health

Happiness

A Note On Comparing Estimates

Most meta-analyses combine correlational estimates. Why? Well, outcome measures are often related but not identical. In the literature on happiness, for instance, a variety of scales are used that have strong correlations but different scaling factors. However, the use of correlations and the frequent use of unrepresentative populations means that range restriction can pose a serious problem.

The solution?

Take each study's slope, multiply by the population-wide standard deviation of the "x" variable and divide by the population-wide standard deviation of the "y" variable. This yields a correlation estimate adjusted for range restriction.

Spreads

  • BMI has a standard deviation (SD) of 5.4 kg/m^2 Block
  • The postive PANAS has a SD of 7.65. The negative one has a SD of 5.90 Crawford
  • For the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the weighted average of the samples SDs in Table 1 is 6.32. It is 6.06 in student samples and 6.74 in the adult samples Pavot.
  • The flourishing scale has a SD of 6.56 among college students New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings

Correlates

  • This study Robertson looks at weight buckets and the average wellbeing of each bucket. Let's assume the normal weight bucket has an average BMI of 23 and the Class 3 Obesity bucket has an average BMI of 45. Then, positive PANAS and obesity have r~0.22, and the flourishing scale has r~0.37.
  • A doubling in income is associated with a 0.14 SD increase in life satisfaction Killingsworth for a r~0.14. However, a meta-analysis suggests r~0.22 Tan.
  • Neuroticism, conscientiousness, and (especially) extraversion are important personality factors Anglim. The downside is I can't find a copy. The good news is that I did find the end results:
    See also Steel
  • Attachment style is correlated with happiness - either r~0.28 or r~0.37 depending on your assumptions.
  • IQ does not correlate with happiness Veenhoven
  • Height very weakly (r~0.03) with happiness Carrieri
  • Narcissism (r~0.26) Zajenkowski
  • Educational attainment correlates decently (r~0.3), but this largely disappears after controlling for income Cuñado. Another study found a correlation of 0.02 Kroll.
  • Self control (r~0.50) Cheung
  • Gratitude (r~0.45) McCullough Portocarrero

So, to sum up:

FactorCorrelation
Self Control0.50
Neuroticism-0.46
Gratitude0.45
Extraversion0.37
Conscientiousness0.36
Secure Attachment0.33
BMI0.30
Narcissism0.26
Agreeableness0.25
Income0.22
Openness0.19
Educational attainment~0.16
Height0.03
Intelligence0
Block, J. P., Subramanian, S. V., Christakis, N. A., & O’Malley, A. J. (2013). Population trends and variation in body mass index from 1971 to 2008 in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort. PloS one, 8(5), e63217. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0063217 Crawford, J. R., & Henry, J. D. (2004). The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS): Construct validity, measurement properties and normative data in a large non‐clinical sample. British journal of clinical psychology, 43(3), 245-265. https://doi.org/10.1348/0144665031752934 Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (2009). Review of the satisfaction with life scale. In Assessing well-being (pp. 101-117). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2354-4_5 Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D. W., Oishi, S., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social indicators research, 97(2), 143-156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-009-9493-y Robertson, S., Davies, M., & Winefield, H. (2015). Why weight for happiness? Correlates of BMI and SWB in Australia. Obesity research & clinical practice, 9(6), 609-612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orcp.2015.04.011 Killingsworth, M. A. (2021). Experienced well-being rises with income, even above $75,000 per year. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(4). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2016976118 Moghadam, M., Rezaei, F., Ghaderi, E., & Rostamian, N. (2016). Relationship between attachment styles and happiness in medical students. Journal of family medicine and primary care, 5(3), 593. https://doi.org/10.4103%2F2249-4863.197314 DeNeve, K. M., & Cooper, H. (1998). The happy personality: a meta-analysis of 137 personality traits and subjective well-being. Psychological bulletin, 124(2), 197. https://www.gwern.net/docs/iq/1998-deneve.pdf Tan, J. J., Kraus, M. W., Carpenter, N. C., & Adler, N. E. (2020). The association between objective and subjective socioeconomic status and subjective well-being: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 146(11), 970. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000258 Anglim, J., Horwood, S., Smillie, L. D., Marrero, R. J., & Wood, J. K. (2020). Predicting psychological and subjective well-being from personality: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 146(4), 279. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000226 Veenhoven, R., & Choi, Y. (2012). Does intelligence boost happiness? Smartness of all pays more than being smarter than others. International Journal of Happiness and Development, 1(1), 5-27. https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJHD.2012.050808 Carrieri, V., & De Paola, M. (2012). Height and subjective well-being in Italy. Economics & Human Biology, 10(3), 289-298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2011.12.002 Zajenkowski, M., & Czarna, A. Z. (2015). What makes narcissists unhappy? Subjectively assessed intelligence moderates the relationship between narcissism and psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 77, 50-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.12.045 Cuñado, J., & de Gracia, F. P. (2012). Does education affect happiness? Evidence for Spain. Social indicators research, 108(1), 185-196. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-011-9874-x Kroll, C. (2015). Global development and happiness: How can data on subjective well-being inform development theory and practice?. Oxford development studies, 43(3), 281-309. https://doi.org/10.1080/13600818.2015.1067293 Cheung, T. T., Gillebaart, M., Kroese, F., & De Ridder, D. (2014). Why are people with high self-control happier? The effect of trait self-control on happiness as mediated by regulatory focus. Frontiers in psychology, 5, 722. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00722 McCullough, M. E., Emmons, R. A., & Tsang, J. A. (2002). The grateful disposition: a conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of personality and social psychology, 82(1), 112. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.1.112 Portocarrero, F. F., Gonzalez, K., & Ekema-Agbaw, M. (2020). A meta-analytic review of the relationship between dispositional gratitude and well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 164, 110101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110101 Steel, P., Schmidt, J., & Shultz, J. (2008). Refining the relationship between personality and subjective well-being. Psychological bulletin, 134(1), 138. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.134.1.138