Adaptation and the Set-Point Model of Subjective Well-Being: Does Happiness Change After Major Life Events?
Abstract
Hedonic adaptation refers to the process by which individuals return to baseline levels of happiness following a change in life circumstances. Dominant models of subjective well-being (SWB) suggest that people can adapt to almost any life event and that happiness levels fluctuate around a biologically determined set point that rarely changes. Recent evidence from large-scale panel studies challenges aspects of this conclusion. Although inborn factors certainly matter and some adaptation does occur, events such as divorce, death of a spouse, unemployment, and disability are associated with lasting changes in SWB. These recent studies also show that there are considerable individual differences in the extent to which people adapt. Thus, happiness levels do change, and adaptation is not inevitable.
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Levels of happiness show both long-term and short-term shifts.
“Yet studies have documented both long- and short-term shifts in levels of happiness (Lucas, 2007; Luo & Inoue, 2000).”
From What's love got to do with it? Social functioning, perceived health, and daily happiness in married octogenarians (2010) · cites this paper as Lucas, 2007
Change in response to life events is often non-linear or discontinuous.
“research on change in other personality-relevant characteristics such as subjective well-being (e.g., Lucas, 2007; Luhmann et al., 2012) or self-esteem (Bleidorn et al., 2016; Chung, Robins, Trzesniewski, Noftle, Roberts, & Widaman, 2013) has shown that change in response to life events is often non-linear or discontinuous.”
From Life Events and Personality Trait Change. (2018) · cites this paper as Lucas, 2007
Unemployment has been consistently shown to have a strong and relatively persistent negative effect on well-being.
“Unemployment has been consistently shown to have a strong and relatively persistent negative effect on well-being (e.g., Lucas, 2007; Luhmann et al., 2012).”
From Life Events and Personality Trait Change. (2018) · cites this paper as Lucas, 2007
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- Authors
- Lucas, R. E.
- Affiliations
- German Institute for Economic Research (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Lucas, Richard E.
- ORCID
- Lucas, Richard E.
- Venue
- Current Directions in Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2007-04
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 75-79
- ISSN
- 0963-7214 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-8721
- OpenAlex
- W2036937524
- Cited by
- 815
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 56 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 47 · 2022: 66 · 2021: 56 · 2020: 54 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 76 · 2017: 47 · 2016: 41 · 2015: 40 · 2014: 43 · 2013: 29 · 2012: 39
- FWCI
- 35.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Current Directions in Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
- Keywords
- hedonic adaptation, subjective well-being, happiness, life events, living conditions, divorce, widowhood, unemployment, disability
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