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What makes a life good?

L A King1, C K Napa

  • 1Psychology Department, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275-0442, USA. lking@mail.smu.edu

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|August 1, 1998
PubMed
Summary

People perceive happiness and meaning in life as essential for a good life, more so than wealth. These factors significantly influence judgments of desirability and moral goodness in folk concepts.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Folk Psychology

Background:

  • Understanding lay perceptions of a 'good life' is crucial for social and psychological research.
  • Previous research has explored various components of well-being, but folk concepts require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate folk concepts of the good life by examining how happiness, meaning in life, and wealth influence judgments of desirability and moral goodness.
  • To compare these perceptions across different demographic groups, specifically college students and community adults.

Main Methods:

  • Two studies were conducted with samples of college students (N=104) and community adults (N=264).
  • Participants evaluated hypothetical individuals' lives based on provided levels of happiness, meaning, and wealth.
  • Ratings focused on the perceived desirability and moral goodness of the individual's life.

Main Results:

  • Both happiness and meaning in life significantly impacted perceptions of desirability and moral goodness.
  • In the college sample, high levels of all three factors (happiness, meaning, wealth) predicted judgments of 'going to heaven'.
  • In the adult sample, wealth also positively correlated with desirability ratings, though less so than happiness and meaning.

Conclusions:

  • Folk concepts of the good life strongly emphasize happiness and meaning in life.
  • Wealth appears to be a less critical component in the general perception of a good life, despite some influence on desirability.
  • These findings highlight the psychological importance attributed to subjective well-being and purpose over material success.

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