ERIC Number: EJ815300
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Jan
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0303-8300
EISSN: N/A
Three Ways to Be Happy: Pleasure, Engagement, and Meaning--Findings from Australian and US Samples
Vella-Brodrick, Dianne A.; Park, Nansook; Peterson, Christopher
Social Indicators Research, v90 n2 p165-179 Jan 2009
This study examined the contributions of orientations to happiness (pleasure, engagement and meaning) to subjective well-being. A sample of 12,622 adults from the United States completed on-line surveys measuring orientations to happiness, positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction. A sample of 332 adults from Australia also completed these surveys as well as a measure of the big five factor personality traits. Hierarchical regressions generally supported the hypothesis that the three orientations to happiness predict subjective well-being (satisfaction with life, positive affect and negative affect) beyond sociodemographic variables and personality. Meaning and engagement explained the greatest variance in all three components of subjective well-being. Overall, these findings support the importance of a eudaimonic approach in addition to the hedonic approach to achieving happiness. Moreover, findings were relatively consistent in both the Australian and US samples.
Descriptors: Personality Traits, Life Satisfaction, Well Being, Foreign Countries, Psychological Patterns, Social Indicators, Adults, Surveys, Attitudes, Computer Assisted Testing
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia; United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A