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Beyond the hedonic treadmill: Revising the adaptation theory of well-being.
Abstract
According to the hedonic treadmill model, good and bad events temporarily affect happiness, but people quickly adapt back to hedonic neutrality. The theory, which has gained widespread acceptance in recent years, implies that individual and societal efforts to increase happiness are doomed to failure. The recent empirical work outlined here indicates that 5 important revisions to the treadmill model are needed. First, individuals' set points are not hedonically neutral. Second, people have different set points, which are partly dependent on their temperaments. Third, a single person may have multiple happiness set points: Different components of well-being such as pleasant emotions, unpleasant emotions, and life satisfaction can move in different directions. Fourth, and perhaps most important, well-being set points can change under some conditions. Finally, individuals differ in their adaptation to events, with some individuals changing their set point and others not changing in reaction to some external event. These revisions offer hope for psychologists and policy-makers who aim to decrease human misery and increase happiness.
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“This suggests that expectations and reference points are not static, but dynamic (Diener et al., 2006).”
From Measuring Subjective Wellbeing: Recommendations on Measures for use by National Governments (2012) · cites this paper as Diener et al., 2006
In the citing paper
“Instead, set points for emotional well‐being can vary, shift over time, and differ across emotional and cognitive dimensions of well‐being.”
From "I don't grieve as much as I used to": A qualitative study on parents of children with rare and undiagnosed conditions navigating grief in the context of uncertainty. (2025) · cites this paper as Diener et al., 2006
In the citing paper
“Recent psychological theories, including revisions to the hedonic treadmill model, suggest that individuals do not always return to a fixed baseline of well‐being after major life events (Diener et al., 2006).”
From "I don't grieve as much as I used to": A qualitative study on parents of children with rare and undiagnosed conditions navigating grief in the context of uncertainty. (2025) · cites this paper as Diener et al., 2006
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Evidence on the Bidirectional Relationship Between Health and Life Satisfaction in Older Adults
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BackgroundResultConcentration of critical events over the life course and life satisfaction later in life.Preprint
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The Prospects, Practices, and Prescriptions for the Pursuit of Happiness
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BackgroundLiu, X., Li, Y., & Gao, W. (2024) · Journal of Psychology in Africa · doi:10.1080/14330237.2024.2398871 · Cited by 14
“Additionally, extroverted individuals are more likely to experience higher levels of well-being, while introversion may be associated with negative emotions (Fujita, 1991; Lucas & Diener, 2009; Rusting & Larsen, 1997”
Family Resilience in a Psychological Perspective in Indonesia
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BackgroundWarsah, I., Chamami, M., Prastuti, E., Morganna, R., & Iqbal, M. (2023) · Psikohumaniora: Jurnal Penelitian Psikologi · doi:10.21580/pjpp.v8i1.13655 · Cited by 12
“SWB is based on the hedonic treadmill model with regard to how individuals adapt to events (Diener et al., 2006).”
BackgroundMethodWellbeing Consequences of Unemployment and Working with a Job Dissatisfaction in Turkey
Ugur, Z. (2023) · International Econometric Review · doi:10.33818/ier.1201608 · Cited by 12
“Studies show that people adapt to adverse life events to a large extent (Cummins, 2000; Diener et al., 2009), and we can expect individuals to get used to unemployment as well.”
BackgroundHow did the beginnings of the global COVID-19 pandemic affect mental well-being?
Levacher, J., Spinath, F. M., Becker, N., & Hahn, E. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0279753 · Cited by 17
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“Materialism leads adolescents to experience a hedonic treadmill because they are unhappy (Diener et al., 2006).”
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BackgroundWellbeing trajectories around life events in Australia
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“The attrition effect would be consistent with attraction, selection, attrition theory (e.g., Schneider 1987), while the adaptation effect is consistent with adaptation theory (e.g., Diener et al. 2006).”
MethodRepeated Bereavement Takes Its Toll on Subjective Well-Being
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ResultCar ownership and hedonic adaptation
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“…hand, the concept of the hedonic adaptation (or the hedonic treadmill) has been put forward in different contexts; see, for example, Perez-Truglia (2012) who develop an evolutionary explanation for hedonic adaptation, and see Diener et al. (2006) for an excellent summary of the relevant literature.”
