ABSTRACT
Psychologists have been interested in subjective well-being (SWB) for a number of reasons. For one thing, researchers pursue an understanding of SWB because they believe such an understanding could lead to the identification of the fundamental nature of human beings. According to this reasoning, it should be possible to identify basic needs by studying hedonic reactions to various life circumstances (Veenhoven, 1995; Wilson, 1967). For instance, if strong social relationships reliably lead to higher well-being and the lack of such bonds reliably lead to lowered well-being, then one could argue that human beings have a basic need for belongingness (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Similarly, if factors such as income and material possessions are uncorrelated with well-being, one might argue that humans are not inherently materialistic beings.
