Literature Review

A considerable amount of research has been carried out using various methodological strategies to
identify the factors that affect life satisfaction. The bottom-up theory posits that overall life satisfaction
is influenced by different domains of life satisfaction, while the top-down theory suggests that these
areas of life satisfaction are shaped by dispositional variables like personality traits. We investigated
these models in a comprehensive survey conducted in the United Kingdom. In line with previous studies,
our findings indicate that both the bottom-up and top-down frameworks regarding life satisfaction are
validated in the United Kingdom, as evidenced by the fact that demographics, specific life satisfaction
domains, and personality traits account for a notable portion of the variance in overall life satisfaction.

The current research aims to investigate whether high satisfaction levels result from (1) genuinely
satisfactory quality of life (i.e., stabilized life satisfaction) or (2) adopting a more positive view of one’s
quality of life by lowering expectations (i.e., resigned life satisfaction), and how these are related to
varying levels of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) in comparison to each other and to
individuals who are dissatisfied. Method: A group of 104 adults participated in an online survey, which
included assessments of stabilized and resigned life satisfaction, as well as PA, NA, and overall life
satisfaction (i.e., without specific consideration of variations in standards). Participants did not receive
financial compensation for their involvement but were offered feedback on the study's results if they
expressed interest. Stabilized life satisfaction and overall life satisfaction exhibited highly similar
correlation patterns with positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Resigned satisfaction had a
negative relationship with PA and a positive correlation with NA. Individuals who reported stabilized and
resigned satisfaction showed more favorable levels of PA and NA compared to those who were
dissatisfied, yet did not differ from each other in their PA and NA levels. While the correlation pattern
with PA and NA was less favorable, adopting a resigned form of satisfaction (i.e., adopting a more
positive perspective of one's quality of life by lowering personal standards) appeared to help individuals
avoid experiencing the high levels of NA that dissatisfied individuals did.

Recent developments in the assessment of well-being have raised the scientific standards and rigor
involved in methods used for national and international comparisons of well-being. A significant trend in
this area has been the move towards multidimensional approaches rather than depending solely on
traditional metrics like singular measures (e.g., happiness, life satisfaction) or economic indicators (e.g.,
GDP).

According to widely accepted Whole Life Satisfaction theories regarding happiness, an individual
experiences happiness when she believes her life meets her ideal life plan. Recently, Fred Feldman
contended that these perspectives fail to account for the happiness of spontaneous or preoccupied
individuals who do not reflect on how well their lives are progressing. In this paper, I present a new
Whole Life Satisfaction theory that addresses this objection. My suggestion is influenced by Michael
Smith’s advice-model of desirability. According to it, an agent is happy when a more informed and
rational hypothetical version of her would judge that the agent’s actual life matches the best life-plan
for her. I will argue that my new Whole Life Satisfaction theory is a flexible model that canavoid many of
the problems besetting previous theories of happiness.
Nations are considering and adopting national accounts of subjective well-being. Measures of life
satisfaction must be psychometrically robust in order to be useful for policy discussions. Life satisfaction
measurements' validity, reliability, and sensitivity to change are examined. Although the scales are
sensitive to shifts in people's lives, they remain stable in static environments. The following data types
show that the scales accurately reflect the quality of respondents' lives: (1) variations in life satisfaction
between countries linked to variations in objective conditions; (2) variations among groups living in
various situations; (3) correlations with nonself-report life satisfaction measures; (4) genetic and
physiological associations with life satisfaction; (5) systematic patterns of change in the scales prior to,
during, and following major life events; and (6) prediction of future behaviors, including suicide, based
on life satisfaction scores. Factors like question sequence, present mood, and presentation style can
affect the life satisfaction scores, but these are usually controllable. Attention, values, norms, and top-
down impacts are important, according to our model of life satisfaction ratings. Despite the scales' value
in individual well-being research, additional study and research are needed to address some policy
questions, such as which subjective well-being measures are most pertinent to which policy types, how
standards affect scores, and how to best link the scores to ongoing policy discussions.