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“Do wars influence both the affective component—negative and positive emotions—which tend to fluctuate (Frijda, 1999), and the more stable components—global life evaluation and meaning in life (Diener et al., 2006, 2013; Steger & Kashdan, 2007)?”
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“…1971; Lucas et al., 2003), and the Dynamic Equilibrium Model (Headey & Wearing, 1989), people maintain a relatively stable level of well-being, typically adapt back to within pre-existing levels, but differ in their individual setpoints and the degree to which they adapt (Diener et al., 2006).”
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“In sum, it seems that people ’ s affective systems tend to adapt (e.g., to being a millionaire or a paraplegic; for reviews see (Diener et al., 2006; Frederick and Loewenstein, 1999; Luhmann et al., 2012).”
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BackgroundŠkerlič, S., & Erčulj, V. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18052759 · Cited by 10
“However, this type of behavior may be the result by pressures from employers to make as many journeys as possible [6–13] and the conscious, adapted behavior of truck drivers to maximize earnings [8,9].”
BackgroundSrivastava, J., Kaushik, S., Tewari, M., & Shukla, H. (2021) · Indian Journal of Palliative Care · doi:10.4103/ijpc.ijpc_106_20 · Cited by 10
Perceived stress and well-being of Polish migrants in the UK after Brexit vote
Martynowska, K., Korulczyk, T., & Mamcarz, P. J. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0236168 · Cited by 14
Policy insights from the new science of well-being
Graham, C. L., & MacLennan, S. J. (2020) · Behavioral Science & Policy · doi:10.1177/237946152000600102 · Cited by 15
Stavrinou, L., Liouta, E., Boviatsis, E., Leonardos, A., Gatzonis, S., Stathis, P., Sakas, D., & Angelakis, E. (2019) · Clinical neurology and neurosurgery (Dutch-Flemish ed. Print) · doi:10.1016/j.clineuro.2019.105460 · Cited by 10
Hale, K., Østbye, T., Perera, B., Bradley, R., & Maselko, J. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph16162826 · Cited by 10
Chen, S. X., Hui, C. M., Ng, J. C. K., & Guan, Y. (2017) · Self and Identity · doi:10.1080/15298868.2017.1391874 · Cited by 12
The Relationship Between Reverse Mortgage Borrowing, Domain and Life Satisfaction
Loibl, C., Haurin, D. R., Brown, J. K., & Moulton, S. (2018) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/gby096 · Cited by 15
Enrique, Á., Bretón-López, J., Molinari, G., Roca, P., Llorca, G., Guillén, V., Fernández-Aranda, F., Baños, R., & Botella, C. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00934 · Cited by 10
Tóth, Á., Wisse, B. M., & Faragó, K. (2018) · Mentálhigiéné és Pszichoszomatika · doi:10.1556/0406.19.2018.004 · Cited by 12
The Relationship among Hedonistic Lifestyle, Life Satisfaction, and Happiness on College Students
Sholeh, A. (2017) · International journal of social sciences and humanities · doi:10.18178/ijssh.2017.v7.892 · Cited by 10
“Another opinion by Levan`s & Linda indicates that hedonistic lifestyle is a pattern of behavior that can be seen from the activities, interests and opinions which always emphasize on the pleasures of life [18].”
BackgroundLife satisfaction and Emotional Well‐Being: Psychological, Economic and Social Factors
Gärling, T., & Gamble, A. (2017) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118926352.ch25 · Cited by 11
Zuo, S., Wang, S., Wang, F., & Shi, X. (2017) · Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology · doi:10.1017/prp.2017.1 · Cited by 19
“In addition, although an expert is more likely than an ordinary person to think more often about such matters, it is still likely that some activities would be left out, as individuals’ perceptions of wellness are quite different (Diener et al., 2006).”
