Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Metrics of Societal Happiness

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Growing interest in the measurement of subjective well-being (SWB) has also been accompanied by scientific debate on the optimal method for measuring SWB. The momentary perspective, which is represented by the ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and day reconstruction method (DRM), emphasizes the momentary experiences and aims to measure SWB in an objective manner via the aggregation of happiness levels over time and activities. The global reporting perspective emphasizes the subjective evaluation of life experiences and aims to capture the overall evaluation using retrospection or global evaluations. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these different perspectives and methods by examining conceptual, methodological, and practical issues. We propose adopting a multi-method assessment approach to SWB that uses both perspectives and the corresponding methods in a theory-driven and complementary manner. For the purposes of measuring and tracking SWB of societies, we also call for more research on the reliability and validity of EMA and DRM.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Algoe, S. B., Gable, S. L., & Maisel, N. C. (2010). It’s the little things: Everyday gratitude as a booster shot for romantic relationships. Personal Relationships, 17, 217–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beal, D., & Ghandour, L. (2011). Stability, change, and the stability of change in daily workplace affect. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32, 526–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. T., & Fiske, D. W. (1959). Convergent and discriminant validity by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56, 81–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canli, T. (2004). Functional brain mapping of extraversion and neuroticism: Learning from individual differences in emotion processing. Journal of Personality, 72, 1105–1132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cantor, N., Norem, J., Langston, C., Zirkel, S., Fleeson, W., & Cook-Flannagan, C. (1991). Life tasks and daily life experience. Journal of Personality, 59, 425–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Catalino, L. I., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2011). A Tuesday in the life of a flourisher: The role of positive emotional reactivity in optimal mental health. Emotion, 11, 938–950.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, D. (1998). The conceptualization and analysis of change over time: An integrative approach incorporating longitudinal mean and covariance structures analysis (LMACS) and multiple indicator latent growth modeling (MLGM). Organizational Research Methods, 1, 421–483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Courvoisier, D. S., Eid, M., & Lischetzke, T. (2012). Compliance to a cell-phone-based Ecological Momentary Assessment study: The effect of time and personality characteristics. Psychological Assessment, 24, 713–720. doi:10.1037/a0026733.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Courvoisier, D. S., Eid, M., Lischetzke, T., & Schreiber, W. H. (2010). Psychometric properties of a computerized mobile phone method for assessing mood in daily life. Emotion, 10, 115–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Graef, R. (1980). The experience of freedom in daily life. American Journal of Community Psychology, 8, 401–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Hunter, J. P. (2003). Happiness in everyday life: The uses of experience sampling. Journal of Happiness Studies, 4, 185–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Larson, R. (1987). Validity and reliability of the experience-sampling method. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 175, 526–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M., & LeFevre, J. (1989). Optimal experience in work and leisure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 815–822.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denissen, J. J. A., Butalid, L., Penke, L., & van Aken, M. A. G. (2008). The effects of weather on daily mood: A multilevel approach. Emotion, 8, 662–667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–575.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. (1994). Assessing subjective well-being: Progress and opportunities. Social Indicators Research, 31, 103–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55, 34–43. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Diener, M. (1995). Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 653–663.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Emmons, R. A. (1984). The independence of positive and negative affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 1105–1117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Fujita, F. (1995). Resources, personal strivings, and subjective well-being: A nomothetic and idiographic approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 926–935.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Inglehart, R., & Tay, L. (2012). Theory and validity of life satisfaction scales. Social Indicators Research. doi:10.1007/s11205-012-0076-y.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., Oishi, S., & Eunkook, S. M. (2002). Looking up and down: Weighting good and bad information in life satisfaction judgments. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 437–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., Schimmack, U., & Helliwell, J. (2009). Well-being for public policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Beyond money: Toward an economy of well-being. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5, 1–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Tay, L. (2013). Review of the day reconstruction method (DRM). Social Indicators Research. doi:10.1007/s11205-013-0279-x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Tay, L., & Oishi, S. (2013). Rising income and subjective well-being of nations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, 267–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Tov, W. (2012). National accounts of well-being. In K. C. Land, A. C. Michalos, & M. J. Sirgy (Eds.), Handbook of social indicators and quality of life research (pp. 137–158). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dimotakis, N., Scott, B. A., & Koopman, J. (2011). An experience sampling investigation of workplace interactions, affective states, and employee well-being. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32, 572–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dockray, S., Grant, N., Stone, A. A., Kahneman, D., Wardle, J., & Steptoe, A. (2010). A comparison of affect ratings obtained with ecological momentary assessment and the day reconstruction method. Social Indicators Research, 99, 269–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drasgow, F. (1984). Scrutinizing psychological tests: Measurement equivalence and equivalent relations with external variables. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 134–135. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.95.1.134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Easterlin, R. A. (1974). Does economic growth improve the human lot? In P. A. David & M. W. Reder (Eds.), Nations and households in economic growth (pp. 89–125). