engleski

Happiness is in the Eye of the Beholder

In well-being research consensual definition of happiness is focused on psychological states defined by high positive affect, low negative affect, and high life satisfaction. However, research examining lay definitions of happiness itself has been scarce. The aim of this study was to empirically explore lay people’s definition and explanation of the concept of happiness per se in the context of the most prominent theories in this field. The current study is a part of a Croatian longitudinal study on well-being (CRO-WELL project) designed to explore changes in well-being in relation to life events. The sample, N=3150 (age M=36, range 18-85 years) consists of adult Internet users. They voluntarily and anonymously completed an on-line survey on well-being measures and life events. After the survey completion, to take part in the prize-winning contest, participants were asked to provide their definition of happiness by answering the open-ended question “What is happiness for you?” The 77% of participants opted to answer. A qualitative approach was employed to get an extensive insight into the concepts associated with the experience of personal meaning of happiness. Their answers were coded using a hybrid method of data coding including a priori theory grounded codes and a set of new codes that emerged from the data. Results were analyzed regarding formal parameters such as the number and form of the words, and the typical expressions used to describe happiness. Furthermore, we explored how self-generated definitions of happiness relate to hedonistic and eudaimonic aspects of well-bieng and personal well-being index.

happiness, lay people, definitions

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