BackgroundThe distributional effects of adaption and anticipation to ill health on subjective wellbeing
Gupta, P., Mishra, T., O’Leary, N. C., & Parhi, M. (2015) · Economics Letters · doi:10.1016/j.econlet.2015.09.010 · Cited by 12
The Structure of Workaholism and Types of Workaholic
Malinowska, D., & Tokarz, A. (2014) · Polish Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.2478/ppb-2014-0027 · Cited by 12
“Moreover, Diener, Lucas, and Scollon (2006) confirmed that persons with diagnosed pathologies score low on satisfaction with life, as measured by the SWLS.”
BackgroundPaternal involvement elevates trajectories of life satisfaction during transition to parenthood
Agache, A., Leyendecker, B., Schäfermeier, E., & Schölmerich, A. (2013) · European Journal of Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1080/17405629.2013.851025 · Cited by 15
Increasing happiness through conversations with artificial intelligence
Heffner, J., Qin, C., Chadwick, M., Knutsen, C., Summerfield, C., Kurth-Nelson, Z., & Rutledge, R. B. (2025) · arXiv · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2504.02091 · Cited by 10
“Measuring and influencing long-term well-being presents additional challenges, such as the tendency for individuals to return to allostatic setpoints after interventions 68 (although see Diener et al., 69 ).”
Utz, S., & Maaß, C. H. (2018) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.08.021 · Cited by 9
The Influence of Major Life Events and Personality Traits on the Stability of Affective Well-Being
Hentschel, S., Eid, M., & Kutscher, T. (2016) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-016-9744-y · Cited by 9
Hu, M.-J., Chen, G., & Li, Z.-J. (2025) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su17020410 · Cited by 9
“Based on the adaptation theory, Diener et al. believe that people will adapt to the new living environment, and environmental changes caused by carbon emissions may affect subjective welfare in the short term, but in the long run, this impact may be offset by the adaptation process [84].”
Consciousness makes sense in the light of evolution
Grinde, B. (2024) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105824 · Cited by 17
“The concept of a ‘mood set point ’ (Diener et al., 2006) suggests we are always somewhere on a scale from positive to negative feelings, whether we recognize the activity of the mood-generating modules or not.”
BackgroundMorris, E. A. (2023) · Wellbeing, Space and Society · doi:10.1016/j.wss.2023.100135 · Cited by 9
Dietary Liberalization in Tetrahydrobiopterin-Treated PKU Patients: Does It Improve Outcomes?
Evers, R., van Wegberg, A. V., Macdonald, A., Huijbregts, S., Leuzzi, V., & van Spronsen, F. V. (2022) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu14183874 · Cited by 9
“, the psychological phenomenon describing the relative stability of someone’s happiness, irrespective of both positive and negative life events [43].”
BackgroundKARDAŞ, F., Eşkısu, M., Çam, Z., & TAYTAŞ, M. (2022) · International Journal of Psychology and Educational Studies · doi:10.52380/ijpes.2022.9.3.626 · Cited by 12
“Diener et al. (2009) indicated that the ability of the individual to adapt to the situation when faced with obstacles and difficulties also plays an important role in building grit.”
BackgroundHolliman, A. J., Cheng, F., & Waldeck, D. (2022) · International Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.17583/ijep.8880 · Cited by 14
“According to the adaptation theory of well-being (Diener et al., 2006), individuals may adopt different strategies to adapt and exhibit distinct ways of expressing their adaptability.”
Dumludag, D., & Gokdemir, O. (2021) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-021-00453-7 · Cited by 9
“By assuming hypothetical reference groups in terms of observable criteria like age, educational level, income 5 (See Fredrick and Loewenstein, 1999, Diener, Lucas, and Scollon, 2009, for a review).”
BackgroundIsengard, B., & König, R. (2020) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-020-02546-x · Cited by 13
Ford, M. E., & Smith, P. R. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108869164 · Cited by 14
Ahuja, N. J., Nguyen, A., Winter, S. J., Freeman, M., Shi, R., Espinosa, P. R., & Heaney, C. A. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17197228 · Cited by 10
“Diener, Lucas, and Scollon discuss theories that rely on the concept of adaptation to changing situations and conditions [11].”
BackgroundQuality of Life and Life Satisfaction in Young Adults of Primary Congenital Glaucoma.