In order to predict the affective (hedonic balance) and cognitive (life satisfaction) components of
subjective well-being (SWB), the authors looked at how personality and cultural characteristics interact.
They hypothesized that hedonic balance mediates the impact of personality on life happiness and that
culture moderates the relationship between hedonic balance and life satisfaction. They therefore
hypothesized that culture also moderates the impact of personality on life happiness. Measures of
extraversion, neuroticism, hedonic balance, and life satisfaction were completed by participants from
three collectivistic cultures (Japan, Mexico, and Ghana) and two individualistic cultures (the United
States and Germany). Hedonic balance was a higher predictor of life satisfaction in individualistic
cultures than in collectivistic ones, and extraversion and neuroticism had the similar effect on it across
all cultures, as expected. Hedonic balancing played a major role in mediating the relationship between
neuroticism and extraversion and life happiness. According to the findings, personality has a pancultural
impact on SWB's emotional component while exerting a culturally regulated influence on its cognitive
component.

For a sample of Americans, the impacts of personal characteristics, neighborhood setting, and
neighborhood social comparison on self-reported life happiness are investigated. Our hypothesis is that
neighborhoods are significant social settings where people find fulfillment in their lives. According to the
individual-level model of life satisfaction, the findings support earlier studies showing that marital
status, age, education, and health all have an impact on satisfaction. People who live in high-cost
neighborhoods are less content than those who live in rural areas, according to the effects of
neighborhood context and social comparison processes. Individuals who earn less than the norm for
their neighborhood could be less content.

The notion that happiness might be defined as "content with life as a whole" has fascinated
philosophers and others. According to this theory, a person must be content with their life overall in
order to be happy. Although the viewpoint has been developed in a number of ways, it has always been
met with strong opposition. Jussi Suikkanen presented what he believed to be an enhanced and novel
version of Whole Life Satisfactionism in an article that was published in the International Journal of
Wellbeing, volume 1, number 1. He attempted to demonstrate that the theory overcomes the criticisms
I have made elsewhere in his formulation. After outlining the environment in which Suikkanen's
suggestion occurs, I explain what I believe to be the main idea of Suikkanen's work in this paper. I bring
up a few obscurities. I attempt to demonstrate that the suggested viewpoint is still susceptible to
criticisms akin to those already found in the literature, regardless of how these obscurities are
addressed.

This research evaluates the association between religious practice and life happiness using data from
the German Socio-Economic Panel Survey. It has been demonstrated that while people who become less
religious experience long-term losses in life satisfaction, those who become more religious over time
report long-term gains. Both in fixed effects panel models and when personality traits are taken into
account, this conclusion remains valid. The study has important ramifications for set-point theory, the
paradigm theory currently used in SWB research. According to this view, adult people's long-term SWB
is constant since it is influenced by stable hereditary elements and personality features. It is challenging
to reconcile the set-point theory with the new findings presented in this work about the impact of
actively chosen life goals, including religious ones, on SWB. It is more consistent with the premise of real
happiness.

The purpose of this theoretical paper is to present a novel conceptual framework for comprehending
and improving the social-emotional development (SED) of children and adolescents. In order to
categorize the fundamental aspects of SED, we first develop a taxonomy and argue for its significance.
We then provide our developmental approach to the study of SED and explain why it is necessary to
systematically link developmental theory and research with the application of social-emotional
assessment instruments. As an example of a technique that allows children, teachers, and caregivers to
report on aspects of SED, we briefly discuss the holistic student assessment (HSA). Individual, classroom,
and school-wide SED profiles are created by the HSA. We will also talk about how these profiles can be
used to guide the planning of interventions and the application of developmentally appropriate tactics
to support SED and address psychopathology. As we make the case for a renewed emphasis on the
"whole kid" and a broader understanding of educational attainment, we close with thoughts on how our
developmental approach to comprehending and evaluating SED connects to Bildung-Psychology.

