ABSTRACT
Subjective well-being (SWB) concerns how people evaluate their lives-in terms of satisfaction judgments (with life as well as with domains such as marriage and work), and in terms of moods and emotions, which reflect evaluations of ongoing events. Both the presence of frequent pleasant emotions and that of infrequent unpleasant emotions are considered hallmarks of high SWB. Subjective well-being is important because it is democratic. It allows individuals themselves, rather than experts or policymakers, to evaluate the quality of their own lives. SWB is also an important scientific topic because it often leads to successful outcomes in life (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2003) such as increased community involvement, a successful marriage, and a higher income. For reviews on SWB and related research, the reader is referred to Diener (1984), Diener, Suh, Lucas, and Smith (1999), Diener and Suh (2000), and Kahneman, Diener, and Schwarz (1999).
