Life satisfaction judgements

– In most ways my life is close to my ideal

– The conditions of my life are excellent

– I am satisfied with my life

– So far I have gotten the important things I want in life

– If I could life my life over, I would change almost nothing

• 7 point response scale 1 = Strongly Disagree to 7 = Strongly Agree

Diener et al. 1985

Life satisfaction judgements

• Individuals make a considered judgement when assessing their life satisfaction

– Identify the information they feel is relevant

–Different domains are given different weights

• For reviews of supporting studies: Diener, Inglehart, & Tay (2013). Tay, Chan, & Diener (2014).

Use of best information in well-being judgements

• Meaning in life judgements

– Reliance on positive affect when relationships do not provide satisfying information (Hicks et al., 2010)

• Satisfaction with life judgements

– Cherry pick best information?

– Explains long term stability?

But does everyone use the best information?

• Diener et al. (2002) measured participants satisfaction in 8 life domains (including health, finances, relationships) and general life satisfaction

• Split sample according to trait happiness level

• Happy people - best domain

• Unhappy people - worst domain

Aims of present study

• Demonstrate that high and low life satisfaction is a result of using information differently

• Address limitation of Diener et al (2002) by asking participants what information they bring to mind

Participants

• N = 201

• Recruited and tested online

– Age ranged from 18 to 66 years (M = 32, SD 12.47)

– 73% Female

– 79% White or White-British

– 50% achieved educational level of Undergraduate degree or higher

Method and materials

• Two sections for participants

1)Modified version of Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS, Diener et al., 1985).

2)Measure of satisfaction in various domains.

How was the SWLS modified?

• Standard format

– In most ways my life is close to my ideal

– The conditions of my life are excellent

– I am satisfied with my life

– So far I have gotten the important things I want in life

– If I could life my life over, I would change almost nothing

• 7 point response scale 1 = Strongly Disagree to 7 = Strongly Agree

Diener et al. 1985

How was the SWLS modified?

• The items were presented separately

Now just give a brief description of what went through your mind as you considered the statement. You do not have to write in proper sentences; simply do your best to describe your thoughts.

Take your time to think about the extent to which you agree or disagree. Try to be aware of the information you are using.

• After choosing from the response scale, participants were provided with a space to type their thoughts, as follows -

– Minimised retrospection

– Was not restrictive - did not have to choose from list, e.g. Schimmack et al, 2002)

How was the SWLS modified?

Measure of domain satisfaction

How satisfied are you with…

Domain

your relationship with others Relationships with others

the freedom and control you have in your daily life Daily life

how you spend your time Use of time

where you are living Accommodation

How satisfied are you with…

Domain

your job Job

your balance of positive and negative feelings

Feelings

your achievement of your aspirations Doing things

your money and finances Money

Measure of domain satisfaction

How satisfied are you with…

Domain

yourself, as a person Self qualities

your material possessions Material things

your contribution to your local community or the wider world

Contribution-to-the-world

your health Health

Measure of domain satisfaction

• the written responses to the five SWLS items were coded for the presence of information relating to the 12 code categories.

having a better job would make me more satisfied in my life.

Lovely husband and house etc. Balanced by being unemployed and unhappy about it.

So far my life has been good. I have a great family, friends, and a boyfriend. I have had a nice life

Coding of responses – Domain Use

Analysis

High SWL

(N = 97)

Low SWL

(N = 104)

Mean Age (SD) 29.69 (11.54) 34.04 (12.98)

Gender, % female 78.40 68.30

Ethnic Group, % minority group 22.70 19.20

Level of education, % Undergraduate degree or higher 52.60 52.00

• The median split groups only differed according to age. • The averages of the used and not-used domain satisfaction

scores were subjected to a satisfaction level (high vs low) x domain type (used domains vs not used) mixed model ANCOVA, with age as a co-variate

Results

No significant effect of domain type

Significant main effect of satisfaction level

Significant interaction between satisfaction level and domain type

Conclusions

• Participants with High SWLS use their most satisfying information - less satisfying domains not brought to mind

• Those with Low SWLS used domains with lower satisfaction scores than areas not mentioned - used worst, ignored best.

• Supports previous “weighting” study by Diener et al (2002)

What Next

• Suggests a motivational, or cognitive-motivational, aspect to life satisfaction judgements

• Provides a potential cognitive mechanism for positive interventions

• Can focussing on one’s best domains be taught?

For further information contact

Charlotte.lea.2009@live.rhul.ac.uk

References

• Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–5.

• Diener, E., Inglehart, R., & Tay, L. (2013). Theory and validity of life satisfaction scales. Social Indicators Research, 112(3), 497–527.

• Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., Oishi, S., & Suh, E. (2002). Looking up and looking down: weighting good and bad information in life satisfaction judgments. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(4), 437–445.

• Hicks, J. A., Schlegel, R. J., & King, L. A. (2010). Social threats, happiness, and the dynamics of meaning in life judgments. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(10), 1305–17.

• Schimmack, U., Diener, E., & Oishi, S. (2002). Life-satisfaction is a momentary judgment and a stable personality characteristic: the use of chronically accessible and stable sources. Journal of Personality, 70(3), 345–84.

• Tay, L., Chan, D., & Diener, E. (2014). The metrics of societal happiness. Social Indicators Research, 117(2), 577–600.