Psychological Wellbeing Model
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1989, Vol. 57, No. 6,1069-1081
Copyright 1989 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0022-3514/89/SOO. 75
Happiness Is Everything, or Is It? Explorations on the Meaning of Psychological Well-Being
Carol D. Ryff University of Wisconsin—Madison
Reigning measures of psychological well-being have little theoretical grounding, despite an extensive literature on the contours of positive functioning. Aspects of well-being derived from this literature (i.e., self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth) were operationalized. Three hundred and twenty-one men and women, divided among young, middle-aged, and older adults, rated themselves on these measures along with six instruments prominent in earlier studies (i.e., affect balance, life satisfaction, self-esteem, morale, locus of control, depression). Results revealed that positive relations with others, autonomy, purpose in life, and personal growth were not strongly tied to prior assessment indexes, thereby supporting the claim that key aspects of positive functioning have not been represented in the empirical arena. Furthermore, age profiles revealed a more differentiated pattern of well-being than is evident in prior research.
The question of who in American society is happy has been extensively probed by survey researchers (e.g., Campbell, 1981; Herzog, Rodgers, & Woodworth, 1982; Veroff, Douvan, & Kulka, 1981). Recently, social psychologists have become interested in factors that influence people's judgments about wellbeing, such as their mood states at the time of assessment (Schwarz & Clore, 1983) or whether their judgments are based on the frequency or intensity of positive feeling states (Diener, Larson, Levine, & Emmons, 1985). On a more general level, increased interest in the study of psychological well-being follows from the recognition that the field of psychology, since
Copyright 1989 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0022-3514/89/SOO. 75
Happiness Is Everything, or Is It? Explorations on the Meaning of Psychological Well-Being
Carol D. Ryff University of Wisconsin—Madison
Reigning measures of psychological well-being have little theoretical grounding, despite an extensive literature on the contours of positive functioning. Aspects of well-being derived from this literature (i.e., self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth) were operationalized. Three hundred and twenty-one men and women, divided among young, middle-aged, and older adults, rated themselves on these measures along with six instruments prominent in earlier studies (i.e., affect balance, life satisfaction, self-esteem, morale, locus of control, depression). Results revealed that positive relations with others, autonomy, purpose in life, and personal growth were not strongly tied to prior assessment indexes, thereby supporting the claim that key aspects of positive functioning have not been represented in the empirical arena. Furthermore, age profiles revealed a more differentiated pattern of well-being than is evident in prior research.
The question of who in American society is happy has been extensively probed by survey researchers (e.g., Campbell, 1981; Herzog, Rodgers, & Woodworth, 1982; Veroff, Douvan, & Kulka, 1981). Recently, social psychologists have become interested in factors that influence people's judgments about wellbeing, such as their mood states at the time of assessment (Schwarz & Clore, 1983) or whether their judgments are based on the frequency or intensity of positive feeling states (Diener, Larson, Levine, & Emmons, 1985). On a more general level, increased interest in the study of psychological well-being follows from the recognition that the field of psychology, since