Lay conceptions of happiness are individual cognitive representations of the nature and experience of well-being (McMahan and Estes 2010a) and are a relatively new subject of psychological research. As stated by Delle Fave and colleagues, this is ‘one crucial topic [that] has been neglected: what do lay people refer to, when they speak about happiness?’ (Delle Fave et al. 2011, p. 187). Studies focusing on lay conceptions incorporate well-established approaches to happiness, such as eudaimonic or hedonistic perspectives (see Carr 2009; Delle Fave et al. 2011, Delle Fave et al. 2013b; Trzebinska 2008) but there remain gaps in our understanding of the impact of these lay conceptions on experienced subjective well-being. These areas require qualitative data and studies using a mixed methods approach (Delle Fave et al. 2013a).
Our study’s aim was to investigate individual conceptions of happiness held by Polish people of different ages and genders. We also wanted to explore if these conceptions are more or less beneficial for individual well-being. Our assumption was that the individual’s concepts of happiness can influence individual well-being (i.e. how happy or satisfied a person is). The literature indicates that there are indeed dimensions that can facilitate or decrease well-being (e.g. perceiving material goods as a prerequisite of happiness is unbeneficial for well-being, Kasser and Ryan 1993). However, we still do not know if these categories serve similar functions for males and females or for people at different stages of individual development.
Subjective Well-Being
Most studies of happiness and well-being are based on one of two types of measurement: (a) evaluations of general well-being that do not identify specific areas of life or (b) evaluations of well-being in specific areas of life (such as job, family or relationships) that can later be used to create an index of well-being. Studies of general happiness allow participants freedom to apply their own well-being criteria. From a phenomenological perspective, this is a valuable well-being index because individuals themselves are the best experts on their own sense of well-being (Zalewska 2003). This more phenomenological perspective, however, has its drawbacks: it ignores the criteria that people use to judge the quality of their lives. In contrast, some studies analyse areas of life chosen a priori by the researchers. This approach provides valuable information about the associations between specific areas of life and well-being but limits the subjectivity of well-being; it is the researcher, not the participant, who decides which areas are important (Torras 2008).
In our study, we aimed to build a bridge between these two approaches by including measures of general well-being (without identifying specific areas) and individual conceptions of happiness. We hoped to determine those dimensions that participants considered important to their understanding of happiness to determine what, in their opinions, constitutes happiness and to measure their individual experience of well-being. We aimed to close the gap in well-being research noted by Delle Fave et al. (2011), who identified a dearth of qualitative and exploratory research on lay conceptions of happiness, especially with bigger samples. We use Diener’s (2000) conception of subjective well-being. This consists of an affective component (positive and negative affect) and a cognitive component consisting of evaluations of one’s own life as satisfying or not (satisfaction with life). These three elements (positive affect, negative affect and satisfaction with life) are expected to correlate but they are not identical (Schimmack 2008), so we examine their correlation with lay conceptions of happiness separately.
Lay Conceptions of Happiness
In the last 2 years, researchers have aimed to establish a methodology for the study of lay conceptions of happiness. Most studies have used scales based on Western philosophical and psychological perspectives (Delle Fave et al. 2011). This is a serious limitation and more exploratory studies are needed to create a more culture-fair methodology. Research indicates that individual conceptions of happiness are to some extent universal (Pflug 2009) but that culture and society are both important in determining how people perceive happiness (Delle Fave et al. 2013b; Joshanloo 2012), suggesting that concepts of happiness are culture-specific. Analysis of happiness categories ought to take into account the particular cultural domain and data gathering should, as far as possible, be free from assumptions about the nature of happiness so that participants can freely describe their understanding of happiness. The investigation of lay conceptions of happiness is important in determining what is actually researched in studies of subjective well-being. Many inferences are made from philosophical perspectives, such as hedonic or eudaimonic conceptions (see Carr 2009; Delle Fave et al. 2011; Trzebinska 2008), and even though they are the cornerstones of our understanding of happiness a more direct approach is needed to understand what happiness means to individuals living in a given society at a particular time.
The study of lay conceptions of happiness is also valuable from a theoretical point of view as it may elucidate the relationships between various elements of well-being and establish whether it is a multifaceted concept (Delle Fave et al. 2011). For example, evidence indicates that cognitive and affective components of well-being are correlated yet separate constructs (e.g. Lucas et al. 1996). Similarly, lay conceptions may constitute yet another element of the structure of well-being. Studies of lay conceptions of happiness that also include well-being measures can indicate how separate well-being dimensions are influenced by various aspects of happiness as understood by individuals.
Lay Conceptions of Happiness and Subjective Well-Being Experience
European statistics identify the following dimensions as connected to well-being: health, relationships, freedom, work, knowledge and material goods (Eurostat 2010). The universal elements of lay conceptions of happiness are partly congruent with eudaimonic and hedonistic concepts, and the concept of happiness that an individual adopts may affect the experienced well-being (Ryan and Deci 2001). Eudaimonic beliefs are more strongly related to well-being than are hedonistic beliefs (McMahan and Estes 2010b); however, lay conceptions typically include both eudaimonic and hedonistic elements, such as mental states of satisfaction and contentment, positive emotions, achievement and control, self-autonomy, freedom from ill-being and relationships (Lu and Gilmour 2004). These refer to profound aspects of life such as health, relationships with others, work and material goods. Several studies have examined links between these areas and experienced well-being.