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Easterlin, R. A. (1995). Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all? Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 27, 35–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, J. R. (2001). Ten difference score myths. Organizational Research Methods, 4, 265–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eid, M., & Diener, E. (1999). Intraindividual variability in affect: Reliability, validity, and personality correlates. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 662–676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eid, M., & Diener, E. (2004). Global judgments of subjective well-being: Situational variability and long-term stability. Social Indicators Research, 65, 245–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eid, M., & Diener, E. (2006). Handbook of multimethod measurement in psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman Barrett, L. F (1997). The relationships among momentary emotion experiences, personality descriptions, and retrospective ratings of emotion. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 1100–1110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman Barrett, L. F, & Barrett, D. J. (2001). An introduction to computerized experience sampling in psychology. Social Science Computer Review, 19, 175–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman Barrett, L. F., & Niedenthal, P. M. (2004). Valence focus and the perception of facial affect. Emotion, 4, 266–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The Broaden-and-Build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218–226. doi:10.1037//0003-066X.56.3.218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 359, 1367–1378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B. L., & Kahneman, D. (1993). Duration neglect in retrospective evaluations of affective episodes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 45–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geschwind, N., Peeters, F., Drukker, M., van Os, J., & Wichers, M. (2011). Mindfulness training increases momentary positive emotions and reward experience in adults vulnerable to depression: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79, 618–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamann, S., & Canli, T. (2004). Individual differences in emotion processing. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 14, 233–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haworth, J. T., Jarman, M., & Lee, S. (1997). Positive psychological states in the daily life of a sample of working women. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27, 345–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heller, D., & Watson, D. (2005). The dynamic spillover of satisfaction between work and marriage: The role of time and mood. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 1273–1279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, C. L. M., & Updegraff, J. A. (2011). Mindfulness and its relationship to emotional regulation. Emotion, 12, 81–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hui, H. C., & Triandis, H. C. (1985). Measurement in cross-cultural psychology. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 16, 131–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huta, V., & Ryan, R. M. (2010). Pursuing pleasure or virtue: The differential and overlapping well-being benefits of hedonic and eudaemonic motives. Journal of Happiness Studies, 11, 735–762.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iles, R., Dimotakis, N., & De Pater, I. E. (2010). Psychological and physiological reactions to high workloads: Implications for well-being. Personnel Psychology, 63, 407–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inglehart, R., Foa, R., Peterson, C., & Welzel, C. (2008). Development, freedom, and rising happiness: A global perspective (1981–2007). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 264–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, N., Myin-Germeys, I., Derom, C., Delespaul, P., van Os, J., & Nicolson, N. A. (2007). A momentary assessment study of the relationship between affective and drenocortical stress responses in daily life. Biological Psychology, 74, 60–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judge, T. A., Thoreson, C. J., Bono, J. E., & Patton, G. K. (2001). The job satisfaction-job performance relationship: A qualitative and quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 376–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D. (1999). Objective happiness. In D. Kahneman, E. Diener, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology (pp. 3–25). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., & Deaton, A. (2010). High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, 107, 16489–16493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., Kreuger, A. B., Schkade, D. A., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2006). Would you be happier if you were richer? A focusing illusion. Science, 312, 1908–1912.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B., Schkade, D. A., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2004). A survey method for characterizing daily life experience: The Day Reconstruction Method. Science, 1776, 1776–1780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karmarck, T., Muldoon, M. F., Shiffman, S. S., & Sutton-Tyrrell, K. (2007). Experiences of demand and control during daily life are predictors of carotid atherosclerotic progression among health men. Health Psychology, 26, 324–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenrick, D. T., Griskevicius, V., Neuberg, S. L., & Schaller, M. (2010). Renovating the pyramid of needs: Contemporary extensions built upon ancient foundations. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 292–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, A. B., Kahneman, D., Fischler, C., Schkade, D. A., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2009). Time use and subjective well-being in France and the U.S. Social Indicators Research, 93, 7–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, A. B., & Mueller, A. I. (2012). Time use, emotional well-being, and unemployment: Evidence from longitudinal data. American Economic Review, 102, 594–599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, A. B., & Schkade, D. A. (2008). The reliability of subjective well-being measures. Journal of Public Economics, 92, 1833–1845.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen, R. J., & Kasimatis, M. (1990). Individual differences in entrainment of mood to the weekly calendar. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(1), 164–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. (1984). On the primacy of cognition. American Psychologist, 39, 124–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R. E., Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1995). Discriminant validity of well-being measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 616–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R. E., & Lawless, N. (2013). Does life seem better on a sunny day? Examining the association between daily weather conditions and life satisfaction judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, 872–884.