Introduction
The debate on the existing relationship between on the one hand, a subjective wellbeing and on the other hand, wealth, has been a subject of great controversy amongst scholars and critics alike. It is the argument of a number of authors (for example, Deci & Ryan 2000; Kasser 2002; Kasser & Ahuvia 2002) that by concentrating more on such materialistic values as fame, financial success as well as physical appearance at the expense of intrinsic values (for instance, a contribution to the community, growth and affiliation), this seeks to be injurious to the well-being of a people.
According to Lyubomirsky and Ross (1997), this kind of an effect is bound to occur for the reason that the pursuits of extrinsic goals share a connection with unnecessary interpersonal evaluations as well as unsteady confidence (Kernis, Brown, & Brody 2000). Both these values often tend to relate to the well-being of an individual in a negative manner. Besides, those individuals that gets familiarized in an extrinsic manner have a reduced likelihood of taking part in activities geared towards fulfilling the competence, autonomic and relatedness psychological needs (Ryan & Deci 2000), which plays the role of nutriments for an individual’s well-being (La Guardia, Ryan, Couchman, & Deci, 2000; Sheldon, Elliot, Kim, & Kaiser 2001). For example, there is likelihood that the pursuant of extrinsic values may very well overshadow such behaviours of psychological satisfaction as affiliation and prosocial commitment (Kasser & Ryan 1996).
On the contrary, such other scholars as Sagiv & Schwartz (2000) asserts that the well-being vs. materialistic values hinges on an interplay between on the one hand, the orientation of individuals towards certain values and on the other hand, the kinds of values that tends to be upheld within the environment in which such individuals are situated. In other words, it is not the link between the values and the well-being of individuals that matter. Rather, it is the value content that takes centre stage.
The economic theory and subjective well-being
Numerous studies in psychology have been undertaken to establish whether or not a correlation exists between the subjective well-being of an individual and their social-economic status (Sagiv & Schwartz 2000; Sheldon et al 2001; Palloni & Ewbank 2004). Besides attempting to establish a plausible link between wealth and an individual’s subjective wellbeing, psychologist have also been interested in evaluating what kind of a relationship this is (Myers 2000; Mulatu & Schooler 2002), along with the influence that wealth may have over the happiness (or lack of) of its bearer.
Basically, what the economic theory appears to suggest is that when one is financially well-off they are more capable of acquiring those things that could afford pleasure to an individual, such as going to a holiday, or having an expensive dinner with one’s family at an exotic restaurant. However, such a perspective seems to point at income as the principle factor to wealth, which is not the case (Marmot et al 1987). There is more to wealth that income.
There are also some subjective well-being proponents who have help the argument that indeed, health, wealth and subjective well-being go together (for example, Marmot et al 1987; Lyubomirsky & Ross 1997) , seeing that an individual may have all the wealth one could desire, and still fail to gain happiness out of ill-health. Perhaps a similar argument could be created here, this time to suggest that one may not have all the wealth that they night think would grand them happiness but nevertheless, they enjoy a good-health that enables them to have an improved overall subjective well-being.
A positive association between subjective well-being and wealth
The issue of material wealth, within the context of subjective well-being has often times become the subject of many an economic theory (for instance, Kasser & Ryan 1996; La Guardia et al 2000), theories of psychology and social science hypotheses. Researchers of subjective well-being have specifically places more emphasis on the exploration of the topic (for example, Kasser 2002; Kasser 2004; Kasser & Ahuvia 2002). An association between material wealth and a subjective well-being is quite conceivable due to a number of factors. Seeing that subjective well-being encompasses such emotional elements as pride and joy, the ‘hedonic appeal of physical pleasure’ (Eid & Larson 2008) often linked to wealth might as well lead to an increase in he level of happiness.
Individuals that enjoy a wider access to food of good quality, invigorating leisure prospects as well as the benefits of a cozy home might for example, recoup the benefits that comes about as a result of their material wealth (Filakti & Fox 1995; Diener, & Suh 1997; Diener et al 1999). Besides, happiness (otherwise referred here to as subjective-wellbeing) is also endowed with a cognitive element-life satisfaction- that might as well be enhanced via a purposeful, autonomic poor progressive sense to enable the attainment of goals that an individual may value, and which could as well be attained via the use of extra material resources.
Going by the levels of profound scientific attention that subjective well-being and wealth have received, various researchers have found backed divergent views as regards these two issues. For example, Deaton (2002) has reported that a profound link exists between wealth and subjective well-being., these findings were the results of a survey that involved subjects from various nationalities regarding their satisfaction with life, relative to their income levels.
The findings by Deaton (2002) appear to coincide with those of other scholars (for example, Brickman et al 1978; Attanasio & Emmerson 2003). From this context therefore, it may seem that income, which is an index of wealth, plays a significant role in as far as an individual’s wellbeing is concerned. Nevertheless, this alone does not suffice to enable us conclude that indeed, income is the primal factor when we attempt to gauge the subjective well-being of an individual.
Bigger international surveys have investigation the association between wealth and subjective well-being has demonstrated that those residents of countries whose per capita income is lower also tend to demonstrate reduced levels of happiness (Diener et al 1985; Diener & Diener 1995; Diener & Seligman 2004). Nevertheless, exceptions have also emerged in which nations with lower Gross National Product (GNP) have their residents recording higher happiness level during surveys, in comparison with their counterparts from countries with higher GNP.
Still, even within those groups of individuals from countries that are not industrialized, and who have resorted to living conventional forms of life, such groups may not be wealthy in the sense of bigger houses and fat bank accounts but they can still boast of their unique rituals, art and social organizations that are quite sophisticated, and to which the y are strongly bonded to. In their own right, this group of individuals is quite wealthy, at least from a cultural perspective. What is more, they seem quite contented with what is in their possession and so the more reason why their subjective well-being may also be ranked higher.
The indistinct association between wealth and subjective well-being
The rise in importance in as far as subjective well-being is concerned, relative to the other happiness measurements, has received extensive review by several researchers, specifically, Diener and Suh (1997). These two authors arrived at a conclusion that the measures of subjective well-being become critical in terms of a societal assessment, besides significantly contributing the economic markers of the members of such a society.
A numbers of studies carried out by social scientists and psychologists appear to point at an unswerving proof as regards the issue of indistinct association between wealth and subjective well-being. Inglehart (1990) undertook a comparison of the gross national product (GNP) of various countries and compared these with the data he had collected on the levels of happiness of the inhabitants of the various countries that took part in the survey. However, these results may require a closer scrutiny, if at all we are to uphold a hypothesis that there indeed exists a direct and positive relationship between on the one hand, the wealth of individuals and on the other hand, their subjective well being.
In the study by Inglehart for instance, such countries as Japan and Germany, and whose individual gross national products may be estimated to be well over twice that of a country like Ireland, provided reduced happiness levels in comparison to Ireland. Even amongst specific individual nations, a reduce connection between on the one hand, wealth and on the other hand, a subjective well being is often presented. For example, Diener et al (1985) undertook a survey for the extremely wealth persons in the United States, and the survey results revealed that these individuals’ happiness levels did not differ significantly from those recorded by Americans of average means.
Brickman et al (1978) following a study that involved lottery winners, ended up by concluding that the happiness of those who hit the lottery could not be nay different from say, an individual that had been afflicted with such a trauma as paraplegia, or even blindness. What this appear to suggest is that even with adequate money for one to spend as they would wish, nevertheless, this does not translate into a corresponding rise in terms of the subjective swell-being of an individual, an argument that Myers (1993) seems to uphold..
Why a lack of connection between wealth and a subjective well-being?
David Myers, through a 2000 positive psychology special issues, has extensively dwelt on the disconnect existing the subjective wellbeing of the Americans, in relation to their material wealth (Myles 2000). Csikszentmihalyi (1999) has reported on a reduced and negative connection between subjective well-being and wealth amongst 1,000 teenagers that were interviewed in a survey conducted that spanned 3 years in the United States.
What this study realized in that the level of happiness that these teenagers reported was in sharp contrast to the environmental social class to which these teenagers came from. The general tendency is that those children often located in the lowly socioeconomic class accounts for the greatest level of happiness which the children form the financially well-off families report dismal happiness levels. From such a context, psychologist and social scientists alike have not entirely managed to draw a significant distinction regarding whether or not children from the upper class are more inclined to be less happy, or it is the their social class norms and to which they prescribe that seeks to present this groups of teenagers as being less happy.
Evidence to support the claim that a strong correlation exists between wealth and subjective wellbeing may at bests thought of as being shaky, yet a majority of the individuals still harbor the thought that many of the problems that they are experiencing now could be overcome by having access to more money.
Conclusion
For a long time now, psychologists, social scientists and economists alike have argued about a relation ship between on the one hand, the subjective well-being of an individual and on the other hand, the wealth of such an individual. While it may be inferred here that wealth comes in many forms, the kind of wealth that a majority of the researchers have sought to explore is material wealth and more specifically, disparities in the levels of income amongst various individuals (Adda et al 2003). Perhaps the reason behind such a move is because income is a variable that is quiet easy to quantity, ands therefore a useful index of an individual’s wealth.
