Course outline
Module 1
Module 1: Foundations of Wellbeing Research
Foundations of Wellbeing Research
Knowledge check
Q1. Which tradition of wellbeing research emphasizes pleasure, positive affect, and life satisfaction as the core components of wellbeing?
- A. Eudaimonic wellbeing
- B. Hedonic wellbeing ✓
- C. Existential wellbeing
- D. Civic wellbeing
Why: Hedonic wellbeing defines wellbeing in terms of experiencing pleasure and avoiding pain, typically measured through positive affect, negative affect, and subjective life satisfaction.
Q2. The term 'eudaimonia' originates from which ancient philosopher's work on the good life?
- A. Plato
- B. Socrates
- C. Aristotle ✓
- D. Epicurus
Why: Aristotle, in works such as the Nicomachean Ethics, used eudaimonia to describe human flourishing achieved through the exercise of virtue and rational activity, not merely through pleasure.
Q3. Which of the following is an example of eudaimonic rather than hedonic wellbeing?
- A. Feeling happy after eating a favorite meal
- B. Enjoying a relaxing afternoon nap
- C. Feeling a sense of purpose from mentoring a younger colleague ✓
- D. Experiencing excitement at a concert
Why: Eudaimonic wellbeing centers on meaning, purpose, personal growth, and living in accordance with one's values. Mentoring others reflects purpose and self-realization rather than momentary pleasure.
Q4. Carol Ryff's multidimensional model of psychological wellbeing is most closely associated with which wellbeing perspective?
- A. Hedonic
- B. Eudaimonic ✓
- C. Utilitarian
- D. Behaviorist
Why: Ryff's model, which includes dimensions such as autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life, positive relations, and self-acceptance, is a prominent eudaimonic framework.
Q5. Why do many wellbeing researchers measure both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing rather than only one?
- A. Because the two constructs are identical and measuring both is redundant
- B. Because they are related but distinct, and a person can score high on one while low on the other ✓
- C. Because hedonic wellbeing can only be measured in children
- D. Because eudaimonic wellbeing is only relevant to philosophers
Why: Research shows that hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing are correlated but empirically distinguishable. People may feel pleasure without a strong sense of meaning, or pursue meaningful goals that involve stress or discomfort, so measuring both gives a fuller picture.
Module 2
Module 2: Defining Hedonic Wellbeing: Pleasure and Life Satisfaction
Defining Hedonic Wellbeing: Pleasure and Life Satisfaction
Knowledge check
Q1. In psychology, which of the following best describes hedonic wellbeing?
- A. Living in accordance with one's deepest personal values and purpose
- B. The presence of pleasant feelings and the absence of unpleasant feelings, along with overall life satisfaction ✓
- C. Contributing to the welfare of one's community and society
- D. Achieving mastery and personal growth through challenging goals
Why: Hedonic wellbeing focuses on experiencing pleasure and avoiding pain, and it includes subjective evaluations of life satisfaction. This contrasts with eudaimonic wellbeing, which emphasizes meaning, purpose, and self-realization.
Q2. Which two components are typically included in the hedonic approach to wellbeing?
- A. Meaning in life and personal growth
- B. Positive affect and life satisfaction ✓
- C. Autonomy and environmental mastery
- D. Self-acceptance and purpose in life
Why: The hedonic tradition, as in Diener's subjective wellbeing research, commonly measures positive affect (frequent pleasant emotions) and life satisfaction (cognitive judgment of one's life as a whole). Autonomy, mastery, self-acceptance, and purpose belong to eudaimonic models such as Ryff's.
Q3. Which philosophical tradition is most closely associated with the origins of hedonic wellbeing?
- A. Stoicism
- B. Aristotelian virtue ethics
- C. Cyrenaic and Epicurean hedonism ✓
- D. Kantian deontology
Why: The Cyrenaics and Epicureans held that pleasure is the highest good. Aristotle's philosophy, by contrast, is the basis for eudaimonia as flourishing through virtuous activity, and Kant emphasized duty rather than pleasure.
Q4. A person reports feeling happy most days and rates their life as quite satisfying, yet feels little sense of purpose. According to the hedonic perspective, how would this person be assessed?
- A. As having low wellbeing because purpose is missing
- B. As having high hedonic wellbeing, since positive affect and life satisfaction are high ✓
- C. As having no wellbeing at all until purpose is found
- D. As having only eudaimonic wellbeing
Why: Hedonic wellbeing is judged by pleasant emotional experience and life satisfaction. Because this person scores high on both, they would be considered high in hedonic wellbeing, even though a eudaimonic assessment might flag the lack of purpose.
Q5. Which measure is most commonly used to assess the life satisfaction component of hedonic wellbeing?
- A. The Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being
- B. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) ✓
- C. The Flourishing Scale
- D. The Meaning in Life Questionnaire
Why: The Satisfaction with Life Scale, developed by Diener and colleagues, is a widely used five-item measure of global cognitive life satisfaction. The Ryff Scales and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire assess eudaimonic constructs, and the Flourishing Scale also captures eudaimonic dimensions such as relationships and purpose.
Module 3
Module 3: Defining Eudaimonic Wellbeing: Meaning and Self-Realization
Defining Eudaimonic Wellbeing: Meaning and Self-Realization
Knowledge check
Q1. Which philosophical tradition is the origin of the term 'eudaimonia'?
- A. Epicureanism
- B. Ancient Greek philosophy, especially Aristotle ✓
- C. Stoicism in ancient Rome
- D. Medieval Christian theology
Why: Eudaimonia comes from ancient Greek philosophy and was most systematically developed by Aristotle, who treated it as the highest human good achieved through virtuous activity over a complete life.
Q2. In contrast to hedonic wellbeing, which focuses mainly on pleasure and the absence of pain, eudaimonic wellbeing emphasizes:
- A. Maximizing immediate positive emotions
- B. Avoiding all forms of discomfort
- C. Living in accordance with one's true potential and having meaning and purpose ✓
- D. Accumulating wealth and social status
Why: Eudaimonic wellbeing centers on meaning, purpose, and self-realization, meaning the fulfillment that comes from acting in line with one's values and developing one's capacities, not just feeling good in the moment.
Q3. Carol Ryff's model of psychological wellbeing includes which of the following dimensions?
- A. Wealth and material security
- B. Positive relations with others and personal growth ✓
- C. Physical strength and athletic ability
- D. Frequency of social media engagement
Why: Ryff's model includes six dimensions: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. Positive relations and personal growth are central eudaimonic components.
Q4. What does 'self-realization' mean in the context of eudaimonic wellbeing?
- A. Becoming completely independent of other people
- B. Achieving the fullest expression of one's distinctive talents, values, and potential ✓
- C. Constantly seeking new experiences for entertainment
- D. Gaining public recognition for one's achievements
Why: Self-realization refers to actualizing one's inherent potential and living authentically in line with one's values and capacities, which is a core idea of eudaimonic wellbeing.
Q5. Why might a person who experiences high hedonic wellbeing still lack eudaimonic wellbeing?
- A. Because pleasure always leads to unhappiness
- B. Because they may enjoy pleasant feelings without a sense of meaning, purpose, or growth in their lives ✓
- C. Because eudaimonic wellbeing requires suffering
- D. Because hedonic wellbeing can only be measured in childhood
Why: The two forms of wellbeing can diverge: a person can feel pleasure and life satisfaction in the moment while lacking deeper meaning, purpose, or a sense of personal growth, which eudaimonic wellbeing specifically captures.
Module 4
Module 4: Measuring Hedonic and Eudaimonic Wellbeing
Measuring Hedonic and Eudaimonic Wellbeing
Knowledge check
Q1. Which approach to wellbeing defines it primarily in terms of pleasure and the absence of pain?
- A. Eudaimonic wellbeing
- B. Hedonic wellbeing ✓
- C. Social wellbeing
- D. Cognitive wellbeing
Why: Hedonic wellbeing focuses on subjective experiences of pleasure, happiness, and life satisfaction, while minimizing pain and discomfort.
Q2. The concept of eudaimonia, which emphasizes living well through meaning, purpose, and personal growth, originates from which philosophical tradition?
- A. Ancient Greek philosophy, particularly Aristotle ✓
- B. Utilitarianism in the 19th century
- C. Eastern Buddhist thought
- D. Modern positive psychology
Why: Aristotle used the term eudaimonia to describe flourishing through virtuous activity and fulfilling one's human potential.
Q3. Which of the following is a common self-report measure of hedonic wellbeing that asks people to rate their overall life satisfaction?
- A. The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) ✓
- B. The Psychological Well-Being Scales (PWB)
- C. The Flourishing Scale
- D. The Meaning in Life Questionnaire
Why: The SWLS is a widely used measure of cognitive life satisfaction, a core component of hedonic wellbeing. The others primarily assess eudaimonic dimensions.
