Well-being has been defined as the combination of feeling good and functioning well; the experience of positive emotions such as happiness and contentment as well as the development of one's potential, having some control over one's life, having a sense of purpose, and experiencing positive relationships

2. OLD AGE DEFINITIONS
Aristotle believed that eudaimonia ( human
flourishing associated with living a life of
virtue), or happiness based on a lifelong
pursuit of meaningful, developmental goals,
was the key to good life (Waterman, 1993).

3. Three types:
 Need/goal satisfaction theories,
 Process/activity theories, and
 Genetic/personality predisposition
(Diner et al., 2009).

4.  Psychoanalytic and humanistic theorists suggested
that the reduction of tension or the satisfaction of
needs lead to happiness.
 In short, it was theorized that we are happy because
we have reached our goals.
 Such “happiness as satisfaction” makes happiness a
target of our psychological pursuits.

5.  Theorists suggest that engaging in a particular life
activities generates happiness.
 For example, Mike Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced
CHEEK-SENT-ME-HIGH), who was one of the first 20th
century theorists to examine process/activity
conceptualizations of happiness, proposed that people who
experience flow (engagement in interesting activities that
match or challenge task-related skills) in daily life tend to
be very happy.

6. FLOW: Becoming more engaged
People report the greatest satisfaction when they are totally
immersed in and concentrating on what they are doing. People
who more frequently experience flow are generally happier.
• Flow = state of intense absorption.
• High Skill + High Challenge = Flow

7.  These theories tend to see happiness as stable,
whereas theorists in the happiness-as-satisfaction
and process/activity camps view it as changing
with life conditions.
 More recent research, found evidence that the link
between personality and happiness maybe more
ideographic than previously thought (e.g.,
personal set points for happiness may not be
neutral and may be more dependent on
temperament; individuals may be vary in the type
of adaptation to positive or negative external
experiences).

8.  Lucas and Fujita (2000) showed that
extraversion and neuroticism, two of the Big 5
factor of personality, were closely related to
characteristics of happiness.

9.  Well-being involves our experience of pleasure
and our appreciation of life’s rewards.
 Given this view, Diener defines “subjective
well-being as a combination of positive affect
(in the absence of negative affect) and general
life satisfaction”.
 Subjective well-being emphasizes people’s
report of their life experiences.

10.  When examining college students’ (from 31
nation) satisfaction in various life domain,
financial status was more highly correlated with
satisfaction for students in poor nation than for
those in wealthy nations (Diener & Diener, 1995).
 When well-being data are further divided by the
categories of economic status (very poor versus
very wealthy), it appears that there is a strong
relationship between income and well-being
among the impoverished but insignificant
relationship among affluent.

11.  Data specific to western samples indicate that
married men and women are more happier
than those who are not married (never married,
divorced, or separated; Lee, Seccombe, &
Shehan, 1991).
 Marital quality is also positively associated
with personal well-being (Strenberg & Hojjat,
1997).

12.  This view requires that those who seek well-
being be authentic and live according to their
real needs and desired goals (Waterman,
1993).
 Thus, living a eudaimonic life goes beyond
experiencing “things pleasurable,” and it
embraces flourishing as the goal in all our
actions.

13.  Modern Western psychology pleasure,
satisfaction, and life meaning as a view of
happiness.
 Seligman (2002) suggests that a pleasant and
meaningful life can be built on the happiness that
results from using our psychological strengths.

14.  According to Seligman, each kind of happiness is
linked to positive emotion.
• The pleasant life: a life that successfully pursues
the positive emotions about the present, past, and
future.
• The good life: using your signature strengths to
obtain abundant gratification (through activities
we like doing) in the main realms of your life.
• The meaningful life: using your signature
strengths and virtues in the service of something
much larger than you are. (Seligman 2002, p.
249).

15.  Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, and Schade (2005)
propose that “[a] person’s chronic happiness level
is governed by three major factors:
a) A genetically determined set point for happiness,
b) Happiness-relevant circumstantial factors, and
c) Happiness-relevant activities and practices”.
 This model of happiness acknowledges the
components of happiness that can’t be changed,
but it also leaves a self-generated goals that lead
to attainment of pleasure, meaning, and good
health.

16.  In one study, Lu and Gilmour (2004) analyzed essays
entitled “What is Happiness?” from Chinese students and
compared with the students of U.S.
 They found that that Chinese students “emphasized
spiritual cultivation and transcendence of the present,”
whereas U.S counterparts “emphasized the enjoyment of
present life” (Suh & Koo, 2008, p.416).
 Another research:
• Western individuals with predictors of happiness varying
from independence, autonomy, and agency
• Eastern individuals: self and close others (Kitayama &
Markus, 2000).

17.  Ryff and Keyes combine many principles of pleasure to
define complete mental health.
 Specifically, they view optimal functioning as the
combination of:
• Emotional well-being (refer to subjective well-being,
defined as the presence positive affect and satisfaction
with life and the absence of negative affect)
• Social well-being (incorporating acceptance,
actualization, contribution, and integration), and
• Psychological well-being (combining self-acceptance,
personal growth, purpose in life, and autonomy)

18.  They defined “complete mental health” as the
combination of “high levels of symptoms of
emotional, social, and psychological well-
being, as well as absence of recent mental
illness” (Keyes &Lopez, 2002, p.49).

20.  David Mayer (1993), an expert on the subject
and the author of The Pursuit of Happiness,
provides general strategies for increasing
happiness in your life.

21. 1. Realize that enduring happiness doesn't
come from success.
2. Take control of your time.
3. Act happy.
4. Seek work and leisure that engages your
skills.
5. Join the "movement" movement.

22. 6. Give your body the sleep it wants.
7. Give priority to close relationship.
8. Focus beyond the self.
9. Keep a gratitude journal.
10. Nurture your spiritual self.

23.  Tips for increasing pleasant emotional
experiences and happiness and well-being in
our life:-

24. LOVE
• Surround yourself with happy people.
• Tell those close to you that you love them.
WORK
• Start a meeting with positive comments about peers'
contributions.
• Bring homemade treats to work or class. This may
generate productive interactions.
PLAY
• Engage in your favorite play activities from yesteryear -
those activities that brought you joy as a child may do so
today.
• Participate in brief relaxation activities to break up your
day.