Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments
Open accessAbstract
Abstract Governments around the world are now beginning to seriously consider the use of measures of subjective wellbeing (SWB) – ratings of thoughts and feelings about life – for monitoring progress and for informing and appraising public policy. The mental state account of wellbeing upon which SWB measures are based can provide useful additional information about who is doing well and badly in life when compared to that provided by the objective list and preference satisfaction accounts. It may be particularly useful when deciding how best to allocate scarce resources, where it is desirable to express the benefits of intervention in a single metric that can be compared to the costs of intervention. There are three main concepts of SWB in the literature – evaluation (life satisfaction), experience (momentary mood) and eudemonia (purpose) – and policy-makers should seek to measure all three, at least for the purposes of monitoring progress. There are some major challenges to the use of SWB measures. Two related and well-rehearsed issues are the effects of expectations and adaptation on ratings. The degree to which we should allow wellbeing to vary according to expectations and adaptation are vexing moral problems but information on SWB can highlight what difference allowing for these considerations would have in practice (e.g. in informing prioiritisation decisions), which can then be fed into the normative debate. There are also questions about precisely what attention shoul…
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Claims the paper makes
11 of 56 cited sources checked · 7 supported · 0 flagged · accuracy not yet measured
- Premisecitation
The evidence from the literature assessing the link between income and SWB is that this relationship is positive and modest.
“The evidence from the literature assessing the link between income and SWB is that this relationship is positive and modest (Stevenson and Wolfers, 2008), although there are some differences depending on what measure of SWB is used (Kahneman and Deaton, 2010), and whether other people's income is included in the assessment (Luttmer, 2005;Layard et al., 2010).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked- cites Stevenson and Wolfers, 2008 source
- Premisecitation
It is possible to estimate monetary values for non-market goods from SWB data by estimating the amount of income that has exactly the same effect on SWB as the non-market good.
“It is possible to estimate monetary values for non-market goods from SWB data by estimating the amount of income that has exactly the same effect on SWB as the non-market good (Dolan et al., 2011).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked- cites Dolan et al., 2011
- Premisecitation
Respondents in the German Socio-Economic Panel have a tendency to move away from the endpoints of response scales over time.
“Frick et al. (2006) show that respondents in the German Socio-Economic Panel have a tendency to move away from the endpoints of response scales over time.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked- cites Frick et al. (2006) source
The Results (pp. 25, 30) say that SOEP respondents were more likely to choose the highest life-satisfaction categories in early waves, and the authors report a narrowing difference over time. That supports movement away from the high end of one satisfaction scale, but not a general tendency to move away from both endpoints of response scales. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
- Premisecitation
DRM data on affect have generally found weak associations between SWB and these events.
“DRM data on affect have generally found weak associations between SWB and these events (Kahneman et al., 2004;Knabe et al., 2010).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 2 sources checked- cites Kahneman et al., 2004 source
- cites Knabe et al., 2010 source
The Discussion (p. 27) reports that this DRM study found no significant difference in day-to-day experienced well-being between employed and unemployed people, despite a difference in life satisfaction. That supports a weak association for unemployment, but the paper does not establish that DRM studies have generally found weak associations with the unspecified events in the claim. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
- Premisecitation
There are some differences between life satisfaction and the ladder of life, notably in relation to income.
“There are some differences between life satisfaction and the ladder of life, notably in relation to income (Helliwell, 2008).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked- cites Helliwell, 2008 source
- Interpretationreasoning
The choice of account of wellbeing could have important implications for who we think of as doing well or badly in life.
“Our choice of account of wellbeing could clearly have important implications for who we think of as doing well or badly in life.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Premisecitation
Life satisfaction has been shown to differ across countries in ways that can be explained by differences in freedoms, social capital and trust.
“Life satisfaction has also been shown to differ across countries in ways that can also be explained by differences in freedoms, social capital and trust (Halpern, 2010).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Halpern, 2010
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Premisecitation
Different quality of life weights would be derived from SWB data than from using more standard preference-based methods.
“Indeed, the health economics literature is now showing that different quality of life weights would be derived from SWB data than from using more standard preference-based methods (Dolan and Kahneman, 2008;Dolan et al., forthcoming).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked- cites Dolan and Kahneman, 2008
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- cites Dolan et al., forthcoming
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Premisecitation
Different accounts of wellbeing often do not produce similar results.
“Of course, none of these issues would matter much in practical terms if the different accounts produced similar results -but they often do not.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Peasgood, 2008 source
- Interpretationreasoning
In domains with largely non-market consequences, SWB can potentially have a real impact on policy, especially compared to preference satisfaction that focuses principally on changes in income.
“These are domains of policy that largely have a non-market consequence, and where SWB can potentially have a real impact on policy, especially as compared to preference satisfaction that focusses principally on changes in income.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Interpretationcitation
Using SWB data as a 'yardstick' could allow for the ranking of options across very different policy domains.
“Using SWB data as a 'yardstick' could allow for the ranking of options across very different policy domains (Donovan and Halpern, 2002;Dolan and White, 2007).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked- cites Donovan and Halpern, 2002
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- cites Dolan and White, 2007 source
- Premisecitation
Eudaimonic measures are traditionally quite demanding in terms of the number of questions and time taken to complete.
“The eudomonic measures are traditionally quite demanding in terms of the number of questions and time taken to complete (Dolan et al., 2006).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Dolan et al., 2006
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Premisecitation
The results from the DRM provide a good approximation for those from EMA.
“Kahneman and Krueger (2006) provide evidence that the results from the DRM provide a good approximation for those from EMA.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Kahneman and Krueger, 2006 source
- Premisecitation
Partner satisfaction and social life satisfaction have the biggest correlation with life satisfaction in the BHPS.
“The BHPS has a list of domain satisfactions (health, income, house/flat, partner, job, social life, amount of leisure time, use of leisure time), with partner satisfaction and social life satisfaction having the biggest correlation with life satisfaction (Peasgood, 2008).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Peasgood, 2008 source
- Premisecitation
There are stable and reliable patterns in happiness, even over the course of many years.
“The general consensus, however, is that there are stable and reliable patterns in happiness, even over the course of many years (Fujita and Diener, 2005).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Fujita and Diener, 2005 source
- Study design and conductnone given
Who chooses to be part of a survey that contains SWB measures is important to establishing whether the effects of any factor associated with happiness are generalisable or specific to the sample population.