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matjasko, J. L., & Feldman, A. F. (2006). Bringing work home: The emotional experiences of mothers and fathers. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 47–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muchinsky, P. M. (1996). The correction for attenuation. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 56, 63–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neal, J. D., Sirgy, M. J., & Uysal, M. (1999). The role of satisfaction with leisure travel/tourism services and experience in satisfaction with leisure life and overall life. Journal of Business Research, 44, 153–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nezlek, J. B., Vansteelandt, K., Van Mechelen, I., & Kuppens, P. (2008). Appraisal–emotion relationships in daily life. Emotion, 8, 145–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oishi, S. (2006). The concept of life satisfaction across cultures: An IRT analysis. Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 411–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oishi, S., Diener, E., Suh, E., & Lucas, R. E. (1999). Value as a moderator in subjective well-being. Journal of Personality, 67, 157–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oishi, S., Kurtz, J. L., Miao, F. F., Park, J., & Whitchurch, E. (2011). The role of familiarity in daily well-being: Developmental and cultural variation. Developmental Psychology, 47, 1750–1756.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oishi, S., & Sullivan, H. W. (2006). The predictive value of daily vs. retrospective well-being judgments in relationship stability. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42, 460–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the satisfaction with life scale. Psychological Assessment, 5, 164–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peeters, F., Berkhof, J., Rottenberg, J., & Nicolson, N. A. (2010). Ambulatory emotional reactivity to negative daily life events predicts remission from major depressive disorder. Behaviour Research Therapy, 48, 754–760.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peter, P. J., Churchill, G. A. J., & Brown, T. J. (1993). Caution in the use of difference scores in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 19, 655–662.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poulin, M. J., Brown, S. L., Ubel, P. A., Smith, D. M., Jankovic, A., & Langa, K. M. (2010). Does a helping hand mean a heavy heart? Helping behavior and well-being among spouse caregivers. Psychology and Aging, 25, 108–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Redelmeier, D. A., Katz, J., & Kahneman, D. (2003). Memories of colonoscopy: a randomized trial. Pain, 104, 187–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riediger, M., & Freund, A. M. (2008). Me against myself: Motivational conflicts and emotional development in adulthood. Psychology and Aging, 23, 479–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riediger, M., Schmiedek, F., Wagner, G. G., & Lindenberger, U. (2009). Seeking pleasure and seeking pain: Differences in prohedonic and contra-hedonic motivation from adolescence to old age. Psychological Science, 20, 1529–1535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, J. P., & Martin, S. (2012). Time use as a social indicator. In K. C. Land, A. C. Michalos, & M. J. Sirgy (Eds.), Handbook of social indicators and quality of life research (pp. 159–179). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, J. A. (2003). Core affect and the psychological construction of emotion. Psychological Review, 110(1), 145–172. doi:10.1037/0033-295x.110.1.145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sacks, D. W., Stevenson, B., & Wolfers, J. (2012). The new stylized facts about income and subjective well-being. Emotion, 12, 1181–1187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimmack, U. (2003). Affect measurement in experience sampling research. Journal of Happiness Studies, 4, 79–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimmack, U. (2007). Methodological issues in the assessment of the affective component of subjective well-being. In A. Ong & M. H. M. van Dulmen (Eds.), Oxford handbook of methods in positive psychology (pp. 96–110). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schimmack, U., & Oishi, S. (2005). The influence of chronically and temporarily accessible information on life satisfaction judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 395–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, N., & Clore, G. L. (1983). Mood, misattribution, and judgments of well-being: Informative and directive functions of affective states. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 513–523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, N., & Strack, F. (1999). Reports of subjective well-being: Judgmental processes and their methodological implications. In D. Kahneman, E. Diener, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scollon, C. N., Howard, A. H., Caldwell, A. E., & Ito, S. (2009). The role of ideal affect in the experience and memory of emotions. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10, 257–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scollon, C. N., Kim-Prieto, C., & Diener, E. (2003). Experience sampling: Promises and pitfalls, strengths and weaknesses. Journal of Happiness Studies, 4, 5–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seo, M.-G., Bartunek, J. M., & Feldman Barrett, L. (2010). The role of affective experience in work motivation: Test of a conceptual model. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31, 951–968.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheldon, K. M., Cummins, R., & Kamble, S. (2010). Life balance and well-being: Testing a novel conceptual and measurement approach. Journal of Personality, 78, 1093–1134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shevlin, M., Brunsden, V., & Miles, J. N. V. (1998). Satisfaction with life scale: Analysis of factorial invariance, mean structures and reliability. Personality and Individual Differences, 25, 911–916.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiffman, S., Stone, A. A., & Hufford, M. R. (2008). Ecological momentary assessment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 4, 1–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smyth, J. M., & Stone, A. A. (2003). Ecological momentary assessment research in behavioral medicine. Journal of Happiness Studies, 4, 35–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steptoe, A., Leigh, E. S., & Kumari, M. (2011). Positive affect and distressed affect over the day in older people. Psychology and Aging, 26, 956–965.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steptoe, A., Wardle, J., & Marmot, M. (2005). Positive affect and health-related neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and inflammatory processes. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, 102, 6508–6512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, A. A., Shiffman, S. S., & DeVries, M. W. (1999). Ecological momentary assessment. In D. Kahneman, E. Diener, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology (pp. 26–39). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

