Publication Type
Encyclopaedia
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
2013
Abstract
The cross-cultural importance of happiness and contentment can be inferred from their emergence in philosophical discussions across many cultural traditions. We begin by focusing on similarities, noting what has been found to correlate with the components of SWB across most cultures. Subjective well being (SWB) involves the various ways that people evaluate and experience their lives. In many ways, the term is synonymous with the everyday notion of happiness – positive feelings are an important aspect of well being. Cross-cultural similarities are important because they highlight our common humanity and hint at which factors may be fundamental to wellbeing. Next, we temper these conclusions by describing how people from different cultures and cultural backgrounds vary with regard to what relates to their wellbeing and how they experience it.
Keywords
Well-being, happiness, subjective well-being, cultural aspects, satisfaction
Discipline
Multicultural Psychology | Social Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural Psychology
Editor
Kenneth D. Keith
ISBN
9781118339893
Identifier
10.1002/9781118339893.wbeccp518
Publisher
Wiley
City or Country
New York
Citation
TOV, William and DIENER, Ed, "Subjective Well-being" (2013). Research Collection School of Social Sciences. Paper 1395.
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1395
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1395
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118339893.wbeccp518