What is Well-being?

By Jovina Ang

SMU Office of Research & Tech Transfer – What is well-being?

Some people might say well-being is about feeling happy.

Others might say well-being is about having life satisfaction or even having meaning in life.

When asked what well-being is, Associate Professor of Psychology and Deputy Director of Centre for Research on Successful Ageing William Tov told the Office of Research & Tech Transfer, “Well-being is essentially the different ways by which we evaluate and experience life positively.”

He continued, “Well-being is a topic that simply cannot be ignored. Happiness. Health. Productivity. Longevity… are some benefits of well-being.”

“Furthermore, the research on well-being has exploded in the past few decades. There are over 55,000 journal papers published annually on this topic alone. You can find research on well-being not only in psychology journals, but also in journals from a variety of disciplines including Biology, Medicine, Sociology and Economics. And no researcher to-date has consolidated all these findings,” he added.

“Perhaps this is the reason why the textbooks that professors use to teach well-being are far from adequate. All the textbooks we reviewed only partially cover the topic of well-being. This is such a missed opportunity. Students are our future leaders. Given the state of mental health and the high stress levels across the world, it’s important that our future leaders understand what well-being is and how they can optimally achieve it,” he went on.

The research

To obtain a comprehensive view of what the research says about well-being, Professor Tov collaborated with four well-being experts from across the world: Associate Professor Derrick Wirtz of the University of British Columbia; Assistant Professor Kostadin Kushlev of Georgetown University; Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener of Portland State University; and the late Professor Ed Diener, who was called the world’s expert on happiness and well-being.

Between the group, over 600 academic papers and 12 books have been published, garnering more than 250,000 citations.

To embark on the research, the team first defined the list of topics related to well-being.

They then selected evidence-based research from psychology journals and journals of other disciplines. Specifically, they selected research that had been replicated in laboratories, and which leveraged different methods and samples from across the world.

Where possible, the research team looked at research using a meta-analytical method. Meta-analysis is a research methodology that systematically consolidates the results of previous research to derive conclusions.

Well-being unplugged

Professor Tov and his collaborators found eight important findings about well-being.

1. Well-Being Is More Than Feeling Happy

Well-being is not only about feeling happy, but it is also about being satisfied with life and having meaning and purpose. Because our daily life consists of positive and negative emotions, achieving well-being does not mean completely eliminating negative emotions; rather, it is about how you move forward from the negative emotions.

2. Well-Being Research is Credible

Whether the research is self-reported or non-self-reported (e.g., research based on input from others or observations), there is consistency between the two types of research.

3. Money Affects Well-Being but Only to a Certain Point

Well-being in richer nations tend to be higher than well-being in poorer nations. However, money affects well-being up to a certain point, at which point it tends to taper off.

Additionally, how you spend money can affect your well-being. For example, spending money on others can enhance how you feel positively about yourself, which in turn, enhances well-being.

4. Social Relationships are Critical for Well-Being

As human beings, we are wired to connect. This explains why social relationships, especially supportive relationships, are positively correlated to well-being.

5. Well-Being is Influenced by Genes and Personality

Our genes can influence our well-being. Identical twins who have been living apart have been found to have similar levels of well-being. Additionally, people who are extraverted and less neurotic have higher levels of well-being.

6. Well-Being is Affected by the Circumstances We Experience

New good things such as a promotion, can make us feel more positively whereas new bad things such as a divorce, make us feel more negatively.

That said, over time, these feelings wear off – which suggests that we adapt and go back to our baseline level of well-being. But this does not always happen so quickly, which means our experiences can impact our well-being substantially.

7. Well-Being is Influenced by Society and Culture

The social conditions of where we live can influence our level of well-being. For example, high levels of well-being have been found in countries where there are stronger income redistribution policies, of which an example is Denmark.

There is also a close fit between our individual culture and our environment. If you are a religious person, your well-being will be higher if you live in a religious country.

8. Many Benefits of Well-Being

There are many benefits associated with well-being. Some of these benefits include health, longevity, work engagement and career success, and better relationships.

Implications of research

When asked about a key takeaway from the research, Professor Tov replied: “Invest in your well-being. Well-being, like your career or your health, is something that you need to invest in. Time and time again, it has been shown that when well-being is high, you are happier and more productive. You also have better health and a longer lifespan.”

“As for myself, I’ve been very intentional about investing in my well-being. One example that I want to share is: every weekend, I make it a point to spend time with my family – whether this is having a meal at a restaurant or showing my 8-year-old daughter how to ride a bike. Another thing that I am very intentional about is – injecting humour in everything I do. I’ve found humour to help me process negative experiences and appreciate the good ones,” he shared.

“I also have one more important thing to say. Around the world, governments have increasingly realised that if they only focus on objective indicators like GDP growth and life expectancy – they are not fully capturing the quality of life as their citizens experience it. Well-being indicators can help fill in this gap and well-being literacy is an important skill for everyone to have,” he added. 

To read about Professor Tov’s research, please click on this link.

Back to Research@SMU February 2023 Issue