“On selection, who chooses to be part of a survey that contains SWB measures is important to establishing whether the effects of any factor associated with happiness are generalisable or specific to the sample population.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Interpretationnone given
People self-select into particular circumstances that make it difficult to say anything meaningful about how those circumstances would affect other people.
“Moreover, people self-select into particular circumstances that make it difficult for us to say anything meaningful about how those circumstances would affect other people.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Premisecitation
If a person has been endowed with a life-changing event, their psychological immune system will 'kick in' and over time offset some or even all of the loss in SWB.
“For instance, if a person has been endowed with a life-changing event (e.g.disability and divorce), their psychological immune system will 'kick in' (Gilbert et al., 1998), and, over time, will offset some or even all of the loss in SWB.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Gilbert et al., 1998 source
- Interpretationreasoning
Part of any correlation between volunteering and SWB will be picking up the causality from SWB to volunteering.
“Part of any correlation will then be picking up the causality from SWB to volunteering.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Study design and conductcitation
Attrition of certain types of people in different types of happiness surveys is important in generalising treatment effects.
“Attrition of certain types of people in different types of happiness surveys is also important in generalising treatment effects.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Premisecitation
Projects or policies are capable of changing people's preferences, largely due to adaptive processes.
“It has also been previously recognised that projects or policies are capable of changing people's preferences (Elster, 1983;Bowles, 1998), and this is largely due to adaptive processes.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked- cites Elster, 1983 source
- cites Bowles, 1998
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Premisecitation
Responses will be influenced by salient cues, such as the previous question.
“Responses will be influenced by salient cues, such as the previous question (Schwarz et al., 1987), and perhaps also by the organisation carrying out the survey.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Schwarz et al., 1987 source
- Interpretationreasoning
An improvement in social and economic conditions may not be correlated with improvements in SWB.
“So an improvement in social and economic conditions may not be correlated with improvements in SWB.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Premisecitation
The mere act of asking a happiness question might affect experiences.
“It must be recognised for example, that the mere act of asking a happiness question might affect experiences (Wilson et al., 1993).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Wilson et al., 1993 source
- Premisecitation
A main reason for adaptation is attention, whereby the novelty and attention-seeking nature of many circumstances and events wear off over time.
“According to Kahneman and Thaler (2005), a main reason for adaptation is attention, whereby the novelty and attention-seeking nature of many circumstances and events wear off over time.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Kahneman and Thaler, 2005 source
- Premisecitation
People with lower life satisfaction are less likely to be involved in longitudinal surveys.
“Watson and Wooden (2004) show that people with lower life satisfaction are less likely to be involved in longitudinal surveys.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Watson and Wooden (2004)
- Premisecitation
Expectations and reference points are not static, but dynamic.
“This suggests that expectations and reference points are not static, but dynamic (Diener et al., 2006).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Diener et al., 2006 source
- Premisecitation
Expectations may change over time as individuals experience different life events.
“Expectations may change over time as individuals experience different life events.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Duncan, 2005
- Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 14
- May combine two claims. 15
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
InterpretationcitationSWB can be used to make a strong case for unemployment programmes given the significant reduction in SWB associated with any periods of unemployment.
“More specifically, SWB could be used to make a strong case for unemployment programmes given the significant reduction in SWB associated with any periods of unemployment (Clark et al., 2004;Clark, 2010).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 2 sources checked- cites Clark et al., 2004 source
The Results (page unavailable) report that life satisfaction fell by more than half a point, on average, during the reaction phase of unemployment. But the Method (page unavailable) limits the study to people who experienced one unemployment episode and then remained employed; it does not establish a significant reduction in all measures of SWB for any period of unemployment. The case for unemployment programmes is the citing authors’ policy inference, not a finding attributed to this source. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured - cites Clark, 2010
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationThere are differences in the income-SWB relationship depending on what measure of SWB is used and whether other people's income is included in the assessment.
“although there are some differences depending on what measure of SWB is used (Kahneman and Deaton, 2010), and whether other people's income is included in the assessment (Luttmer, 2005;Layard et al., 2010).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim2 of 3 sources checkedProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
InterpretationcitationExpected gains in SWB could be computed for different policy areas and used to decide which forms of spending will lead to the largest increases in SWB relative to their costs.
“Expected gains in SWB could be computed for different policy areas and this information could be used to decide which forms of spending will lead to the largest increases in SWB relative to their costs (Dolan and Metcalfe, 2008).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked- cites Dolan and Metcalfe, 2008
The Conclusion (section 6; page unavailable) says SWB could generate monetary values for public policy and help inform the allocation of scarce resources. It does not describe computing expected SWB gains across different policy areas or ranking spending by SWB gain relative to cost; it also says the valuation method needs more research. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationSelf-acceptance and environmental mastery were associated with evaluations but positive relations with others, purpose in life, personal growth and autonomy were less well correlated.
“In a comparison of 'eudemonic' measures and evaluations of life satisfaction and happiness, Ryff and Keyes (1995) found that self-acceptance and environmental mastery were associated with evaluations but that positive relations with others, purpose in life, personal growth and autonomy were less well correlated.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked- cites Ryff and Keyes, 1995 source
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationIncome is more highly correlated with ladder of life responses than with feelings, which are themselves more highly correlated with health than the ladder.
“Work on the Gallup Poll by Diener et al. (2010) and Kahneman and Deaton (2010) shows that income is more highly correlated with ladder of life responses than with feelings, which are themselves more highly correlated with health than the ladder.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 2 sources checked- cites Diener et al., 2010
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- cites Kahneman and Deaton, 2010 source
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationThe three accounts of wellbeing (objective lists, preference satisfaction, mental states) meet the three conditions of being theoretically rigorous, policy relevant, and empirically robust.
“There are three accounts of wellbeing (Parfit, 1984;Sumner, 1996) that meet the three conditions (i) objective lists; (ii) preference satisfaction; and (iii) mental states (or SWB).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked- cites Parfit, 1984
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- cites Sumner, 1996
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
PremisecitationThere are three main accounts of wellbeing: objective lists, preference satisfaction, and mental states (subjective wellbeing).
“Following Parfit (1984), there are three main accounts of wellbeing -objective lists, preference satisfaction and mental states (or subjective wellbeing) -and all three are important for public policy.”
- Also stated in: § Accounts of wellbeing · plain
“There are three accounts of wellbeing (Parfit, 1984;Sumner, 1996) that meet the three conditions (i) objective lists; (ii) preference satisfaction; and (iii) mental states (or SWB).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked- cites Parfit, 1984
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- cites Sumner, 1996
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Also stated in: § Accounts of wellbeing · plain
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationSWB can be used for assessing the consequences of cigarette taxation, air pollution, flooding, and the risk of terrorism.
“SWB can also be used for assessing the consequences of cigarette taxation (Gruber and Mullainatha, 2005), air pollution (Luechinger, 2009), flooding (Luechinger and Rasacky, 2009) and the risk of terrorism (Metcalfe et al., 2011).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checkedProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
InterpretationcitationSome measures might be more or less amenable to change by individuals and policy-makers, thus impacting upon debates about agency in and over SWB.
“Importantly, some measures might be more or less amenable to change by individuals and policy-makers, thus impacting upon debates about agency in and over SWB (see Cooper and Lousada, 2005;Ryan and Sapp, 2007;Taylor, 2011).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checkedClassified as probably not a substantial claim.
PremisecitationThere are three main concepts of SWB in the literature: evaluation (life satisfaction), experience (momentary mood), and eudemonia (purpose).
“There are three main concepts of SWB in the literature -evaluation (life satisfaction), experience (momentary mood) and eudemonia (purpose) -and policy-makers should seek to measure all three, at least for the purposes of monitoring progress.”
- Also stated in: § Measuring SWB · plain
“Here we distinguish between three broad categories of measure: (i) evaluation; (ii) experience; and (iii) 'eudemonic'.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked- cites Kahneman and Riis, 2005
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- cites Dolan et al., 2006
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- cites Waldron, 2010
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
- Also stated in: § Measuring SWB · plain
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationLife satisfaction has been shown to be correlated with income (both absolute and relative), employment status, marital status, health, personal characteristics (age, gender, and personality) and major life events.
“Life satisfaction has been shown to be correlated with income (both absolute and relative), employment status, marital status, health, personal characteristics (age, gender, and personality) and major life events (see Dolan et al. (2008) for a recent review).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Dolan et al., 2008
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationPeasgood (2008) used the British Household Panel Survey to examine objective wellbeing, preference satisfaction and SWB scores for the same individuals and showed a dramatic difference between the accounts for those with children, people who commute long distances, those with a degree and between men and women.
“Peasgood (2008) used the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) to examine objective wellbeing, preference satisfaction and SWB scores for the same individuals.She shows that there is a dramatic difference between the accounts for those with children, people who commute long distances, those with a degree and between men and women.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Peasgood, 2008 source
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).
InterpretationreasoningSWB measures may be particularly useful when deciding how best to allocate scarce resources, where it is desirable to express the benefits of intervention in a single metric that can be compared to the costs of intervention.
“It may be particularly useful when deciding how best to allocate scarce resources, where it is desirable to express the benefits of intervention in a single metric that can be compared to the costs of intervention.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).
Interpretationnone givenDifferent approaches to measurement could have significant consequences for inferences drawn from SWB data.
“Different approaches to measurement could have significant consequences for inferences drawn from SWB data.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).
InterpretationreasoningMonitoring SWB could be important in ensuring that other changes that affect society do not reduce overall wellbeing.
“Monitoring SWB could be important in ensuring that other changes that affect society do not reduce overall wellbeing.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).
Interpretationnone givenThe mental state account of wellbeing, on which SWB measures are based, can provide useful additional information about who is doing well and badly in life compared to objective list and preference satisfaction accounts.
“The mental state account of wellbeing upon which SWB measures are based can provide useful additional information about who is doing well and badly in life when compared to that provided by the objective list and preference satisfaction accounts.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).
Premisenone givenThere has not been a thorough comparison of the three measures of SWB due to no large-scale longitudinal or repeated cross-sectional survey containing all the measures.
“There has not been a thorough comparison of the three measures of SWB due to no large-scale longitudinal or repeated cross-sectional survey containing all the measures.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
PremisecitationSome conditions, like unemployment, continue to draw attention to them and continue to affect SWB long after the event.
“Some conditions, like unemployment it seems, continue to draw attention to them and continue to affect SWB long after the event (Lucas et al., 2003;Lucas, 2005).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checkedClassified as probably not a substantial claim.
Interpretationnone givenSurveys that use a scale running from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied without making clear where dissatisfied stops and satisfied starts make it difficult to interpret the scores.
“Some of these surveys use a scale running from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied, and they do not make clear where on the scale dissatisfied stops and satisfied starts.This makes it difficult to interpret the scores.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim- Rests on an assumption: Some surveys use a scale running from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied and do not make clear where on the scale dissatisfied stops and satisfied starts.
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationFor life satisfaction, unemployment is very bad, marriage is pretty good at least to start with, children have no effect, retirement is pretty good at least to start, but there is considerable heterogeneity.
“For life satisfaction, it appears that unemployment is very bad, marriage is pretty good at least to start with, children have no effect, retirement is pretty good at least to start, but there is considerable heterogeneity (Calvo et al., 2007).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Calvo et al., 2007
May combine two claims.
InterpretationcitationIf later responses are influenced by earlier ones, then the earlier ones are salient at the time of the later assessment.
“The relationship between earlier and later responses can be seen as an issue of scaling and salience: if later responses are influenced by earlier ones, then the earlier ones are salient at the time of the later assessment (as shown in the study by Dolan and Metcalfe, 2010).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Dolan and Metcalfe, 2010 source
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationEvaluations and experience-based measures may sometimes produce similar results, but often they do not.
“Evaluations and experience-based measures may sometimes produce similar results (Blanchflower, 2009), but often they do not.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Blanchflower, 2009 source
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationPositive and negative affect are somewhat independent of one another and should therefore be measured separately.
“There is some evidence, however, that positive and negative affect are somewhat independent of one another and should therefore be measured separately (Diener and Emmons, 1984).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites Diener and Emmons, 1984
Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
PremisecitationTime spent with children is relatively more rewarding than pleasurable, and time spent watching television is relatively more pleasurable than rewarding.
“For example, time spent with children is relatively more rewarding than pleasurable, and time spent watching televisions is relatively more pleasurable than rewarding.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites White and Dolan, 2009 source
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.
InterpretationreasoningInformation on all three accounts of wellbeing can illuminate what difference expectations and adaptation make in practice and such information can be fed into the normative debate.
