Overview and Theories of Well-being
- Well-being refers to what is intrinsically valuable for a person.
- It can be positive or negative.
- Subjective well-being is measured through questionnaires.
- Well-being is a variable that ranges from none to a high degree.
- Environmental unwellbeing is a term used to understand the impact of environmental variables on well-being.
- Well-being theories include hedonistic, desire, and objective list theories.
- Hedonistic theories equate well-being with pleasure over pain.
- Desire theories state that well-being depends on desire-satisfaction.
- Objective list theories consider a variety of objective goods.
- Counterexamples challenge hedonistic theories.
Scientific Approaches and Factors Influencing Well-being
- Developmental psychology analyzes psychological well-being across the lifespan.
- Personality psychology applies concepts like self-actualization and individuation to explain well-being.
- Clinical psychology considers biological, psychological, and social needs for well-being.
- Corey Keyes' five-component model includes factors like social integration and social acceptance.
- Psychological well-being can be understood by distinguishing positive and negative effects and emphasizing life satisfaction.
- Well-being is influenced by endogenous molecules like dopamine and serotonin.
- Well-being markers play a role in regulating an organism's metabolism.
- Positive psychology explores factors contributing to well-being, such as positive emotions and meaningful relationships.
- Economic well-being can impact emotional well-being.
- Well-being is linked to factors like health, virtue, knowledge, and desire fulfillment.
Relationship between Well-being and Ethics
- Well-being plays a central role in ethics.
- Welfarism asserts that there are no other values besides well-being.
- Well-being, pleasure, and happiness have overlapping meanings but may differ in technical contexts.
- Theories of well-being aim to determine essential elements of well-being.
- Well-being theories face challenges in explaining common-sense misalignments and selecting relevant factors.
Models and Components of Well-being
- Many different models have been developed.
- Causal network models explain increases in well-being or ill-being.
- Causal network theories have been applied to depression and digital technology.
- Network approaches have been applied to mental health.
- Diener's tripartite model of subjective well-being includes positive affect, negative affect, and cognitive evaluations.
- Positive psychology focuses on eudaimonia, the good life.
- The good life involves living a happy, engaged, and meaningful life.
- Seligman's PERMA theory includes positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishments.
- The biopsychosocial model replaces the biomedical model.
- It emphasizes modifiable components for well-being.
UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) Definition and Welfarism
- The ONS defines well-being based on 10 dimensions that matter most to people in the UK.
- These dimensions include the natural environment, personal well-being, relationships, health, and what we do.
- Where we live, personal finance, the economy, education and skills, and governance are also important dimensions.
- Personal well-being includes satisfaction with life, sense of worth, and emotional experiences.
- The ONS introduced questions on well-being in their national survey.
- Welfarism is a theory of value based on well-being.
- Well-being is seen as the only thing that has intrinsic value.
- Different versions of welfarism offer different interpretations of the relation between well-being and value.
- Pure welfarists believe that overall well-being is the only thing that matters.
Well-being Data Sources
| Reference | URL |
|---|---|
| Glossary | https://www.alternix.com/blogs/glossary-of-terms/well-being |
| Wikipedia | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Well-being |
| Wikidata | https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7981051 |
| Knowledge Graph | https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/0g58c3f |
