The area of subjective well-being has three hallmarks. First it is subjective. According to Campbell (1976) it resides within the individual. That is, SWB is defined in terms of the internal experience of the individual. An external frame of reference is not imposed when assessing SWB. Although many criteria of mental health are dictated from outside by researchers (e. g. , health, maturity, autonomy etc. ) SWB is measured from the individual’s own perspective (Diener, Suh, & Oishi, 1997).
Although such conditions are seen as potential influences on the SWB, they are not seen as an inherent and necessary part (Diener, 1984). If a woman thinks her life is going on well, then it is going on well within this framework. In the field of SWB, a person’s beliefs about his or her own wellbeing are of paramount importance. Although it gives ultimate authority to the individual, it also means that SWB cannot be a consummate definition of mental health because people may be disordered even if they are happy (Diener et al. , 1997). Second, SWB includes positive measures.
It is not the absence of negative factors, as is true of most measures of mental health. However, the relationship between positive and negative indices is not completely understood (Diener, 1984). Third, SWB measures typically include a global assessment of all aspects of a person’s life. Although affect or satisfaction within a certain domain may be assessed, the emphasis is usually placed on an integrated judgment of the person’s life. Diener et al. (1997) observed that the field of SWB focuses on longer-term states, not momentary moods.
Although person’s moods are likely to fluctuate with each new evens, the SWB researcher is most interested in the person’s mood over time. Often, what leads to happiness at the moment may not be the same what produces long-term SWB. Thus, researchers are to be interested in relatively enduring feelings of well-being, not just fleeting emotions. They must also uncover the correlates of SWB within the varying time frames, as there is no priori way to decide what time period is best (Diener, 1984).