Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Subjective Wellbeing as an Affective-Cognitive Construct

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Happiness Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The affective content of Subjective Wellbeing (SWB) was investigated in two separate studies. Study 1 involved a representative sample of 478 participants from across Australia aged between 18 and 72 years. This study tested the circumplex model of affect and then determined the minimum set of affects that explain variance in SWB. The model was supported, with most affects congregated around the valence axis. Overall, 64% of the variance in SWB was explained by six Core Affects, indicating that SWB is a highly affective construct. Study 2 tested the relative strength of Core Affect (content, happy and excited), in three separate models of SWB incorporating cognition (seven discrepancies) and all five factors of personality. Using a sample of 854 participants aged been 18–86 years, structural equation modeling was used to compare an affective-cognitive driven model of SWB, with a personality driven model of SWB and a discrepancy driven model of SWB. The results provide support for an affective-cognitive model which explained 90 percent of the variance in SWB. All models confirm that the relationship between SWB, Core Affect and Discrepancies is far stronger than the relationship between personality and SWB. It is proposed that Core Affect and Discrepancies comprise the essence of SWB. Moreover, Core Affect is the driving force behind individual set-point levels in SWB homeostasis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andrews, F. M., & Withey, S. B. (1976). Social indicators of well-being: Americans perceptions of life quality. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradburn, N. M. (1969). The structure of psychological well-being. Chicago: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradburn, N. M., & Caplovitz, D. (1965). Reports on happiness: a pilot study. Chicago: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Browne, M. W. (1992). Circumplex models for correlational matrices. Psychometrika, 57(4), 469–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, S. (2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, A., Converse, P. E., & Rodgers, W. L. (1976). The quality of American life: Perceptions, evaluations and satisfactions. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concerns. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, H., & Furnham, A. (2003). Personality, self-esteem, and demographic predictions of happiness and depression. Personality and Individual Differences, 34(6), 921–942.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clifford, P. R., Edmundson, E. W., Koch, W. R., & Dodd, B. G. (1991). Drug use and life satisfaction among college students. International Journal of the Addictions, 26, 45–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO personality inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Odessa, Florida: Psychological Assessment Resources.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, R. A. (2000). Personal income and subjective well-being: A review. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1, 133–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, R. A. (2005). Caregivers as managers of subjective wellbeing: A homeostatic perspective. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disability, 18, 335–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, R. A., Eckersley, R., Pallant, J., Van Vugt, J., & Misajon, R. (2003). Developing a national index of subjective wellbeing: The Australian unity wellbeing index. Social Indicators Research, 64, 159–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, R. A., Gullone, E., & Lau, A. L. D. (2002). A model of subjective well-being homeostasis: The role of personality. In E. Gullone, R. A. Cummins, & A. L. D. Lau (Eds.), The universality of subjective well-being indicators. Social indicators research book series (vol. 2002, pp. 7–46). Dordrecht: Kluwer.

  • Cummins, R. A., & Lau, A. L. D. (2004). The motivation to maintain subjective well-being: A homeostatic model. In H. Switzky (Ed.), International review of research on mental retardation: Personality and motivational systems in mental retardation (Vol. 28, pp. 255–301). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

  • Cummins, R. A., & Nistico, H. (2002). Maintaining life satisfaction: The role of positive bias. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 37–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, R. A., Okerstrom, E., Woerner, J., & Tomyn, A. (2005). Australian unity wellbeing index: Report 13.0—“The wellbeing of Australians—caregiving at home”. from http://www.deakin.edu.au/research/acqol/index_wellbeing/index.htm

  • Davern, M. T., & Cummins, R. A. (2006). Is life dissatisfaction the opposite of life satisfaction? Australian Journal of Psychology, 58(1), 1–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeNeve, K. M. (1999). Happy as an extraverted clam? The role of personality for subjective well-being. Psychological Science, 8, 141–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Lucas, R. E. (1999). Personality and subjective wellbeing. In D. Kahneman, E. Diener, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Well-being, the foundations of hedonic psychology (pp. 213–229). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Napa Scollon, C., & Lucas, R. E. (2004). The evolving concept of subjective well-being: The multifaceted nature of happiness. Advances in Cell Aging and Gerontology, 15, 187–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Lucas, R. E. (2003). Personality, culture, and subjective well-being: Emotional and cognitive evaluations of life. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 403–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fabrigar, L. R., Visser, P. S., & Browne, M. W. (1997). Conceptual and methodological issues in testing the circumplex structure of data in personality and social psychology. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 1, 184–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, L. A. (1995a). Valence focus and arousal focus: Individual differences in the structure of affective experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(1), 153–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, L. A. (1995b). Variations in the circumplex structure of mood. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21(8), 806–817.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Standford, CA: Standford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fujita, F., & Diener, E. (2005). Life satisfaction set point: Stability and change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 158–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gurin, G., Veroff, J., & Feld, S. (1960). Americans view their mental health. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guttman, L. (1954). A new approach to factor analysis: The radex. In P. F. Lazarsfeld (Ed.), Mathematical Thinking in the Social Sciences (pp. 258–348). New York: Columbia University Press.