  • Strack, F., Martin, L. L., & Schwarz, N. (1988). Priming and communication: Social determinants of information use in judgments of life satisfaction. European Journal of Social Psychology, 18, 429–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tay, L., & Diener, E. (2011). Needs and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 354–365. doi:10.1037/a0023779.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tay, L., & Drasgow, F. (2012). Theoretical and statistical issues in the assessment of construct dimensionality: Accounting for the item response process. Organizational Research Methods, 15, 363–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tay, L., & Harter, J. K. (2013). Economic and labor market forces matter for worker well-being. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. doi:10.1111/aphw.12004.

  • Tay, L., & Kuykendall, L. (2013). Promoting happiness: Malleability of individual and societal-level happiness. International Journal of Psychology. doi:10.1080/00207594.2013.779379.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tay, L., Newman, D. A., & Vermunt, J. K. (2011). Using mixed-measurement item response theory with covariates (MM-IRT-C) to ascertain observed and unobserved measurement equivalence. Organizational Research Methods, 14, 147–176. doi:10.1177/1094428110366037.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 193–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1994). Positive illusions and well-being revisited: Separating fact from fiction. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 21–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thurstone, L. L. (1928). Attitudes can be measured. American Journal of Psychology, 33, 529–554.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tucker, K. I., Ozer, D. J., Lyubomirsky, S., & Boehm, J. K. (2006). Testing for measurement invariance in the satisfaction with life scale: A comparison of Russians and North Americans. Social Indicators Research, 78, 341–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uchino, B. N. (2006). Social support and health: A review of physiological processes potentially underlying links. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29, 377–387S.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uchino, B. N., Cacioppo, J. T., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (1996). The relationship between social support and physiological processes: A review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 488–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ujimoto, K. V. (1990). Time-budget methodology for research. Social Indicators Research, 23, 381–393.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Updegraff, J. A., Gable, S. L., & Taylor, S. E. (2004). What makes experiences satisfying? The interaction of approach-avoidance motivations and emotions in well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 496–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vandenberg, R. J., & Lance, C. E. (2000). A review and synthesis of the measurement invariance literature: Suggestions, practices, and recommendations for organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 3, 4–70. doi:10.1177/109442810031002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veenhoven, R., & Vergunst, F. (2013). The Easterlin illusion: Economic growth does go with greater happiness. EHERO working paper.

  • Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1994). The PANAS-X: Manual for the positive and negative affect schedule—expanded form. Ames: The University of Iowa.

  • Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of Positive and Negative Affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, M. P., & Dolan, P. (2009). Accounting for the richness of daily activities. Psychological Science, 20, 1000–1008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zajonc, R. B. (1980). Feeling and thinking: Preferences need no inferences. American Psychologist, 35, 151–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Singapore Management University, Singapore, Singapore

    Louis Tay & David Chan

  2. University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA

    Ed Diener

  3. The Gallup Organization, Omaha, NE, USA

    Ed Diener

  4. Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, 703 Third Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Louis Tay

Authors
  1. Louis Tay
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David Chan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ed Diener
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Louis Tay.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tay, L., Chan, D. & Diener, E. The Metrics of Societal Happiness. Soc Indic Res 117, 577–600 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0356-1

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0356-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation