what does wellbeing mean? dr sam thompson senior research fellow
TRANSCRIPT
What does wellbeing mean?
Dr Sam ThompsonSenior Research Fellow
Approaches to definingwellbeing
• Preference satisfaction
People are rational and know how to improve their own wellbeing. If you give people
maximum chance to satisfy their preferences (e.g. more choice, more income) they will end
up happier.
Approaches to definingwellbeing
• Preference satisfaction• Objective list
Wellbeing is highest when people’s objective needs (e.g. for security, health, freedom,
etc) are met.
Approaches to definingwellbeing
• Preference satisfaction• Objective list• Hedonic
Wellbeing is positive affect – that is, a relatively positive ratio
of pleasant to unpleasant emotions, moods and feelings.
Approaches to definingwellbeing
• Preference satisfaction• Objective list• Hedonic• Evaluative
Wellbeing is positive self-evaluation – feeling that life
overall is going well.
Approaches to definingwellbeing
• Preference satisfaction• Objective list• Hedonic• Evaluative• Flourishing
Wellbeing is about fulfilling potential and functioning well
in the world.
Approaches to definingwellbeing
• Preference satisfaction• Objective list• Hedonic• Evaluative• Flourishing
So much for definitions…. what about discourse?
Wellbeing as success / progress
... Gross National Product counts air pollution, and cigarette advertising and… the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy or their play… the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.
Robert Kennedy, 1968
Wellbeing as success / progress
• Criticisms of GDP (as a proxy for welfare) are well-known– Extremely crude– Insensitive to distribution– “Defensive” expenditure– Deals poorly with non-market goods and externalities– Fails to account for subjective experience
• Can overplay GDP-as-progress argument (govt actually measures all kinds of stuff)… but huge symbolic importance.
Wellbeing as success / progress
• “Economic performance is not intrinsically interesting. No-one is concerned in a genuine sense about the level of gross national product last year or about next year’s exchange rate. People have no innate interest in the money supply, inflation, growth, inequality, unemployment …. Economic things matter only in so far as they make people happier.” (Oswald, 1980)
Wellbeing as success / progress
Wellbeing as mental healthc
Physical Mental
Health
e.g.Eating fruit and vegetables
Taking regular exerciseStrength and flexibility
???
Illness
e.g.CancerObesity
Heart disease
e.g.Depression
AnxietyPsychosis
Keyes’ “dual continua” model
Mental illness
No mental illness
Flourishing
Languishing
Wellbeing as mental healthStrong association between population mean and % experiencing difficulties
Wellbeing as mental health
Wellbeing as (part of) sustainable development
• Brundtland Commission (1987) – SD is that which– “meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
• UK’s 1999 SD strategy – SD is – “ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for
generations to come” (DETR, 1999).
• 2005 strategy Securing the Future, SD includes– “Ensuring a strong, healthy and just society. Meeting the
diverse needs of all people in existing and future communities, promoting personal well-being, social cohesion and inclusion, and creating equal opportunity for all”
The meaning of wellbeing
• “Wellbeing” performs a number of discursive roles– Variously stands for “progress”, “success”, “quality of life”,
“mental health”…– As such, fills (or, at least, attempts to reclaim) spaces that
have been occupied by other approaches
• Doesn’t mean that it is meaningless or vacuous– Common theme in the current debate is a concern with
how people experience their lives– Reflected in an emphasis on subjective, self-report
measures (which Peter will tell you all about in a moment)
How might focusing on wellbeing change policy?
“Next time we have a comprehensive spending review, let's not just guess what effect various policies will have on people's wellbeing. Let’s actually know.”
UK government source, commenting on plans to measure national well-being, November 2010
How might focusing on wellbeing change policy?
• Reconsidering existing priorities for external conditions of people’s lives – e.g. unemployment, air pollution, planning
• Policies which impact on time use and activities– e.g. sleep quality, commuting/transport, time balance,
volunteering
• Policies which aim to build personal resources– e.g. early years education, resilience training
• Attention to the way services are delivered– e.g. co-production
Is it all just spin?
• The tone of criticism has changed from lefty utopian dreaming…– “.. if any of these foppish utilitarian suggestions [for
measuring national wellbeing] were put into practice, nothing short of national manic-depression would ensue” (Anthony Daniels, The Telegraph, 2006)
to evil right-wing conspiracy– a “cynical and pernicious” project to distract attention
from the cuts agenda (Letter to The Psychologist, January 2011)
Whose responsibility is wellbeing?
“To those who say that all this sounds like a distraction from the serious business of government, I would say that finding out what will really improve lives and acting on it is actually the serious business of government” David Cameron, 25th November 2010
• But we need to distinguish carefully between… – …making people happy– …understanding the conditions that support happiness
How much is “plenty”?
£0 £20,000
£40,000
£60,000
£80,000
£100,000
£120,000
£140,000
5.00
5.50
6.00
6.50
7.00
7.50
8.00
Life satisfaction and Household income in the UK
Household total net income
Lif
e S
ati
sfa
cti
on
(0
-10
)