Choices Which Change Life Satisfaction – Revising SWB Theory to Account for Change

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Headey, Bruce W. Muffels, Ruud J. A. Wagner, Gert G.
Copyright Year	2010
Abstract	Using data from the long-running German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) 1984-2008, this paper analyses the effects of individual preferences and choices on subjective well-being (SWB). It is shown that preferences and choices relating to life goals/values, partner's personality, hours of work, social participation and healthy lifestyle all have substantial effects on life satisfaction. The results have negative implications for the still dominant theory of SWB, set-point theory. This theory holds that adult SWB does not change in the medium or long term, although temporary fluctuations occur due to specific life events. Set-point theory has come under increasing criticism in recent years, primarily due to unmistakable evidence in SOEP that, during the last 25 years, up to a third of the population has recorded substantial and apparently permanent changes in life satisfaction. It is becoming clear that the main challenge now for SWB researchers is to develop a new theory which can account for medium and long term change, and not merely stability in SWB. Set-point theory is limited precisely because it is purely a theory of stability. The paper is based on a specially constructed SOEP file in which data are divided into five 5-year periods in order to facilitate analysis of medium term change.
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
DOI	10.2139/ssrn.1974454
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/36715/1/627496865.pdf
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/36874/1/626938554.pdf
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1974454
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article