The Secret to Happiness

By David B. Bohl | June 21, 2007 | No Responses Yet

Subjective Well-being: an individuals evaluation of their current happiness, this coming from the study “A Global Projection of Subjective Well Being: A Challenge to Positive Psychology?” Subjective well being includes the sense of satisfaction that you feel, lack of depression and positive moods and emotions. Some countries with high subjective well being are: Denmark, Switzerland, and Austria. Some countries with low subjective well being are: Armenia, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe.

The University of Leicester School of Psychology has published a World Map of Happiness.

Specifically, the study, A Global Projection of Subjective Well-being: A Challenge to Positive Psychology?, attempts to measure subjective well-being (SWB).

What is SWB? Simply stated, subjective well-being is an individual’s current evaluation of his or her happiness. It includes:

The sense of satisfaction one feels with one’s life, both in general and in specific areas, such as relationships, health and work.
Lack of depression and anxiety.
Positive moods and emotions.

Temporary mood states have only a marginal effect on SWB, while long-term changes and situational factors have a significant effect on SWB.

Click to enlarge.

Here are the countries with the highest 25 SWBs:

And the countries with the lowest 10 SWBs:

What’s the secret to happiness (or maintaining a high subjective well-being)?

Attitude. It’s all in the way you look at things.

People with high SWB not only experience more positive things, but they also seem to perceive things more positively than do people who are low in SWB.