toward your goal and could do with some help.
15 to 19: Not doing well, need help.
In the University setting, with experts, the data is interpreted slightly differently. Here, the data is interpreted to give you feedback about yourself only. If you need help you are advised to contact a psychiatrist of a psychologist.
Good Luck. Take care of yourself.