“But information on all three accounts of wellbeing can illuminate what difference expectations and adaptation make in practice and such information can be fed into the normative debate.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).
InterpretationreasoningIn practice, what counts as a good life is dynamic.
“In practice, what counts as a good life is going to be dynamic too.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
The paper relies on this without support.
There is an urgent need to consider how best to measure SWB in large samples.
“This paper and its motivation derives directly from the urgent need to consider how best to measure SWB in large samples.”
The paper relies on this without support.
There is a need for a fuller consideration of, and conceptual clarity about, how SWB should be measured for policy purposes.
“but there is a need for a fuller consideration of, and conceptual clarity about, how SWB should be measured for policy purposes.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Using happiness or life satisfaction yields very similar results, in terms of the impact of key variables.
“Using happiness or life satisfaction yields very similar results, in terms of the impact of key variables.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Some surveys use a scale running from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied and do not make clear where on the scale dissatisfied stops and satisfied starts.
“Some of these surveys use a scale running from completely dissatisfied to completely satisfied, and they do not make clear where on the scale dissatisfied stops and satisfied starts.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The experience measures generally calibrate the scales from 'not at all'.
“the experience measures generally calibrate the scales from 'not at all'.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The BHPS does not ask about satisfaction with mental wellbeing and with the wellbeing of your children.
“The BHPS does not ask about satisfaction with mental wellbeing and with the wellbeing of your children, which are obvious omissions from the BHPS domains.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Both mental wellbeing and the wellbeing of your children are potentially important determinants of wellbeing.
“Both of these domains are potentially important determinants of wellbeing (as distinct, in the case of children, from simply knowing whether someone has children or not).”
The paper relies on this without support.
Mental health measures are most likely to only pick up the negative side of the domain.
“It is important to ask about general mental wellbeing and not mental health, since the latter is most likely to only pick up the negative side of the domain.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Expectations and adaptation feed directly into scaling effects.
“Expectations and adaptation feed directly into scaling effects.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The GSOEP, WVS and Defra surveys use a 0-10 scale.
“The GSOEP, WVS and Defra surveys use a 0-10 scale.”
The paper relies on this without support.
There are no general questions about purpose and meaning in life.
“There are no general questions about purpose and meaning in life and so we have based our recommendations on a suggestion by Felicia Huppert.”
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Recommended anxiety question differs from the table
MajorThe paper recommends asking how anxious respondents felt yesterday, but the corresponding monitoring question in Table 1 asks how worried they felt. These are different questions, despite the text saying the four recommended questions appear in the table's first column.
“(iii) Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?”
“3. Overall, how worried did you feel yesterday?”
Kahneman and Thaler citation years disagree
MinorThe in-text citation gives 2005, while the reference list gives 2006 for Kahneman and Thaler.
“According to Kahneman and Thaler (2005), a main reason for adaptation is attention”
“66. Kahneman, D. and Thaler, R. H. (2006), 'Anomalies: utility maximization and experienced utility'”
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“SWB can also be used for assessing the consequences of cigarette taxation (Gruber and Mullainatha, 2005), air pollution (Luechinger, 2009), flooding (Luechinger and Rasacky, 2009) and the risk of terrorism (Metcalfe et al., 2011).”
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Advances in subjective well-being research
Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Tay, L. (2018) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-018-0307-6 · Cited by 2,003 · see citing works
Happiness is greater in natural environments
MacKerron, G., & Mourato, S. (2013) · Global Environmental Change · doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.03.010 · Cited by 899 · see citing works
“Dolan and Metcalfe (2012) provide a useful summary, distinguishing three broad accounts: objective lists, in which wellbeing is the fulfilment of a fixed set of material, psychological and social needs, identified exogenously; preference satisfaction, the standard economic view, in which wellbeing consists in the free…”
BackgroundCurry, O. S., Rowland, L. A., Van Lissa, C. J., Zlotowitz, S., McAlaney, J., & Whitehouse, H. (2018) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2018.02.014 · Cited by 528 · see citing works
“Subjective well-being – including happiness, life-satisfaction and positive a ff ect – refers to a range positively valenced psychological states (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012; OECD, 2013).”
What works for wellbeing? A systematic review of wellbeing outcomes for music and singing in adults.
Daykin, N., Mansfield, L., Meads, C., Julier, G., Tomlinson, A., Payne, A., Grigsby Duffy, L., Lane, J., D’Innocenzo, G., Burnett, A., et al. (2018) · Perspectives in Public Health · doi:10.1177/1757913917740391 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
“Healthy older adults Seven studies with healthy adults were divided between music listening (3), singing (3) and music making (1).”
BackgroundSelf-citationImpacts of festivals and events on residents’ well-being
Yolal, M., Gursoy, D., Uysal, M., Kim, H., & Karacaoğlu, S. (2016) · Annals of Tourism Research · doi:10.1016/j.annals.2016.07.008 · Cited by 248 · see citing works
Social relations and life satisfaction: the role of friends
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“Social relations, friendship, and life satisfaction Subjective well-being refers to the many types of evaluations that people make of their lives (Diener 2006) and is conceptualized and measured in different ways and with different proxies (Kahneman and Deaton 2010; Dolan and Metcalfe 2012).”
BackgroundJones, L., & Tanner, T. (2016) · Regional Environmental Change · doi:10.1007/s10113-016-0995-2 · Cited by 332 · see citing works
“Indeed, similar approaches have been proposed for the evaluation of national social and economic policies by collecting well-being and life evaluation data (Dolan and Metcalfe 2012; Diener 2000).”