Relationships are one of the strongest correlates of positive emotions (Bradburn 1969); they alleviate stress (Sęk and Cieślak 2004; Uchino 2004) and their absence greatly decreases well-being (e.g. ostracism, Baumeister and Leary 1995). Bonn and Tafarodi (2013) report that people emphasize that close and enduring relationships are important to well-being. An overwhelming majority of respondents refer to social relationships as necessary for achieving happiness (Diener and Oishi 2005; Diener and Seligman 2004; for an overview see Caunt et al. 2013). Relationship quality is also important in explanations of well-being constructs (Lehmann et al. 2014).
Subjective health influences well-being and vice versa (Diener and Chan 2011) and participants frequently mention health as one of the factors vital for well-being (Argyle 1999), despite the fact that people adapt very well to new circumstances and their well-being may return to baseline levels even in the face of serious health issues (Brickman and Campbell 1971). However, the consequences of associating well-being with health are unknown. Placing great value on health and concentrating on one’s health may promote health behaviours, promoting subjective well-being through better health. However, individuals who concentrate on their health may focus on symptoms of possible illnesses; this in turn may decrease well-being. It is also possible that people value health more when they experience health problems.
Lay conceptions of happiness congruent with the eudaimonic approach include elements such as achievement, growth and competency (McMahan and Estes 2010a), all of which may be associated with the occupational realm. The relationship between work and subjective well-being is complex and includes issues such as job satisfaction (e.g. spillover effects, Judge and Watanabe 1993a, b), work-life balance, employment status or occupational stressors. In other words, work is vital for well-being and is indirectly expressed in lay conceptions of happiness. These effects suggest that placing value on professional aspects of life may facilitate greater well-being because of stronger correlations between indices of well-being and eudaimonic elements of lay conceptions of happiness (McMahan and Estes 2010a).
There is no clear relationship between individual income, income in societies (Diener and Biswas-Diener 2002) and subjective well-being, but findings from a few studies indicate that valuing material things and financial success is negatively correlated with well-being (Kasser and Ryan 1993). Moreover, financial discrepancy (the gap between what one wants and what one has) decreases well-being (Brown et al. 2009) and the relationship between the value attached to money and well-being is mediated by motives for making money; it might be important for well-being if someone wants to make money, but the more important question is what they want the money for (Srivastava et al. 2001).
The Role of Gender and Age
This paper addresses two fundamental questions about gender and well-being: (a) whether there are differences in subjective well-being between men and women and (b) whether there are differences in the impact of lay conceptions of happiness on subjective well-being among men and women. The same questions apply to age differences.
Differences in happiness of men and women are not straightforward and studies yield conflicting results. A Gallup World Poll-based study indicated that women are generally happier or as happy as men (Zweig 2014), despite the popular view that their well-being is lower than that of men. Other studies have shown that gender differences in subjective well-being in a particular society are moderated by gender inequality (Tesch-Römer et al. 2008). Moreover, women are more likely to experience higher rates of negative affect. However, data on life satisfaction and positive affect are mixed; some research suggests that women may experience higher levels of these components of well-being whereas other studies report no such differences (Fujita et al. 1991, overview in Tesch-Römer et al. 2008).
Lay conceptions of happiness need to be analysed within a particular cultural reality. As Delle Fave and colleagues state: ‘cultural, economic, and collective rules and norms can indeed expand or restrict the opportunities for action, development and flourishing available to individuals within a society’ (Delle Fave et al. 2013b, p. 228). Although Western societies, including Poland, strive for gender equality, there are still many differences in opportunities and norms between men and women. There are still differences between Poland and other European countries in the gender ideology predominant in public discourse and expressed in the law and social policy. This may influence ideas about feminine and masculine social roles and norms. These norms in turn are likely to impact and differentiate individual goals and needs.
First, differences in norms may determine individual expectations about, for example, family, career or self-development and consequently determine how individuals understand happiness. Second, they may result in some conceptions of happiness affecting the well-being of women and men differently. Men and women in Poland may have a different understanding of their roles in society that are expressed, for example, in the gender stereotypes strongly perpetuated in Polish public discourse. These cultural norms may impact the understanding of happiness through the attribution of meaning to different behaviours and activitiesFootnote 1; they may encourage women and men to ascribe different meanings to activities in specific areas (e.g. motherhood, careers) and form different goals and values. Polish studies indicate that girls in high school value relationships and the common good more than boys (Zalewska 1998). They also value conformity and caring for others more than boys, who emphasize individual achievement and autonomy (Koralewicz 1987). Community orientation (striving for cooperation associated with motives of intimacy and affiliation) is also higher among women than men, but agency orientation (striving for self-enhancement associated with motives of achievement, dominance and self-autonomy) is higher among men than women (Wojciszke 2010). All Polish studies in this area based on self-reports point to gender differences in goals.
