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    This document defines key terms used in research on happiness. Happiness is defined as a combination of positive emotions like joy and contentment along with a sense of meaning and purpose. Researchers measure subjective well-being, which is often used interchangeably with happiness, through assessments of life satisfaction and positive affect. Life satisfaction refers to a global assessment of one's life being good and worth living. Positive affect describes feeling positive emotions like joy. Subjective well-being evaluates how people view their lives in terms of satisfaction and emotional states.

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    The Science of Happiness terms

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    The Science of Happiness terms

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    This document defines key terms used in research on happiness. Happiness is defined as a combination of positive emotions like joy and contentment along with a sense of meaning and purpose. Researchers measure subjective well-being, which is often used interchangeably with happiness, through assessments of life satisfaction and positive affect. Life satisfaction refers to a global assessment of one's life being good and worth living. Positive affect describes feeling positive emotions like joy. Subjective well-being evaluates how people view their lives in terms of satisfaction and emotional states.

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    139 views2 pages

    The Science of Happiness Terms

    Uploaded by

    Ɱʌɾcσs
    This document defines key terms used in research on happiness. Happiness is defined as a combination of positive emotions like joy and contentment along with a sense of meaning and purpose. Researchers measure subjective well-being, which is often used interchangeably with happiness, through assessments of life satisfaction and positive affect. Life satisfaction refers to a global assessment of one's life being good and worth living. Positive affect describes feeling positive emotions like joy. Subjective well-being evaluates how people view their lives in terms of satisfaction and emotional states.

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    Terms of Happiness: Definitions

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    Periodically in The Science of Happiness, we'll feature a unit called The Terms of Happiness, in
    which we define terminology that's important to the core concepts of that week.

    This is our first, and perhaps most elementary, Terms of Happiness unit, covering some of the
    terms scientists use to define happiness.

    Happiness:
    This is a big one. Most of us probably don’t believe we need a formal definition of happiness--we
    know it when we feel it, and we often use the term to describe a range of positive emotions,
    including joy, pride, contentment, and gratitude.

    But as Dacher suggested in his previous video, to understand the causes and effects of
    happiness, researchers first need to define it. Many of them use the term interchangeably
    with subjective well-being, which they measure by simply asking people to report how satisfied
    they feel with their own lives and how much positive and negative emotion they’re experiencing.
    In her 2007 book The How of Happiness, positive psychology researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky
    elaborates, describing happiness as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being,
    combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”

    That definition resonates with the focus of this course and the approach the Greater Good
    Science Center takes toward happiness: It captures the fleeting positive emotions that come with
    happiness, along with a deeper sense of meaning and purpose in life—and suggests how these
    properties of happiness complement each other.

    Here are some of the terms that describe what scientists measure when they set out to measure
    happiness. You'll encounter them across studies of happiness featured in this course.

    Life satisfaction:
    A general assessment that, as a whole, one's life is good and worth living. Researchers usually
    measure life satisfaction by using the Satisfaction with Life Scale, developed by University of
    Illinois professor Ed Diener and colleagues.

    Positive affect:
    A technical term to describe the experience of feeling a positive emotion, such as joy, love, or
    amusement. As Dr. Lyubomirsky notes above, positive affect is an important ingredient to
    happiness and is sometimes used synonymously with happiness, though it generally refers to a
    fleeting emotional state rather than an enduring way of being. It is often measured using the
    Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS).
    Subjective well-being:
    As mentioned above, researchers often use this term interchangably with happiness, perhaps
    because it sounds more precise and scientific. It refers to the way people evaluate their lives, in
    terms of both their global life satisfaction and emotional states--i.e., it is often assessed by
    measuring life satisfaction and positive affect. It is strongly tied to positive health.

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