MethodA happy choice: wellbeing as the goal of government
Frijters, P., Clark, A., Krekel, C., & Layard, R. (2020) · Behavioural Public Policy · doi:10.1017/bpp.2019.39 · Cited by 183 · see citing works
Moore, G. F., Cox, R., Evans, R., Hallingberg, B., Hawkins, J. L., Littlecott, H., Long, S. J., & Murphy, S. (2018) · Child Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s12187-017-9524-1 · Cited by 228 · see citing works
“…consensus on how to best measure subjective wellbeing in young people; in this study, an evaluative measure of global wellbeing was used (life satisfaction), as opposed to an experience (momentary affect) or eudemonia (purpose) measure (Dolan, Layard, & Metcalfe, 2011; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
The behavioral turn in flood risk management, its assumptions and potential implications
Kuhlicke, C., Seebauer, S., Hudson, P., Begg, C., Bubeck, P., Dittmer, C., Grothmann, T., Heidenreich, A., Kreibich, H., Lorenz, D. F., et al. (2020) · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Water · doi:10.1002/wat2.1418 · Cited by 236 · see citing works
“We therefore propose three overarching principles (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundThe Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: A Unified Approach to Behavioral Welfare Economics
Bernheim, B. D. (2016) · Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis · doi:10.1017/bca.2016.5 · Cited by 199 · see citing works
Teacher wellbeing and resilience: towards an integrative model
Hascher, T., Beltman, S., & Mansfield, C. F. (2021) · Educational Research · doi:10.1080/00131881.2021.1980416 · Cited by 211 · see citing works
“As such, it serves as an indicator of a successful fulfilment of the professional role and meaningfulness, which highlights the eudemonic or meaning-oriented (instead of hedonic or pleasure-oriented) character of teacher wellbeing (Deci and Ryan 2008; Dolan and Metcalfe 2012).”
BackgroundBryson, A., & MacKerron, G. (2015) · The Economic Journal · doi:10.1111/ecoj.12269 · Cited by 193 · see citing works
Subjective Well-Being in China, 2005-2010: The Role of Relative Income, Gender and Location
Asadullah, M. N., Xiao, S., & Yeoh, E. (2015) · China Economic Review · doi:10.1016/j.chieco.2015.12.010 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
Addressing the Social Determinants of Subjective Wellbeing: The Latest Challenge for Social Policy
Deeming, C. (2013) · Journal of Social Policy · doi:10.1017/s0047279413000202 · Cited by 183 · see citing works
“Broadly speaking, as Dolan and Metcalfe (2012) maintain, there are three main theoretical strands underpinning the measurement of SWB which are relevant to this study: • The ‘evaluative’ approach to SWB asks individuals to reflect on their life and make a cognitive assessment of how their life is…”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialThe bright side of online consumer behavior: Continuance intention for mobile payments
Purohit, S., Arora, R., & Paul, J. (2022) · Journal of Consumer Behaviour · doi:10.1002/cb.2017 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Mansfield, L., Daykin, N., & Kay, T. (2020) · Leisure Studies · doi:10.1080/02614367.2020.1713195 · Cited by 163 · see citing works
The Relationship Between Satisfaction With Life and Depression Symptoms by Gender
Gigantesco, A., Fagnani, C., Toccaceli, V., Stazi, M. A., Lucidi, F., Violani, C., & Picardi, A. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00419 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
“Recently, it was suggested to use measures of subjective well-being (SWB) to make mental healthrelated evaluations and inform policy decisions (10).”
BackgroundJones, L. (2018) · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change · doi:10.1002/wcc.552 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
“…and preferences (Maxwell et al., 2015), drawing on the conceptual and methodological advances made in related fields such as measurements of risk perception (Mills et al., 2016), psychological resilience (Connor & Davidson, 2003) and subjective well-being (Diener, 2006; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundDavern, M. T., Gunn, L., Whitzman, C., Higgs, C., Giles‐Corti, B., Simons, K., Villanueva, K., Mavoa, S., Roberts, R. J., & Badland, H. M. (2017) · Cities & Health · doi:10.1080/23748834.2018.1443620 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
“…in Table 3 for each of the 4 models tested – i.e. access to social the OECD (2013) the UK’s Office for National Statistics (Dolan and Metcalfe 2011; Dolan and Metcalfe 2012) and the need for more efforts to identify the social, economic and political conditions that promote the SWB of…”
BackgroundResultSimpson, J., Albani, V., Bell, Z., Bambra, C. L., & Brown, H. (2021) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113717 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Navarrete-Hernández, P., & Laffan, K. M. (2019) · Landscape and Urban Planning · doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.103618 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
The relationship between innovation and subjective wellbeing
Dolan, P., & Metcalfe, R. (2012) · Research Policy · doi:10.1016/j.respol.2012.04.001 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
“Given the recommendations by Dolan et al. (2011) and Dolan and Metcalfe (2012) on the measures of SWB that can be collected by governments, the ONS will now have include four measures of SWB in its HIS, which includes the UK labour force survey.”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe effect of resident-tourist value co-creation on residents’ well-being
Chen, Y., Cottam, E., & Lin, Z. (2020) · Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management · doi:10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.05.009 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Wellbeing and Society: Towards Quantification of the Co-benefits of Wellbeing
Maccagnan, A., Wren-Lewis, S., Brown, H., & Taylor, T. (2018) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-017-1826-7 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Poorer without It? The Neglected Role of the Natural Environment in Poverty and Wellbeing
Schleicher, J., Schaafsma, M., Burgess, N., et al. (2017) · Sustainable Development · doi:10.1002/sd.1692 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Mansfield, L., Kay, T., Meads, C., Grigsby-Duffy, L., Lane, J., John, A., Daykin, N., Dolan, P., Testoni, S., Julier, G., et al. (2018) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020959 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
“1136/bmjopen-2017-020959 Open access and SWB have been reported and sport engagement is included in national-level data collection and analysis.(10) Significant associations have been found between engagement in sport, the arts and enhanced SWB as measured by life satisfaction.”
MethodSelf-citationSubjective well‐being: what do adolescents say?
Navarro, D., Montserrat, C., Malo, S., et al. (2015) · Child & Family Social Work · doi:10.1111/cfs.12215 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Adler, M. D., Dolan, P., & Kavetsos, G. (2017) · Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization · doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2017.05.006 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
“To assess respondents’ own SWB, we first ask the following four questions, using an 11-point scale (0-10), used by the ONS in the UK (Dolan and Metcalfe, 2012): Overall, how satisfied are you”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSelf-citationInoue, Y., Wann, D. L. L., Lock, D., Sato, M., Moore, C. C., & Funk, D. C. (2019) · Journal of Aging and Health · doi:10.1177/0898264319835654 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
“Because each measure is related yet separable (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012), we specified each of the four items as a separate outcome variable for the analyses.”
