SOCPSY 2B03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Jeremy Bentham, Life Satisfaction, Personal Development
6 Jan 2020
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What is this course about
Conceptualizations and mechanisms of well-being
How do we define "the good life?" How to definitions vary across cultures?
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Mechanisms: goal-setting, mindfulness, creativity, gratitude, prosociaity, personal
growth
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1.
Key domains of well being
Relationships/ social networking, leisure, work, physical health, spirituality
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Inequality and well-being
Inequalities based on gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, class, migrant status
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What is well-being? Hedonic and Eudemonic Approaches
Hedonic well-being approach: emphasize pleasure & avoiding pain
Subjective well-being
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Eudemonic well-being approach: search for meaning
6 factor model of well-being
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HEDONIC APPROACH
Well being pursue pleasure, avoid pain
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Emphasized by philosophers
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Aristippus: goal of life is to maximize pleasure
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Jeremy Bentham: societies should seek the greatest good for the greatest number
Subjective well-being (SWB)
Social scientists let people define the good life for themselves
Subjective well being
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Not defined by researcher-imposed domains (e.g., good relationships, career
success)
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Subject well-being is multidimensional
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3 components
Life satisfaction + positive emotion - negative emotion
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The Well Lived Life Introduction
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
12:30 AM
al
Life satisfaction + positive emotion - negative emotion
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Cognitive component
A cognition evaluation of one's overall life satisfaction
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Comparing life to others
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Affective component
The presence of positive emotional experiences
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Absence of negative emotional experiences
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Emotional side
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How can we measure SWB
SWB commonly measured using self-report scales
Satisfaction with life scale
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Positive and negative affect schedule
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Document Summary
Mechanisms: goal-setting, mindfulness, creativity, gratitude, prosociaity, personal growth. Relationships/ social networking, leisure, work, physical health, spirituality. Inequalities based on gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, class, migrant status. Hedonic well-being approach: emphasize pleasure & avoiding pain. Aristippus: goal of life is to maximize pleasure. Jeremy bentham: societies should seek the greatest good for the greatest number. Social scientists let people define the good life for themselves. Not defined by researcher-imposed domains (e. g. , good relationships, career success) Life satisfaction + positive emotion - negative emotion al. Life satisfaction + positive emotion - negative emotion. A cognition evaluation of one"s overall life satisfaction. Valid: correlated with informant reports (measures what it says its going to measure) Aristotle: eudaimonia is striving to be the best possible self that one can be and seeking to do something worth doing. Not all pleasurable outcomes are good for you. Eudaimonic well-being = being challenged; hedonic well-being = state of relaxation. Autonomy self reliant, resists social pressure, self regulated.