Gothwal, V. K., & Mandal, A. (2020) · Ophthalmology Glaucoma · doi:10.1016/j.ogla.2020.09.015 · Cited by 9
Psychometric assessment of the Persian translation of the EPOCH measure among adolescent girls
Taheri, A., Pourshahriari, M., Abdollahi, A., & Hosseinian, S. (2020) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-020-01013-7 · Cited by 9
Thomas, J., Shehhi, A. A., & Grey, I. M. (2019) · Journal of Contemporary Religion · doi:10.1080/13537903.2019.1658937 · Cited by 12
“In part, this pattern seems analogous to the idea of the ‘hedonic treadmill’, according to which an event gives rise to positive affect before a rapid return to a hypothesised hedonic set point (Diener, Lucas, and Scollon 2006).”
ResultTrajectories of Current and Predicted Satisfaction With One’s Life Following a Cancer Diagnosis
Ellis, E. M., Nelson, W. L., & Ferrer, R. A. (2019) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1093/abm/kay025 · Cited by 9
“This is consistent with the disability paradox, several adaptation theories [20], including set-point theory [7] and hedonic adaptation [12], as well as evidence of post-traumatic growth [21, 22].”
ResultFernández, M. E., Damme, L. V., Pauw, S. S. W. D., Costa-Ball, D., Daset, L. R., & Vanderplasschen, W. (2018) · Revista Latinoamericana de Psicopatologia Fundamental · doi:10.1590/1415-4714.2018v21n3p486.5 · Cited by 9
Relationship tensions and mood: Adult children's daily experience of aging parents' stubbornness
Heid, A. R., Kim, K., Zarit, S. H., Birditt, K. S., & Fingerman, K. L. (2018) · Personal Relationships · doi:10.1111/pere.12229 · Cited by 8
Realo, A., Johannson, J., & Schmidt, M. (2017) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-016-9769-2 · Cited by 9
“This confirms earlier findings by Diener et al. (2006), who showed that the various components of SWB exhibit differential stability, and that long-term levels of NA appear to be more stable than long-term levels of PA.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialAdlerian-Based Positive Group Counseling Interventions with Emotionally Troubled Youth
Hamm, J. S., Carlson, J. F., & Ergüner-Tekinalp, B. (2016) · The Journal of Individual Psychology · doi:10.1353/jip.2016.0021 · Cited by 13
Effectiveness of rhythmic movement therapy: Case study of subjective well-being
Malkina-Pykh, I. G. (2014) · Body Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy · doi:10.1080/17432979.2014.977822 · Cited by 8
Childhood in the shadow of war: filled with work and play
Paksuniemi, M., Määttä, K., & Uusiautti, S. (2015) · Children s Geographies · doi:10.1080/14733285.2013.828452 · Cited by 9
Adapting boundary preferences to match reality of hybrid work: A latent change score analysis☆
Wan, M., Carlson, D. S., Perry, S. J., Thompson, M. J., Zhang, Y., & Kacmar, K. M. (2025) · Journal of Vocational Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2025.104089 · Cited by 11
Metadata
- Authors
- Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., & Scollon, C. N.
- Affiliations
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
- Michigan State University (US)
- Singapore Management University (SG)
- Venue
- American Psychologist
- Published
- 2006-05
- Volume
- 61
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 305-314
- ISSN
- 0003-066X (ISSN-L)
- 1935-990X
- OpenAlex
- W2052283723
- Cited by
- 1,946
- References
- 71
- Citations by year
- 2026: 82 · 2025: 98 · 2024: 99 · 2023: 129 · 2022: 123 · 2021: 99 · 2020: 155 · 2019: 85 · 2018: 95 · 2017: 96 · 2016: 89 · 2015: 126 · 2014: 107 · 2013: 102 · 2012: 124
- FWCI
- 75.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Psychologist (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Singapore Management University Institutional Knowledge (InK) (Singapore Management University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- hedonic treadmill, adaptation theory, well-being, life satisfaction, emotions, temperament, individual differences, happiness policy, subjective well-being
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Happiness, Humans, Psychological Theory, Quality of Life
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