Methodological Issues in the Assessment of the Affective Component of Subjective Well-Being

Abstract One important area of positive psychology examines happiness and subjective well-being (SWB; Diener, 2000). Diener (1984) noted that SWB has an affective and a cognitive component. The cognitive component of SWB is assessed with life satisfaction judgments (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). The affective component assesses the amount of pleasant and unpleasant experiences in people’s lives (e.g., Schimmack, Diener, & Oishi, 2002). Early on, SWB researchers noted the limitations of research programs that focused exclusively on negative states such as depression and anxiety. In an influential article, Diener (1984) proposed that SWB is more than the absence of negative affect (NA). Although low levels of NA are important for SWB, high levels of positive affect (PA) are also important. Diener’s (1984) conception of SWB in terms of high PA and low NA implies that PA and NA are separable components of SWB. In other words, measures of PA show discriminant validity from measures of NA. If PA and NA were bipolar opposites, then minimization of NA would also maximize PA. In contrast, the distinction of PA and NA as separate components of SWB implies that PA and NA have different causes and consequences.