in Psychology from California State University and his Ph.D from the University of Washington. He is chiefly responsible for coining and conceptualizing the aspect of happiness which can be empirically measured-“Subjective Well Being” (SWB).ĭiener was born in 1946 in Glendale California on a farm-by most accounts a very happy place to grow up. Many of the research protocols currently used by positive psychologists, such as the Satisfaction with Life Scale, were developed by Diener. Happiness” based on the sheer volume and depth of his body of work. Indeed, in a recent cross-national study on teenagers, Diener found that “t he most salient characteristics shared by the 10% of students with the highest levels of happiness and the fewest signs of depression were their strong ties to friends and family and commitment to spending time with them.” A little backgroundĮd Diener has been one of the leading pioneers in scientific research on happiness for the past twenty-five years. Since World War II there has been a dramatic divergence between real income (after taxes and inflation) and life satisfaction in the United States, and a similar pattern can be seen in the data from other nations, such as Japan.” (“Beyond Money” APA, 2004) While happiness isn’t highly correlated with income, it is highly correlated with social relationships.
His recent research has focused on the relationship between income and happiness, about which he writes: “…over the past 50 years, income has climbed steadily in the United States, with the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita tripling, and yet life satisfaction has been virtually flat. He argues for a strong genetic component to happiness, and has amassed some compelling data showing that external conditions do little to change one’s happiness. Happiness”, is a leading researcher in positive psychology who coined the expression “subjective well-being” or SWB as the aspect of happiness that can be empirically measured. The Science of Happiness: Theory and Practice (online courses)Įd Diener, aka “Dr.High School Happiness and Wellbeing Curriculum.Make a Difference: Change the World, Change Yourself.Annotated Bibliography – Strengths and Virtues.The Philosophy of Virtuous Use of Strengths.Annotated Bibliography – Getting in the Flow.Annotated Bibliography-Mindfulness and Positive Thinking.Review of Key Studies on Mindfulness and Positive Thinking.The Philosophy and Science of Mindfulness.Mindfulness and Positive Thinking Expand.Annotated Bibliography – Spiritual Engagement.Key Studies on Religious/Spiritual Engagement & Meaning.The Philosophy of Finding Meaning in Life.Spiritual Engagement and Meaning Expand.Review of Key Studies on Caring/Volunteering.The Philosophical Basis of Caring, Compassion, and Interdependence.What Is Happiness? The Science and the Hype.