Deakin University
Browse

File(s) not publicly available

Subjective wellbeing as an affective-cognitive construct

journal contribution
posted on 2007-12-01, 00:00 authored by Melanie Davern, Robert CumminsRobert Cummins, Mark StokesMark Stokes
The affective content of Subjective Wellbeing (SWB) was investigated in two separate studies. Study 1 involved a representative sample of 478 participants from across Australia aged between 18 and 72 years. This study tested the circumplex model of affect and then determined the minimum set of affects that explain variance in SWB. The model was supported, with most affects congregated around the valence axis. Overall, 64% of the variance in SWB was explained by six Core Affects, indicating that SWB is a highly affective construct. Study 2 tested the relative strength of Core Affect (content, happy and excited), in three separate models of SWB incorporating cognition (seven discrepancies)
and all five factors of personality. Using a sample of 854 participants aged been 18 – 86 years, structural equation modeling was used to compare an affective-cognitive driven model of SWB, with a personality driven model of SWB and a discrepancy driven model of SWB. The results provide support for an affective-cognitive model which explained 90 percent of the variance in SWB. All models confirm that the relationship between SWB, Core Affect and Discrepancies is far stronger than the relationship between personality and SWB. It is proposed that Core Affect and Discrepancies comprise the essence of SWB. Moreover, Core Affect is the driving force behind individual set-point levels in SWB homeostasis.

History

Journal

Journal of happiness studies: an interdisciplinary forum on subjective well-being

Volume

8

Issue

4

Pagination

429 - 449

Publisher

Springer Netherlands

Location

Dordrecht, Netherlands

ISSN

1389-4978

eISSN

1573-7780

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007

Usage metrics

    Research Publications

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC