Life-satisfaction is more a matter of feeling well than having what you want: Tests of Veenhoven's theory

In assessing how satisfied we are with our lives as a whole, we draw on two sourcesof information: how well we feel most of the time and to what extend life has broughtus what we want from it. Though it is generally agreed that both affective andcognitive appraisals are involved, there is difference in opinion on their relativeweight in the overall evaluation of life. This difference is related to a discussion onthe nature of happiness; need-theory predicts the greater weight of affectiveexperience, while comparison theory predicts the greater weight of perceivedsuccess in meeting wants.This issue was investigated in a study among the working age population inFinland in 2012. As a first step we assessed whether respondents recognize thetheoretical difference between feeling well and having what you want; 51%answered an inconsistent combination of feeling well without having all they want.Respondents also answered three single questions using the same format on 1) overall satisfaction with life, 2) how pleasant or unpleasant they feel most of the timeand 3) to what extent life has brought them what they want from it. Responses to thequestion on how one feels most of the time correlated more strongly with lifesatisfaction than responses to the question of getting what one wants. This patternwas replicated in various subgroups.