Q4. Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scales assess which of the following dimensions?
- A. Positive affect and negative affect
- B. Autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations, purpose in life, and self-acceptance ✓
- C. Income, health, and education
- D. Frequency of social media use
Why: Ryff's model proposes six eudaimonic dimensions of wellbeing, which the PWB scales are designed to measure.
Q5. Why do researchers often measure both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing rather than just one?
- A. Because the two forms are identical and measuring both is redundant
- B. Because they are related but distinct, and a person can score high on one while scoring lower on the other ✓
- C. Because eudaimonic wellbeing has no measurable components
- D. Because hedonic wellbeing can only be measured through physiological tests
Why: Hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing correlate but are conceptually distinct, so measuring both gives a fuller picture of a person's wellbeing.
Module 5
Module 5: Philosophical Roots: Hedonism Versus Eudaimonia
Philosophical Roots: Hedonism Versus Eudaimonia
Knowledge check
Q1. Which ancient philosopher is most associated with the view that the highest good is pleasure, understood as the absence of pain and mental disturbance?
- A. Aristotle
- B. Epicurus ✓
- C. Plato
- D. Marcus Aurelius
Why: Epicurus taught that pleasure (understood as ataraxia, tranquility, and aponia, freedom from bodily pain) is the highest good. This is a classic form of hedonism, which contrasts with eudaimonia as the central concept of well-being.
Q2. The Greek word 'eudaimonia' is most often translated as which of the following?
- A. Momentary pleasure
- B. Flourishing or living well ✓
- C. Emotional satisfaction
- D. Social approval
Why: Eudaimonia literally combines 'eu' (good) and 'daimon' (spirit or fortune) and is usually translated as flourishing or living well. It refers to a life of virtue and the realization of one's human potential, rather than simply feeling good.
Q3. Aristotle argued that the highest human good is best understood as which of the following?
- A. Activity of the soul in accordance with virtue ✓
- B. Accumulation of wealth and property
- C. Continuous sensory pleasure
- D. Freedom from all desire
Why: In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle holds that eudaimonia consists in activity of the soul in accordance with virtue, exercised over a complete life. This emphasizes character and rational excellence rather than the feelings produced by pleasure.
Q4. Which of the following best illustrates the hedonic approach to well-being?
- A. Developing courage and wisdom over many years
- B. Contributing to a community to fulfill one's purpose
- C. Maximizing positive feelings and minimizing negative ones ✓
- D. Pursuing excellence in one's chosen craft
Why: The hedonic approach defines well-being in terms of subjective experience, specifically maximizing pleasure or positive affect and minimizing pain or negative affect. The other options describe features of eudaimonic well-being, which focuses on meaning, virtue, purpose, and excellence.
Q5. A common criticism of hedonism is that it fails to account for which of the following?
- A. The importance of physical health
- B. The value of meaningful goals and relationships independent of how they feel ✓
- C. The role of memory in human life
- D. The existence of emotions
Why: Critics such as Robert Nozick, through his experience machine thought experiment, argue that people value things beyond their pleasurable experiences, such as real relationships and achievements. This suggests well-being involves more than subjective feeling, which is a key argument for eudaimonic accounts.
Module 6
Module 6: Empirical Evidence on Happiness and Flourishing
Empirical Evidence on Happiness and Flourishing
Knowledge check
Q1. Which of the following best describes hedonic wellbeing?
- A. Living in accordance with one's deepest values and realizing one's potential
- B. Experiencing frequent positive emotions and a low frequency of negative emotions, along with life satisfaction ✓
- C. Having strong social bonds and contributing to the welfare of one's community
- D. Achieving a sense of meaning through religious or spiritual commitment
Why: Hedonic wellbeing focuses on pleasure, positive affect, and the absence of pain or negative emotion, often measured through life satisfaction and affect balance. Eudaimonic wellbeing, by contrast, emphasizes meaning, self-realization, and living in line with one's values.
Q2. The term 'eudaimonia' originates from which philosophical tradition?
- A. Epicurean philosophy
- B. Stoic philosophy
- C. Aristotelian ethics ✓
- D. Utilitarian philosophy
Why: Eudaimonia was central to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, where it refers to human flourishing achieved through the exercise of virtue and rational activity over a complete life. The term is often translated as 'flourishing' or 'well-being' in modern psychology.
Q3. Which measure is most commonly used in empirical research to assess the hedonic component of wellbeing?
- A. Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale
- B. Self-actualization questionnaire
- C. Satisfaction With Life Scale combined with positive and negative affect measures ✓
- D. Purpose in Life Test
Why: The Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener et al.) measures cognitive life evaluation, and positive and negative affect scales (such as PANAS) capture emotional experience. Together they form the standard hedonic assessment. Ryff's scale and the Purpose in Life Test are associated with eudaimonic wellbeing.
Q4. Carol Ryff's model of psychological wellbeing includes which of the following dimensions?
- A. Pleasure, pain avoidance, and life satisfaction
- B. Self-acceptance, purpose in life, personal growth, positive relations, environmental mastery, autonomy, and related dimensions ✓
- C. Income, health, and education
- D. Extraversion, agreeableness, and openness
Why: Ryff proposed six (later extended to seven) eudaimonic dimensions: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth, with a seventh, self-acceptance and related constructs, added in some versions. These capture flourishing beyond simple pleasure.
Q5. Empirical research suggests that hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing are best described as which of the following?
- A. Completely independent and unrelated constructs
- B. Identical measures of the same underlying concept
- C. Distinct but moderately to highly correlated dimensions of wellbeing ✓
- D. Only meaningful when measured in the same population
Why: Studies consistently find that hedonic and eudaimonic measures are empirically distinguishable yet positively correlated, meaning people who feel good often also report meaning, though the two can diverge. This supports treating them as complementary aspects of wellbeing.
Module 7
Module 7: Applying the Distinction to Everyday Life and Policy
Applying the Distinction to Everyday Life and Policy
Knowledge check
Q1. Which of the following best describes hedonic wellbeing?
- A. Living in accordance with one's deepest values and realizing one's potential
- B. The presence of positive feelings like pleasure and the absence of negative feelings like pain ✓
- C. Contributing to the welfare of one's community through civic participation
- D. Having strong social bonds and a sense of belonging to a group
Why: Hedonic wellbeing focuses on subjective experience: maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain or discomfort. Eudaimonic wellbeing, by contrast, concerns meaning, purpose, and self-realization.
Q2. A city government wants to measure whether its residents are doing well. Which indicator would best capture eudaimonic wellbeing?
- A. The average daily self-reported mood of residents
- B. The percentage of residents who report finding their work meaningful and feeling they have a purpose ✓
- C. The number of entertainment venues per capita
- D. The average household income
Why: Eudaimonic wellbeing emphasizes purpose, meaning, and personal growth. Measuring whether residents find their work meaningful and have a sense of purpose targets this dimension directly, whereas mood or income mostly reflect hedonic or material aspects.
Q3. Which policy is most likely to improve eudaimonic rather than only hedonic wellbeing?
- A. Subsidizing free streaming entertainment for all citizens
- B. Funding adult education and volunteer programs that let people develop skills and contribute to their communities ✓
- C. Extending paid vacation days by one week for all workers
- D. Offering discounts on restaurant meals
Why: Adult education and volunteering foster competence, autonomy, purpose, and contribution, which are core features of eudaimonic wellbeing. Entertainment subsidies, vacation time, and dining discounts mainly produce pleasant experiences, which are hedonic in nature.
Q4. A critic argues that a society focused only on maximizing happiness scores could neglect important goods. Which example best illustrates this concern?
- A. People feel content while spending their lives in a job they find empty, because it pays well and feels comfortable ✓
- B. People report high life satisfaction because they are pursuing goals they value
- C. Communities report strong pride in local traditions and shared service
- D. Students feel energized after learning a difficult skill they chose to master
Why: The concern is that positive feelings can coexist with a life lacking meaning or growth. A person who feels comfortable in an empty job illustrates a hedonic score that masks the absence of eudaimonic goods like purpose and self-realization.
Q5. Why do many wellbeing researchers argue that both hedonic and eudaimonic measures should be used in policy evaluation?
- A. Because hedonic measures are always inaccurate and should be discarded
- B. Because each captures distinct aspects of a good life, and people can score high on one while low on the other ✓
- C. Because eudaimonic wellbeing can be measured only by income data
- D. Because the two forms of wellbeing are identical and measuring both is redundant
Why: Hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing are related but distinct. A person may experience frequent pleasure yet lack purpose, or pursue meaningful struggles that bring less momentary pleasure. Using both gives policymakers a more complete picture of how people are doing.