Evaluating the Measures of Well-Being

Abstract

How good are the measures of perceived well-being reported in previous chapters of this book? More specifically, to what extent do the data produced by the various measurement methods indicate a person's true feelings about his life? To what extent do the methods permit discrimination among people according to their feelings? How clear are the meanings of the categories used to describe people's feelings? How easy are the methods to use? And to what extent do our measures of perceived well-being have anything to do with respondents' other feelings, behaviors, and life situations? These are the primary questions addressed in this chapter.