Happiness science examines the predictors, components, and cultivation of subjective well-being through empirical research methods. Emerging from positive psychology in the late 1990s, this interdisciplinary field explores both hedonic (pleasure-based) and eudaimonic (meaning-based) pathways to flourishing. A critical insight: while genetics and circumstances set boundaries, approximately 40% of lasting happiness derives from intentional activities, making well-being substantially modifiable through evidence-based practices. The field has since evolved into a second wave (PP 2.0) that embraces the dialectical role of suffering and negative experience as essential to genuine flourishing, not just obstacles to it.
What This Cheat Sheet Covers
This topic spans 23 focused tables and 165 indexed concepts, 149 flashcards. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.
A jump-to index of every table row in this cheat sheet.
An interactive map of every table and concept in this topic.
Table 1: Core Models of Happiness
Well-being is not a single thing: researchers have mapped it across hedonic, eudaimonic, and multidimensional frameworks. Understanding these models clarifies what to measure and where interventions can have the most lasting impact.
| Model | Example | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
Enjoying a delicious mealWatching a favorite show | • Pleasure-based well-being focused on maximizing positive emotions and minimizing pain • often short-lived due to hedonic adaptation | ||
Volunteering for a causeDeveloping a new skill | • Meaning-based well-being derived from purpose, growth, and self-realization • more sustainable and linked to long-term flourishing | ||
P: Joy, E: Flow, R: Close friendships,M: Meaningful work & mattering, A: Goals achieved | • Seligman's five building blocks: Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Mattering, Accomplishment • the official model folded Mattering into the M pillar; validated in 39,000+ participants (r = 0.78 with life satisfaction) | ||
Life satisfaction + positive affect− negative affect | • Cognitive and affective evaluation of one's life • measured through self-report including life satisfaction and emotional balance | ||
Autonomy, environmental mastery,personal growth, positive relations,purpose in life, self-acceptance | • Ryff's six-dimensional model of eudaimonic functioning • emphasizes optimal human development rather than just feeling good | ||
High mental health + high well-being | • Optimal mental health state combining absence of mental illness with presence of positive functioning • contrasts with languishing (Keyes). | ||
Functioning but feeling empty,joyless, aimless, "blah" | • Keyes' term for the absence of well-being without diagnosable illness • associated with disengagement, cognitive fog, and reduced productivity | ||
50% genetics + 10% circumstances+ 40% intentional activities | • Framework showing intentional activities as key leverage point for lasting well-being change • genetics set range, circumstances matter less than expected | ||
Embracing anxiety before a talkas fuel; finding meaning in loss | • Second-wave positive psychology recognizing that lasting well-being requires navigating negative emotions, not suppressing them • dialectical balance of positive and negative experience is the hallmark of genuine flourishing |