Choices Which Change Life Satisfaction: Similar Results for Australia, Britain and Germany

Autor/inn/en	Headey, Bruce; Muffels, Ruud; Wagner, Gert G.
Titel	Choices Which Change Life Satisfaction: Similar Results for Australia, Britain and Germany
Quelle	In: Social Indicators Research, 112 (2013) 3, S.725-748 (24 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0303-8300
DOI	10.1007/s11205-012-0079-8
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Working Hours; Life Satisfaction; Well Being; Preferences; Values; Interpersonal Relationship; Adults; Behavior Theories; Social Indicators; Measurement; Sociometric Techniques; Social Influences; Socioeconomic Influences; Quality of Life; Research Problems; Psychometrics; Comparative Analysis; Surveys; Statistical Analysis; Cross Cultural Studies; Life Style; Social Life; Attitude Change; Australia; Germany; United Kingdom + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Hours of work; Arbeitszeit; Lebensvollendung; Well-being; Wellness; Wohlbefinden; Wertbegriff; Interpersonal relation; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonelle Beziehung; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung; Social indicator; Sozialer Indikator; Messverfahren; Soziometrie; Sozialer Einfluss; Sozioökonomischer Faktor; Lebensqualität; Forschungskritik; Psychometry; Psychometrie; Survey; Umfrage; Befragung; Statistische Analyse; Cultural comparison; Kulturvergleich; Lebensstil; Soziales Leben; Attitudinal change; Einstellungsänderung; Australien; Deutschland; Großbritannien
Abstract	Using data from national socio-economic panel surveys in Australia, Britain and Germany, this paper analyzes the effects of individual preferences and choices on subjective well-being (SWB). It is shown that, in all three countries, preferences and choices relating to life goals/values, partner's personality, hours of work, social participation and healthy lifestyle have substantial and similar effects on life satisfaction. The results have negative implications for a widely accepted theory of SWB, "set-point theory." This theory holds that adult SWB is stable in the medium and long term, although temporary fluctuations occur due to life events. Set-point theory has come under increasing criticism in recent years, primarily due to unmistakable evidence in the German Socio-Economic Panel that, during the last 25 years, over a third of the population has recorded substantial and apparently permanent changes in life satisfaction (Fujita and Diener in "J Pers Soc Psychol" 88:158-64, 2005; Headey in "Soc Indic Res" 85:389-403, 2008a; Headey et al. in "Proc Natl Acad Sci USA" 107(42):17922-17926, 2010). It is becoming clear that the main challenge now for SWB researchers is to develop new explanations 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 specially constructed panel survey files in which data are divided into multi-year periods in order to facilitate analysis of medium and long term change. (As Provided).
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Update	2017/4/10