This authoritative volume reviews the breadth of current scientific knowledge on subjective well-being (SWB): its definition, causes and consequences, measurement, and practical applications that may help people become happier. Leading experts explore the connections between SWB and a range of intrapersonal and interpersonal phenomena, including personality, health, relationship satisfaction, wealth, cognitive processes, emotion regulation, religion, family life, school and work experiences, and culture. Interventions and practices that enhance SWB are examined, with attention to both their benefits and limitations. The concluding chapter from Ed Diener dispels common myths in the field and presents a thoughtful agenda for future research.

Michael Eid, DSc, is Professor of Psychology at the Free University of Berlin, Germany. Dr. Eid is currently Editor of Methodology--European Journal of Research Methods for the Behavioral and Social Sciences and Associate Editor of the Journal of Positive Psychology. His main research interests are subjective well-being, mood regulation, multimethod measurement, and longitudinal data analysis.

Randy J. Larsen, PhD, is the William R. Stuckenberg Professor of Human Values and Moral Development and Chair of the Psychology Department at Washington University in St. Louis. He conducts research on emotion, primarily in terms of differences between people, and studies such topics as subjective well-being, mood variability, jealousy, attraction, depression, and strategies for the self-management of self-esteem and emotion. Dr. Larsen is an elected member of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology and is listed as one of the highly cited psychologists by the Institute for Scientific Information.