Making a Life Worth Living: Neural Correlates of Well-Being
Abstract
Despite the vast literature that has implicated asymmetric activation of the prefrontal cortex in approach-withdrawal motivation and emotion, no published reports have directly explored the neural correlates of well-being. Eighty-four right-handed adults (ages 57–60) completed self-report measures of eudaimonic well-being, hedonic well-being, and positive affect prior to resting electroencephalography. As hypothesized, greater left than right superior frontal activation was associated with higher levels of both forms of well-being. Hemisphere-specific analyses documented the importance of goal-directed approach tendencies beyond those captured by approach-related positive affect for eudaimonic but not for hedonic well-being. Appropriately engaging sources of appetitive motivation, characteristic of higher left than right baseline levels of prefrontal activation, may encourage the experience of well-being.
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Contemporary psychological research distinguishes between eudaimonic and hedonic well-being, with empirical studies demonstrating long-term benefits of eudaimonic pursuits and sometimes detrimental effects of hedonic pursuits.
“Contemporary psychological research has continued to distinguish between eudaimonic well-being and hedonic well-being, (e.g., refs. 3 and 4), with empirical studies demonstrating the long-term benefits of eudaimonic pursuits and the sometimes detrimental effects of hedonic pursuits (e.g., ref. 5).”
From Neural sensitivity to eudaimonic and hedonic rewards differentially predict adolescent depressive symptoms over time (2014) · cites this paper as [3]
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- Authors
- Urry, H. L., Nitschke, J. B., Dolski, I., Jackson, D. C., Dalton, K. M., Mueller, C. J., Rosenkranz, M. A., Ryff, C. D., Singer, B. H., & Davidson, R. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Princeton University (US)
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2004-06
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 367-372
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- OpenAlex
- W2155706205
- Cited by
- 576
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 58 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 34 · 2014: 39 · 2013: 34 · 2012: 39
- FWCI
- 20.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (P50 MH61083, P50MH061083, T32MH18931, P50-MH 52354, P50MH052354, MH 43454, K08MH063984, K08-MH63984, T32MH018931)
- National Center for Research Resources (M01RR003186, M01 RR-03186)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- eudaimonic well-being, hedonic well-being, positive affect, prefrontal cortex, superior frontal cortex, hemispheric lateralization, approach motivation, appetitive motivation, goal-directed behavior, older adults
- MeSH terms
- Attitude, Brain, Electrocardiography, Emotions, Humans, Life Change Events, Middle Aged, Motivation, Prefrontal Cortex
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.
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