BackgroundComparison of Cognitive Empathy, Emotional Empathy, and Social Functioning in Different Age Groups
Khanjani, Z., Jeddi, E., Hekmati, I., Khalilzade, S., Nia, M. E., Andalib, M., & Ashrafian, P. (2015) · Australian Psychologist · doi:10.1111/ap.12099 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Dodd, A. L., Priestley, M., Tyrrell, K., Cygan, S., Newell, C., & Byrom, N. C. (2021) · Journal of Mental Health · doi:10.1080/09638237.2021.1875419 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
“To support a policy focus on well-being, clear definitions and consistent measures are necessary (Dodge et al., 2012; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialJones, L., & d’Errico, M. (2019) · World Development · doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104632 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
A reconceptualisation of social value creation as social constraint alleviation
Sinkovics, N., Sinkovics, R. R., Hoque, S. F., & Czaban, L. (2015) · Critical Perspectives on International Business · doi:10.1108/cpoib-06-2014-0036 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
“…is empirical evidence that the effectiveness of an intervention can be measured by surveying the beneficiaries about their life satisfaction (cf. Dolan and Metcalfe, 2012; Hicks et al., 2013; Layard, 2010), it is still questionable whether this approach is able to differentiate between improved…”
BackgroundRonen, T., & Kerret, D. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17196968 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Measuring 'Subjective Resilience': Using Peoples' Perceptions to Quantify Household ResiliencePreprint
Jones, L., & Tanner, T. (2015) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2643420 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
“Indeed, similar approaches have been proposed for the evaluation of national social and economic policies by collecting well-being and life evaluation data (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012; Diener, 2000).”
Gender segregation, underemployment and subjective well-being in the UK labour market
Kamerāde, D., & Richardson, H. (2017) · Human Relations · doi:10.1177/0018726717713829 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
“The questions related to ‘yesterday’ partly because ‘today’ would be unusual since respondents were being interviewed ‘today’ (Dolan and Metcalfe, 2012).”
Benson, T., Sladen, J., Liles, A., & Potts, H. W. W. (2019) · BMJ Open Quality · doi:10.1136/bmjoq-2018-000394 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
OECD: One or Many? Ranking Countries with a Composite Well-Being Indicator
Peiró‐Palomino, J., & Picazo‐Tadeo, A. J. (2017) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-017-1747-5 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Public spaces and happiness: Evidence from a large-scale field experiment
Benita, F., Bansal, G., & Tunçer, B. (2019) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.01.014 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
National Identity, National Pride, and Happiness: The Case of South Korea
Ha, S. E., & Jang, S. (2014) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-014-0641-7 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Quantifying the intangible impact of the Olympics using subjective well-being dataPreprint
Dolan, P., Kavetsos, G., Krekel, C., Mavridis, D., Metcalfe, R., Senik, C., Szymanski, S., & Ziebarth, N. R. (2019) · Journal of Public Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2019.07.002 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Self-citationHirschauer, N., Lehberger, M., & Musshoff, O. (2014) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-014-0654-2 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
“and consumption, as measured in national accounts such as gross domestic product (GDP), is sufficient for guiding policy makers (Dolan and Metcalfe 2012; Frey and Stutzer 2010; OECD 2013a).”
Ida Kubiszewski, A., Zakariyya, N., & Costanza, R. (2018) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.08.017 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
“Ensuring consistent boundaries and standards around measuring of these variables is critical for comparison purposes (Dolan and Metcalfe 2012).”
BackgroundThe relationships between leisure and happiness-A graphic elicitation method
Liu, H., & Da, S. (2019) · Leisure Studies · doi:10.1080/02614367.2019.1575459 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
“The account of wellbeing can be measured empirically with its three components, including evaluative, experience and ‘eudemonia’ (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
MethodICT Exposure and the Level of Wellbeing and Progress: A Cross Country Analysis
Maiti, D., & Awasthi, A. (2019) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-019-02153-5 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Life satisfaction of migrants, stayers and returnees: reaping the fruits of migration in old age?
Baykara-Krumme, H., & Platt, L. (2016) · Ageing and Society · doi:10.1017/s0144686x16001227 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Goodfellow, C., Hardoon, D., Inchley, J., Leyland, A. H., Qualter, P., Simpson, S. A., & Long, E. (2022) · Journal of Adolescence · doi:10.1002/jad.12046 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
“PWB data has been routinely collected in the United Kingdom since 2011, but is repeated cross‐sectional in nature, rather than longitudinal (Allin & Hand 2017; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012; Tinkler, 2015).”
MethodGlobal Perspective on Marital Satisfaction
Dobrowolska, M., Groyecka-Bernard, A., Sorokowski, P., Randall, A. K., Hilpert, P., Ahmadi, K., AlGhraibeh, A. M. A., Aryeetey, R., Bertoni, A., Bettache, K., et al. (2020) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su12218817 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
“In this tone, Dolan and Metcalfe [46] claimed that subjective well-being is a significant indicator of well-being in general.”
