Edward F. Diener, Ph.D.

Research Interests

I pioneered work on subjective well-being – happiness, life satisfaction, and positive emotions – and have been conducting research in this field for over three decades. My laboratory has explored questions such as whether money makes people happy, whether women or men are happier, and how national policies influence people's well-being. We have also studied many processes that affect well-being such as social comparison and coping. An important recent contribution is the finding that happiness contributes to health and longevity, social relationships and citizenship, work productivity, and resilience. Another new development is the formation of national accounts of well-being to monitor the well-being of various groups in nations, and studying the societal and organizational policies that contribute to well-being.

Education

Ph.D. University of Washington

B.A. California State University at Fresno

Selected Publications

Diener, E. (2016). Happiness is a virtue -- Good for you and good for the world! In R. J. Sternberg, S. T. Fiske, & D. J. Foss (Eds.), Scientists making a difference: One-hundred eminent behavioral and brain scientists talk about their most important contributions. (pp. 345-348). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Diener, E., Heintzelman, S. J., Kushlev, K., Tay, L., Wirtz, D., Lutes, L. D., & Oishi, S. (2016, October 6). Findings All Psychologists Should Know From the New Science on Subjective Well-Being. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cap0000063

Zuckerman, M., Li, C., & Diener, E. (in press). Societal conditions and the gender differences in well-being: Testing a 3-stage model. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Diener, E., & Seligman, M. E. P.. (2017). Beyond money revisited: Progress on national accounts of well-being for policy.  Perspectives on Psychological Science, 30^th Year Anniversary Issue, Association for Psychological Science, in press.

Diener, E., & Seligman, M. E. P., Choi, H., & Oishi, S. (2017).  Happiest people revisited: A worldwide examination. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 30^th Year Anniversary Issue, Association for Psychological Science, invited article.

Biswas-Diener, R., Lyubchik, N., & Diener, E. (2015). Well-being in Bhutan. International Journal of Well-Being, 5, 1-13.

Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Lucas, R. E. (2015). National accounts of subjective well-being. American Psychologist,70, 234-242.

Diener, E., & Tay, L. (2015). Subjective well-being and human welfare around the world as reflected in the Gallup World Poll. International Journal of Psychology, 50, 135-149.

Diener, E. (2014). Pioneer in Subjective Quality of Life Research: Edward F. Diener. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 9, 137-138.

Diener, E., Kahneman, D., & Helliwell, J.F. (Eds.) (2010). International differences in well-being. New York: Oxford University Press.

Diener, E. (2009). The science of well-being: The collected works of Ed Diener. Social Indicators Research Series, Vol. 37. The Netherlands: Springer.

Diener, E. (2009). Culture and well-being: The collected works of Ed Diener. Social Indicators Research Series, Vol. 38. The Netherlands: Springer

Diener, E. (2009). Assessing well-being: The collected works of Ed Diener. Social Indicators Research Series, Vol. 39. The Netherlands, Springer.

Diener, E., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2008). Happiness: Unlocking the mysteries of psychological wealth. Malden, MA: Wiley/Blackwell.

Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803-855.

Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276-302.

Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction With Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75.

Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542-575.

Current Graduate Students

Danielle Geerling

Elissa Lauber