Research Topics
Our research integrates theoretical perspectives on, and empirical approaches to, subjective well-being (SWB) drawn from social psychology, personality psychology, and lifespan development. Recent and on-going research projects address the following issues:
1. Subjective Trajectories for Well-Being
Several studies from the Lab have examined people’s beliefs about how their life is unfolding over time. This research employ a ‘subjective trajectory’ approach in which we focus on people’s subjective evaluations of their past, current, and anticipated future well-being. Whereas many young adults believe that life gets better and better over time, older adults tend to expect declines in their well-being. In our research we are interested in the sources of people’s beliefs concerning their subjective trajectories and the potential consequences or benefits of these beliefs.
Our research integrates theoretical perspectives on, and empirical approaches to, subjective well-being (SWB) drawn from social psychology, personality psychology, and lifespan development. Recent and on-going research projects address the following issues:
1. Subjective Trajectories for Well-Being
Several studies from the Lab have examined people’s beliefs about how their life is unfolding over time. This research employ a ‘subjective trajectory’ approach in which we focus on people’s subjective evaluations of their past, current, and anticipated future well-being. Whereas many young adults believe that life gets better and better over time, older adults tend to expect declines in their well-being. In our research we are interested in the sources of people’s beliefs concerning their subjective trajectories and the potential consequences or benefits of these beliefs.
2. Structure and Function of SWB
Several of our studies address the structure of SWB, that is, how its various components (life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect) fit together to form SWB. Despite the simplicity of this tripartite approach, researchers have yet to come to a consensus concerning how SWB should be studied with respect to its three components. Some of our research addresses this ambiguity. Other studies from the lab address the potential consequences or benefits of SWB, consistent with our perspective that high well-being is not only an important life outcome, but also an adaptive experience.
Several of our studies address the structure of SWB, that is, how its various components (life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect) fit together to form SWB. Despite the simplicity of this tripartite approach, researchers have yet to come to a consensus concerning how SWB should be studied with respect to its three components. Some of our research addresses this ambiguity. Other studies from the lab address the potential consequences or benefits of SWB, consistent with our perspective that high well-being is not only an important life outcome, but also an adaptive experience.