Stepping Into the Light: Modeling the lntraindividual Dimensions of Hedonic and Eudaemonic Well-Being

Abstract

Abstract Over the past three decades, the scientific study of positive human health and well-being has been driven by two major philosophical perspectives, one emphasizing hedonism or happiness and the other emphasizing eudaemonism or self-actualization (cf. Ryan & Deci, 2000; Waterman, 1993). These perspectives have shaped two prominent theories of positive health: the theory of subjective well-being (SWB; see Diener, 1984; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999, for reviews) and the theory of psychological well-being (PWB; see Ryff, 1995; Ryff & Singer, 2000, for reviews). Although both theories aim to describe how people evaluate their lives, each gives emphasis to different aspects of this evaluation. Subjective well-being defines evaluations in terms of three elements: judgments of positive and negative affect (Diener & Emmons, 1984; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) and overall life satisfaction (Andrews & Withey, 1976). In contrast, PWB parses well-being into six elements: judgments of self-acceptance, personal growth, purpose in life, positive relations with others, environmental mastery, and autonomy (Ryff, 1989; Ryff & Keyes, 1995).