The role of Differential Emotions Theory (DET) as a theoretical framework for emotional development
throughout life is explained in this chapter. Up until 1984, the majority of studies that used DET as a
study paradigm were mostly on early development-related topics. Given this description of emotions, it
follows that a principle that affirms the continuity of emotion feelings and expressions throughout life is
the most appropriate way to describe older adults' quality of life. This has confirmed that the emotional
aspect of awareness and experience is what gives personal connections and life depth and significance.
Since 1984, empirical studies on adult emotions have started, and other facets of DET have been
progressively developed. An overview of DET is given in this chapter. The main ideas of life span
emotional development are then covered. The chapter also shows how DET links to various models of
emotion in adults and examines DET in connection to adult development and aging. The chapter
concludes by outlining potential directions for further study from a DET standpoint.

The study of gender variations in the formation of defenses, emotional expression, recognition, and
experiences is discussed, along with theories, evidence, methodological issues, and conceptual issues.
The strength of defenses, expressiveness, self-reports of anger, fear, and sadness, nonverbal sensitivity,
and cognitive correlates of recognition abilities are among the emotional functioning domains where
data show gender variations. According to studies, as boys grow older, they become less able to express
and attribute most emotions, whereas girls become less able to express and identify emotions that are
socially inappropriate, including wrath. These disparities could result from distinct socialization
processes for men and women, which could be responses to societal pressures or fundamental gender
variations in temperament.

The current study makes the case that emotions drive and control adaptive actions and that researchers
should investigate how gender disparities in emotional development result from the various roles that
men and women must adjust to in their families, societies, and interpersonal relationships.

Malvaso, A., & Kang, W. (2022). The relationship between areas of life satisfaction, personality, and
overall life satisfaction: An integrated account. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 894610.

Harzer, Claudia & Ehrlich, Christian. (2016). Different forms of life satisfaction and their relation to
affectivity. 2. 8-13. 10.5348/P13-2016-8-SR-2.

Ruggeri, K., Garcia-Garzon, E., Maguire, Á. et al. Well-being is more than happiness and life satisfaction:
a multidimensional analysis of 21 countries. Health Qual Life Outcomes 18, 192 (2020).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-020-01423-y

Suikkanen, J. (2011). An improved whole life satisfaction theory of happiness. International Journal of
Wellbeing, 1(1).

Diener, E., Inglehart, R. & Tay, L. Theory and Validity of Life Satisfaction Scales. Soc Indic Res 112, 497–
527 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0076-y

Schimmack, U., Radhakrishnan, P., Oishi, S., Dzokoto, V., & Ahadi, S. (2002). Culture, personality, and
subjective well-being: integrating process models of life satisfaction. Journal of personality and social
psychology, 82(4), 582.

Fernandez, R. M., & Kulik, J. C. (1981). A multilevel model of life satisfaction: Effects of individual
characteristics and neighborhood composition. American Sociological Review, 840-850.

Feldman, F. (2019). An improved whole life satisfaction theory of happiness?. International Journal of
Wellbeing, 9(2).

Headey, B., Schupp, J., Tucci, I., & Wagner, G. G. (2010). Authentic happiness theory supported by
impact of religion on life satisfaction: A longitudinal analysis with data for Germany. The Journal of
Positive Psychology, 5(1), 73-82.

Malti, T., & Noam, G. G. (2016). Social-emotional development: From theory to practice. European
Journal of Developmental Psychology, 13(6), 652-665.
Dougherty, L. M., Abe, J. A., & Izard, C. E. (1996). Differential emotions theory and emotional
development in adulthood and later life. In Handbook of emotion, adult development, and aging (pp.
27-41). Academic Press.

Brody, L. R. (1985). Gender differences in emotional development: A review of theories and research.
Journal of personality, 53(2), 102-149.