BackgroundSubjective wellbeing: why weather matters
Feddersen, J., Metcalfe, R., & Wooden, M. (2016) · Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A (Statistics in Society) · doi:10.1111/rssa.12118 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
“…progress (Stiglitz et al., 2009), value non-market goods (Welsch, 2006; Rehdanz and Maddison, 2008; Carroll et al., 2009; Frey et al., 2009; Luechinger, 2009; Levin-son, 2012) and assess government policy (Diener et al., 2009; Dolan et al., 2011; Boarini et al., 2012; Dolan and Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundSelf-citationAyala, Y., Silla, J. M. P., Tordera, N., Lorente, L., & Yeves, J. (2016) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-016-9778-1 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Urban Quality of Life and Capabilities: An Experimental Study
Biagi, B., Ladu, M. G., & Meleddu, M. (2018) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.04.011 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Ren, Z., Zhang, X., Sun, Y., Li, X., He, M., Shi, H., Zhao, H., Zha, S., Qiao, S., Li, Y., et al. (2021) · Journal of Nursing Management · doi:10.1111/jonm.13276 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Tang, J., Xu, Y., Ma, W., & Gao, S. (2021) · Habitat International · doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2021.102455 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
The importance of ecological quality of public green and blue spaces for subjective well-being
Knight, S. J., McClean, C. J., & White, P. C. L. (2022) · Landscape and Urban Planning · doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104510 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Carter, E., & Whitworth, A. (2016) · Social Policy and Administration · doi:10.1111/spol.12206 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
“Both enabling and responding to the increased policy salience of well-being, there has been considerable progress within academia in recent years both in the theorization and measurement of well-being as a multi-dimensional latent concept (Dolan et al. 2008 ; Diener 2009; Stiglitz et al. 2009 ; Dolan and Metcalfe 2012…”
BackgroundThe effect of urbanization on subjective well-being: Explaining cross-regional differences
Navarro, M., D’Agostino, A., & Neri, L. (2020) · Socio-Economic Planning Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.seps.2020.100824 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Sustainable Development and Well-Being: A Philosophical Challenge
Painter‐Morland, M., Demuijnck, G., & Ornati, S. (2017) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-017-3658-4 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
“It is of outmost relevance to be able to understand the various dimensions of subjective well-being, in terms of behaviours and social norms, because ‘from the perspective of subjective wellbeing, agency, social norms, virtues and individual behaviour are only important in so far as they have the ability to change the…”
BackgroundInfluentialWang, A., Davis, O. S. P., Wootton, R. E., Mottershaw, A. L., & Haworth, C. M. A. (2017) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-017-13449-2 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Eluwole, K. K., Banga, C., Lasisi, T. T., Öztüren, A., & Kılıç, H. (2021) · Journal of Destination Marketing & Management · doi:10.1016/j.jdmm.2021.100674 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Chen, T. (2018) · Ageing and Society · doi:10.1017/s0144686x18000041 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Dolan, P., Kavetsos, G., & Vlaev, I. (2013) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-013-0543-0 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Self-citationUnemployment, wellbeing and the power of the work ethic: Implications for social policy
Sage, D. J. (2018) · Critical Social Policy · doi:10.1177/0261018318780910 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Subjective well‐being of mental health nurses in the United Kingdom: Results of an online survey
Oates, J., Jones, J., & Drey, N. (2016) · International Journal of Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.1111/inm.12263 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Association of children’s mobility and wellbeing: A case study in Hong Kong
Leung, K. Y. K., & Loo, B. P. Y. (2017) · Travel Behaviour and Society · doi:10.1016/j.tbs.2017.07.004 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Bad Air Days: The Effects of Air Quality on Different Measures of Subjective Well-Being
Dolan, P., & Laffan, K. M. (2016) · Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis · doi:10.1017/bca.2016.7 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Self-citationChanges in Subjective Well-Being Over Time: Economic and Social Resources do Matter
Moro-Egido, A. I., Navarro, M., & Domínguez, M. Á. S. (2021) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-021-00473-3 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
“…of life, such as economic resources and social relationships (see, for instance, Ferrer-i-Carbonell & Frijters, 2004; Di Tella & MacCulloch, 2008; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).1 In studies on subjective well-being from a temporal perspective, set-point theory has been the most widespread approach,…”
BackgroundHappy Talk: Mode of Administration Effects on Subjective Well-Being
Dolan, P., & Kavetsos, G. (2015) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-015-9642-8 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
“Following recommendations by Dolan and Metcalfe (2012), this survey introduces evaluative, experience and ‘eudemonic’ measures of SWB questions all of which are measured on a 0-10 scale, where 0 denotes ‘not at all’ and 10 denotes ‘completely’: i.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSelf-citationAhmed, A., Dompreh, E. B., & Gasparatos, A. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0215433 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Links of urban green space on environmental satisfaction: a spatial and temporarily varying approach
Li, L., Zheng, Y., & Ma, S. (2022) · Environment Development and Sustainability · doi:10.1007/s10668-022-02175-z · Cited by 44 · see citing works
“Traditional approaches to value the monetary benefits of UGS have paid attention to people’s preferences (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012), such as methods of valuation based on real markets or hypothetical scenarios (Jim & Chen, 2006; Panduro & Veie, 2013).”
BackgroundThe Happiness of Single Mothers: Evidence from the General Social Survey
Ifcher, J., & Zarghamee, H. (2013) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-013-9472-5 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
“…life evaluation (global happiness), a measure of subjective well-being distinct from emotional or hedonic well-being (experienced happiness) and eudomonic well-being (sense of purpose); for discussions of the distinction see Diener (1984), Dolan and Metcalfe (2012), and Kahneman and Deaton (2010).”
BackgroundLife satisfaction among older people in Italy in a gender approach
Meggiolaro, S., & Ongaro, F. (2014) · Ageing and Society · doi:10.1017/s0144686x14000646 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Moderators of wellbeing interventions: Why do some people respond more positively than others?
Wang, A., Nelson, S. K., Layous, K., Bao, K. J., Davis, O. S. P., & Haworth, C. M. A. (2017) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0187601 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
National well-being policy and a weighted approach to human feelings
O'Donnell, G., & Oswald, A. J. (2015) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.09.021 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
“They include Blanchflower and Oswald (2011), Clark et al. (2008), Diener (2013), Di Tella and MacCulloch (2006), Dolan and Metcalfe (2012), Fleurbaey (2009), Graham (2010, 2011), Helliwell and Wang (2013), Jorm and Ryan (2014), Layard (2005), OECD (2011), Powdthavee (2010), and Stone and Mackie…”
BackgroundNavarrete-Hernández, P., & Laffan, K. M. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-35804-2 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Samuelsson, K., Barthel, S., Giusti, M., & Hartig, T. (2021) · Landscape and Urban Planning · doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104176 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
“Subjective wellbeing is a multi-dimensional concept that encompasses life satisfaction, momentary experiences, and sense of purpose, but which differs from objective wellbeing (fulfilment of fixed needs) and preference satisfaction (fulfilment of wants and desires) (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundThe National Work–Life Balance Index©: The European Case
Fernández-Crehuet, J. M., Giménez-Nadal, J. I., & Recio, L. E. R. (2015) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-015-1034-2 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
“…simply living conditions, and it addresses the overall well-being of individuals in society (Eurofound 2004), and it emphasises the importance and relevance of subjective indicators in complementing more objective information (Stiglitz et al. 2009; Dolan and Metcalfe 2012; Vaughan-Whitehead 2012).”
BackgroundWorlds of Welfare Capitalism and Wellbeing: A Multilevel Analysis
Deeming, C., & Hayes, D. R. (2012) · Journal of Social Policy · doi:10.1017/s0047279412000499 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
“Daly, M. (2011), Welfare, Cambridge: Polity.”
Artaraz, K., & Calestani, M. (2014) · Latin American Perspectives · doi:10.1177/0094582x14547501 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Determinants of multidimensional mental wellbeing in the oldest old: a rapid review
Cresswell‐Smith, J., Amaddeo, F., Donisi, V., Forsman, A. K., Kalseth, J., Martín‐María, N., Miret, M., & Walhbeck, K. (2018) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-018-1633-8 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Catuara-Solarz, S., Skorulski, B., Estella-Aguerri, I., Avella-Garcia, C. B., Shepherd, S., Stott, E., Hemmings, N. R., de Villa, A. R., Schulze, L., & Dix, S. (2021) · JMIR mhealth and uhealth · doi:10.2196/30976 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
“In addition, the United Kingdom Office of National Statistics questions on well-being (ONS-4) scale was used to measure subjective well-being [24].”