Still, the GDP of various countries have been used in numerous studies to evaluate the level of happiness of the residents of such countries (Adams et al 2003; Kasser 2004). Again, researchers here appear to provide divergent results, with a majority of them arguing that a positive association exist between an increase GNP and the corresponding rise in the subjective well-being of the residents of such a country. Still, there are those surveys whose respondents have recorded low levels of happiness, compared to the social class to which they belong (Kasser 2002). Moreover, there are those communities that still subscribe to conventional lifestyles, so that their forms of wealth bear a cultural, as opposed to an economic, perspective (Ahuvia 2002). For these communities, their strong social and structural bonds, values and art is their wealth, as well as a source of their subjective well-being.
Work cited
Adams, P., Hurd, M. D., McFadden, D., Merrill, A., & Ribero Tiago. “Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise? Tests for Direct Causal Paths between Health and Socioeconomic Status”. Journal of Econometrics, 112 (2003): 3-56.
Adda, J., Chandola Tarani, & Marmot, M. “Socio-economic Status and Health: Causality and Pathways. Journal of Econometrics” 112 (2003): 57-63.
Ahuvia, A. Individualism/collectivism and cultures of happiness: A theoretical conjecture on the relationship between consumption, culture and well-being at the national level. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3 (2002): 23-36.
Attanasio, O. P., & Emmerson, C. Mortality, Health Status, and Wealth. Journal of the European Economic Association, 1 (2003): 821-850.
Brickman, P., Coates, D., & Janoff-Bulman, R. (1978). Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36 (1978): 917–927.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. “If we are so rich, why aren’t we happy?” American Psychologist, 54 (1999): 821-821.
Deaton, A. “Policy Implications of the Gradient of Health and Wealth”. Health Affairs (2002): 13-30.
Diener, E. “Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a National Index. American Psychologist”. 55 (2000): 34-43.
Diener, E., Horwitz, J., & Emmons, R. A. Happiness of the very wealthy. Social Indicators, 16 (1985): 263–274.
Diener, E. & Diener, M. (1995). “Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68 (1995): 653-663.
Diener, E. & Seligman, M. E. P. “Beyond money: Toward an economy of well-being”. Psychological science in the public interest, 5 (2004): 1-31.
Diener, E., Diener, M. & Diener, C. “Factors predicting the subjective well-being of nations”. Journal of personality and social psychology, 69 (1995): 851-864.
Diener, E. & Suh, E. “Measuring quality of life; economic, social, and subjective indicators”. Social Indicators Research, 40.2 (1997):189-216.
Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E. & Smith, H. L. Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological bulletin, 125 (1999): 276-302.
Eid, Michael & Larsen, Randy. The science of subjective well-being. London: Guilford Press, 2008. Web.
Filakti, H., & Fox, J. “Differences in mortality by housing tenure and by car access from the OPCS Longitudinal Study”. Population Trends, 81 (1995): 27-30.
Inglehart, R. Culture shift in advanced industrial society. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990.
Kasser, T. The high price of materialism. London: MIT, 2002.
Kasser, T. The good life or the goods life? Positive psychology and personal well-being in the culture of consumption. In P. A. Linley & S. Joseph (Eds.), Positive Psychology in Practice (pp. 55-67). New York, USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2004.
Kasser, T & Ahuvia, A. C. Materialistic values and well-being in business students. European journal of social psychology 32(2002): 137-146.
Kasser, T & Ryan, R. M. Further examining the American dream: differential correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Personality and social psychology Bulletin, 22 (1996): 280-287.
La Guardia, J., Ryan, R. M., Couchman, C., & Deci, E. L. Within-person variation in security of attachment: A self-determination perspective on attachment, need fulfilment, and well-being. Journal of personality and social psychology, 79(2000): 367-384
Lyubomirsky, S., & Ross, L. “Hedonic consequences of social comparison: A contrast of happy and unhappy people”. Journal of Personality and social psychology, 73 (1997): 1141-1157.
Marmot, M. G., Kogevinas, M., & Elston, M. A. Social / Economic Status and Disease. Annual review of public health, 8 (1987): 111-135.
Mulatu, M. S., & Schooler, C. “Causal Connections between Socio-Economic Status and Health: Reciprocal Effects and Mediating Mechanisms”. Journal of health and social behaviour, 43.1 (2002): 22-41.
Myers, D. G. “The funds, friends, and faith of happy people”. American Psychologist, 55 (2000): 56-67.
Palloni, A., & Ewbank, D. Selection Processes in the Study of Ethnic and Race Differentials in Adult Health and Mortality. In Race, Ethnicity, and Health in Later Life. Washington, D.C.: National Research Council Press, 2004.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development and well-being American Psychologist, 55 (2000): 68-78.
Sagiv, L., & Schwartz, S. H. “Value priorities and subjective well-being: direct relations and congruity effects”. European journal of social psychology 30 (2000): 177-198.
Sheldon, K. M., Elliot, A. J., Kim, Y., & Kasser, T. “What is satisfying about satisfying events? Testing 10 candidate psychological needs”. Journal of personality and social psychology, 80 (2001): 325-339.