Vocabulary
- Adaptation
- The fact that after people first react to good or bad events, sometimes in a strong way, their feelings and reactions tend to dampen down over time and they return toward their original level of subjective well-being.
- “Bottom-up” or external causes of happiness
- Situational factors outside the person that influence his or her subjective well-being, such as good and bad events and circumstances such as health and wealth.
- Happiness
- The popular word for subjective well-being. Scientists sometimes avoid using this term because it can refer to different things, such as feeling good, being satisfied, or even the causes of high subjective well-being.
- Happiness
- A state of well-being characterized by relative permanence, by dominantly agreeable emotion ranging in value from mere contentment to deep and intense joy in living, and by a natural desire for its continuation.
- Life domains
- Various domains of life, such as finances and job.
- Life satisfaction
- The degree to which one is satisfied with one’s life overall.
- Life satisfaction
- A person reflects on their life and judges to what degree it is going well, by whatever standards that person thinks are most important for a good life.
- Negative feelings
- Undesirable and unpleasant feelings that people tend to avoid if they can. Moods and emotions such as depression, anger, and worry are examples.
- Optimal level
- The level that is the most favorable for an outcome.
- Positive feelings
- Desirable and pleasant feelings. Moods and emotions such as enjoyment and love are examples.
- Subjective well-being
- The name that scientists give to happiness—thinking and feeling that our lives are going very well.
- Subjective well-being scales
- Self-report surveys or questionnaires in which participants indicate their levels of subjective well-being, by responding to items with a number that indicates how well off they feel.
- “Top-down” or internal causes of happiness
- The person’s outlook and habitual response tendencies that influence their happiness—for example, their temperament or optimistic outlook on life.