Helne, T. (2021) · Sustainability Science Practice and Policy · doi:10.1080/15487733.2021.1930716 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
“I shall first discuss some forms of this criticism, and then show how they can be circumvented.5 While social policy has often been focused on listing items that are thought to constitute “objective” well-being, interest in subjective wellbeing has increased (Dolan and Metcalfe 2012, 409–410).”
BackgroundTokdemir, G. (2022) · Journal of Systems and Software · doi:10.1016/j.jss.2022.111286 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“Mental well-being is related to satisfaction with life, positive and negative emotions, and meaning in life (Dolan and Metcalfe, 2012; Diener, 2006), and it is defined as the mental state of an individual in terms of feelings, thoughts, and ways of coping with daily life.”
BackgroundNegative vs. Positive Psychology: a Review of Science of Well-Being
Abbas, A., Ekowati, D., Suhariadi, F., & Hamid, S. A. R. (2022) · Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science · doi:10.1007/s12124-022-09708-1 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
“…social, cultural, psychological, and religious capitals, trust, and behavioral, psychological, and ethical considerations (e.g., Adler & Seligman, 2016; Cullis & Lewis, 1997; Dolan et al., 2017; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012; Helliwell & Huang, 2011; Luechinger & Raschky, 2009; Van Praag & Baarsma, 2005).”
How to Measure Social Progress?
Greve, B. (2016) · Social Policy and Administration · doi:10.1111/spol.12219 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Chica‐Olmo, J., Domínguez, M. Á. S., & Murillo, F. H. S. (2019) · Cities · doi:10.1016/j.cities.2019.102560 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
“…of human well-being, such as the influence of social relationships (family and friends), comparisons with others, self-determination, and the absence of insecurity (Bárcena-Martín et al. 2017; Bartolini and Sarracino 2014; Dolan and Metcalfe 2012; Frey and Stutzer 2002; Stutzer and Frey 2010).”
Using Discrete Choice Experiments with Duration to Model EQ-5D-5L Health State Preferences
Mulhern, B. J., Bansback, N. J., Hole, A. R., & Tsuchiya, A. (2016) · Medical Decision Making · doi:10.1177/0272989x16670616 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Predictors of life satisfaction in a large representative sample from Italy
Capone, V., Joshanloo, M., & Scheifinger, H. (2019) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-019-00305-x · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Gender, Age and Subjective Well-Being: Towards Personalized Persuasive Health Interventions
Abdullahi, A. M., Orji, R., & Kawu, A. A. (2019) · Information · doi:10.3390/info10100301 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Addae, E. A., & Kühner, S. (2022) · Journal of Social Policy · doi:10.1017/s0047279421000982 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Sage, D. J. (2014) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-014-9549-9 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Long-term care (LTC) policy in Thailand on the homebound and bedridden elderly happiness
Suriyanrattakorn, S., & Chang, C. (2021) · Health Policy OPEN · doi:10.1016/j.hpopen.2020.100026 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“Also, [6] suggests that subjective wellbeing should be one of the primary outcomes of appraising healthcare policy.”
BackgroundNavarrete-Hernández, P., Kiarostami, N., Yang, D., & Ozcakir, A. (2024) · Landscape and Urban Planning · doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2024.105130 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Leisure in a post-work society
Snape, R., Haworth, J., McHugh, S., & Carson, J. (2017) · World Leisure Journal · doi:10.1080/16078055.2017.1345483 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“The Office of National Statistics (ONS) in its Approach to measuring well-being is developing new measures of national well-being (Dolan, Layard, & Metcalfe, 2011; Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundOman, S., & Taylor, M. (2018) · Journal of Cultural Economy · doi:10.1080/17530350.2018.1435422 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Holt, N. J. (2020) · Perspectives in Public Health · doi:10.1177/1757913920913060 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Fernández‐Río, J., Estrada, J. A. C., Mendez‐Giménez, A., & Carriedo, A. (2021) · International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1080/1612197x.2021.1877328 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
“Mental well-being is considered a multifaceted and multidirectional construct with multidimensional indicators grouped around three domains: evaluative (i.e., life satisfaction), hedonic (i.e., affect), and eudaimonic (i.e., meaning in life) (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
BackgroundMore than a good book: contingent valuation of public library services in England
Fujiwara, D., Lawton, R. N., & Mourato, S. (2019) · Journal of Cultural Economics · doi:10.1007/s10824-019-09369-w · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Tomaselli, V., Fordellone, M., & Vichi, M. (2020) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-020-02454-0 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“…of National Statistics in the United Kingdom has developed new and more comprehensive well-being indicators but with limited geographical scope (Dolan and Metcalfe 2012; Everett 2015), whereas a much larger initiative was undertaken with the Better Life Index (Durand 2015), which provides…”
Gallagher, S. M., Daynes‐Kearney, R., Grangel, A. B., Dunne, N., & McMahon, J. (2022) · International Journal of Adolescence and Youth · doi:10.1080/02673843.2021.2025115 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
“Its importance as a measure of subjective well-being for use in the general population is evident by the use of the scale by UK and WHO policy makers (Dolan & Metcalfe, 2012).”
Method
- Authors
- DOLAN, P., & METCALFE, R.
- Affiliations
- London School of Economics and Political Science (GB)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Venue
- Journal of Social Policy
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2012-01-12
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 409-427
- ISSN
- 0047-2794 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-7823
- OpenAlex
- W2146619620
- Semantic Scholar
- 4c6230065b5e9a5dd3be6b341c78161441bc9682
- Cited by
- 404
- References
- 133
- Citations by year
- 2026: 21 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 47 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 27.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- orcid.org
- Locations
- Journal of Social Policy (publishedVersion)
- London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Quality of Life Measurement
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Keywords
- subjective well-being, well-being measurement, life satisfaction, momentary mood, eudaimonia, public policy monitoring, resource allocation, cost-benefit analysis, adaptation, questionnaire development
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Claims read by deepseek-v4.1-flash under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-10-11.
Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-10-11.
Cited sources are checked by gpt-6-sol.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
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