Additionally, those conceptions that are congruent with social roles typical for one gender may be more beneficial, because they may generate less tension between the individual and his/her social surroundings.Footnote 2 This may be truer for Polish women than men, as studies indicate that, compared to men, women more often choose activities that are in line with social expectations (Zalewska 1987).
As Kroll (2011) claims, there is no unitary ‘happiness formula’; different things make different people happy and there are gender-specific elements that contribute to well-being. For example, informal socializing increases satisfaction with life among women more than among men. These elements, however, are often reported to be mediated by cultural climate, the value of traditional roles and discrimination of women in a given country (Zweig 2014), so any research claims and interpretations are somewhat limited to particular cultural domains. There is evidence for gender differences in the effects of job status on well-being (Jaros and Zalewska 2008; Trzcinski and Holst 2012); while men suffer most from unemployment and benefit from high status jobs, job status affords almost no well-being benefits for women. Men and women also tend to react differently to adverse events (Forest 1996); these events decrease satisfaction in women but affect global happiness in men. Similarly, self-esteem is a better predictor of well-being for men, whereas for women relationship harmony is a better predictor (Reid 2004).
Finally, biological conceptions may explain gender differences in well-being. Women score more highly on neuroticism and emotionality than men and numerous studies have found correlations between these dimensions and well-being (Schmitt et al. 2008). Biological conceptions may also help interpret the links between goals and happiness; different biological roles, connected to reproduction and childcare for example, may influence goals and values and in turn lead to a different understanding of happiness.
McMahan and Estes (2012, p. 80) state that: ‘Little is known… about how individual conceptions of well-being may change with age or how this construct may impact psychosocial functioning at different points in the lifespan.’ The authors provide a detailed overview of previous studies of lay conceptions of well-being and age, concluding that there are fundamental differences between younger and older adults in terms of goals (knowledge acquisition in younger groups vs. emotion regulation in older), values (terminal in older groups vs. instrumental in younger) or meaning-making after significant events (which happen more often in groups of older adults).
Psychology offers many approaches to age and individual human development; the two main schools of thought involve dialectical and stage models (e.g. Erikson 1950; Ijzendoorn et al. 1984). Our aim was to explore differences between people of different ages in a specific cultural and temporal context. We chose to use a stage model approach; this may limit the generalization of the results but may also serve as a starting point for further (longitudinal) studies on age and lay conceptions of happiness.
Stage models are based on the belief that human development happens in stages, which have certain qualitative characteristics and that individuals face specific tasks in every stage (e.g. Erikson 1950). This idea was further developed by Levinson, who described these tasks with greater emphasis on the social and cultural context (1986). He divided life into four stages/eras, each lasting about 20 years: pre-adulthood, early, middle, and late adulthood. These eras are separated by transitional periods, or turning points, when important decisions about future life need to be made. According to Levinson, these periods are especially challenging because they require people to rethink their life structure (in a similar way to Erikson’s conception of conflict resolution). Even if the chronological end points of these eras change with civilizational development and become more flexible, the general, most universal tasks and transitions are similar in many Western societies; most people move from dependence in childhood to independence in adulthood, attend schools, work, form relationships, have children and face challenges connected to getting older.
Three elements are missing from studies of age and lay conceptions of happiness. First, although differences between older and younger adults have been investigated, little is known about the role of lay conceptions in the experience of well-being. Integration of the two elements (well-being and conceptions of happiness), especially if age is treated as a moderating variable, could yield interesting results. Conceptions of well-being congruent with developmental tasks at a particular stage in life (Erikson 1950; Levinson 1986) may be more beneficial to individual well-being than conceptions that emphasize elements incongruent with opportunities available to people at a certain level of development. This claim is supported by the selective optimization and compensation model, which indicates that changes in values and goals that happen when people age may be a sign of adaptation to changing circumstances (Baltes and Baltes 1990). It is also supported by McMahan and Estes’s study (2012), which indicated that older and younger adults differ in their conceptions of happiness and that some dimensions (e.g. avoidance of negative experience and experience of pleasure) were more strongly associated with well-being for older adults.
Second, Ryff and Singer (2008) found that age differences in subjective well-being are complex. Very few studies have compared well-being in adolescents and adults but those that have, indicate that the relationship between personality and well-being is connected to life-span development (e.g. Butkovic et al. 2012). For example, data on the dynamics of neuroticism may elucidate the dynamics of well-being (Costa et al. 1986). However, little is known about adolescent concepts of happiness and their impact on the experience of well-being.
Third, studies of conceptions of well-being and their impact on experienced well-being usually measure such conceptions according to a priori categories. This method limits the participant’s freedom to choose his or her own understanding of what happiness is. Even though categories presented by researchers such as McMahan and Estes (2012) are correlated with those that people often spontaneously mention, complete reliance on spontaneous understanding of happiness may yield interesting results.
In summary, research indicates possible differences between genders and between developmental periods in lay conceptions of happiness. Moreover, the associations between these conceptions and experienced well-being may be different for women and men, and for people at different stages of their lives.