  • Hanestad, B. R., & Albrektsen, G. (1992). The stability of quality of life experience in people with Type 1 diabetes over a period of a year. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 17, 777–784.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Headey, B. W., & Wearing, A. J. (1989). Personality, life events and subjective well-being: Towards a dynamic equilibrium model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 731–739.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henry, W. P. (1997). The circumplex in psychotherapy research. In R. Plutchik & H. R. Conte (Eds.), Circumplex models of personality and emotions (pp. 385–410). Washington, DC: American Psychological Assocation.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (2001). Happiness, introversion-extraversion and happy introverts. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 595–609.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland, J. L. (1973). Making vocational choices: A theory of careers. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huelsman, T. J., Nemanick, R. C., & Munz, D. C. (1998). Scales to measure four dimensions of dispositional mood: Positive energy, tiredness, negative activation, and relaxation. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 58(5), 804–819.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • International Wellbeing Group (2006). Personal wellbeing index (4th edn.). Retrieved, from http://www.deakin.edu.au/research/acqol/instruments/wellbeing_index.htm

  • Kashdan, T. B. (2004). The assessment of subjective well-being (issues raised by the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire). Personality and Individual Differences, 36(5), 1225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. B. (1998). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kozma. (1996). Top-down and bottom-up approaches to an understanding of subjective well-being. Paper presented at the World Conference on Quality of Life, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, (August 22–25).

  • Leary, T. (1957). Interpersonal diagnosis of personality. New York: Ronald.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R. E., Diener, E., & Suh, E. M. (1996). Discriminant validity of well-being measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(3), 616–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Man, P. (1991). The influences of peers and parents on youth life satisfaction in Hong Kong. Social Indicators Research, 24, 347–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michalos, A. C. (1985). Multiple discrepancies theory (MDT). Social Indicators Research, 16, 347–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nemanick, R. C. J., & Munz, D. C. (1997). Extraversion and neuroticis, trait mood, and state affect: A hierarchical relationship? Journal of Social Behaviour and Personality, 12(4), 1079–1092.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neugarten, B. L., Havinghurst, R. J., & Tobin, S. S. (1961). The measurement of life satisfaction. Journal of Gerontology, 16, 134–143.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ortony, A., Clore, G. L., & Foss, M. A. (1987). The referential structure of the affective lexicon. Cognitive Science, 11(3), 341–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paulhus, D. L., Robins, R. W., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Tracy, J. L. (2004). Two replicable suppressor situations in personality research multivariate. Behavioral Research, 39(2), 303–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Runciman, W. G. (1966). Relative deprivation and social justice. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, J. (1980). A circumplex model of affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(6), 1161–1178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, J. (2003). Core affect and the psychological construction of emotion. Psychological Review, 110(1), 145–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, J., & Carroll, J. (1999). On the bipolarity of positive and negative affect. Psychological Bulletin, 125(1), 3–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, J., & Feldman Barrett, L. (1999). Core affect, prototypical emotional episodes and other things called emotion: Dissecting the elephant. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(5), 805–819.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlosberg, H. (1952). The description of facial expressions in terms of two dimensions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 44, 229–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlosberg, H. (1954). Three dimensions of emotion. Psychological Review, 61, 81–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suh, E., & Diener, E. (1996). Events and subjective well-being: Only recent events matter. Journal of Personality andSocial Psychology, 70, 1091–1102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics, (4th edn.). MA: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veenhoven, R. (1994). Is happiness a trait? Social Indicators Research, 32, 101–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitterso, J. (2001). Personality traits and subjective well-being: Emotional stability, not extraversion, is probably the important predictor. Personality and Individual Differences, 31(6), 903–914.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitterso, J., & Nilsen, F. (2002). The conceptual and relational structure of subjective well-being, neuroticism, and extraversion: Once again, neuroticism is the important predictor of happiness. Social Indicators Research, 57, 89–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1992). Affects separable and inseparable: On the hierarchical arrangement of the negative affects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 489–505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodworth, R. S., & Schlosberg, H. (1938). Experimental psychology, (3rd edn.). London: Methuen & Co.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

We thank Ann-Marie James for her assistance with the preparation of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health & Social Wellbeing, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Melanie T. Davern

  2. School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia

    Robert A. Cummins & Mark A. Stokes

Authors
  1. Melanie T. Davern
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert A. Cummins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mark A. Stokes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert A. Cummins.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Davern, M.T., Cummins, R.A. & Stokes, M.A. Subjective Wellbeing as an Affective-Cognitive Construct. J Happiness Stud 8, 429–449 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-007-9066-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-007-9066-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation