This book summarizes much of the research in subjective well-being and integrates this research into a parsimonious theory. The theory posits that much of the research on subjective well-being can be construed in terms of the personal strategies that people use to `optimize' their happiness and life satisfaction. These strategies include bottom-up spillover, top-down spillover, horizontal spillover, balance, re-evaluation, goal selection, and goal implementation.

M. Joseph Sirgy is a personality/social/industrial psychologist who has written extensively on the subject of quality-of-life. He is the director of the Office of Quality-of-Life Measurement (OQOLM) and a professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the USA. He is also the executive director of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS).

Preface. Part I: Introduction. 1. Definitions and Distinctions. 2. Examples of Measures of Subjective Well Being. 3. Motives Underlying Subjective Well Being. Part II: Inter-domain Strategies. 4. Bottom-up Spillover. 5. Top-down Spillover. 6. Horizontal Spillover. 7. Compensation. Part III: Intra-domain Strategies. 8. Re-evaluation Based on Personal History. 9. Re-evaluation Based on Self-concept. 10. Re-evaluation Based on Social Comparison. 11. Goal Selection. 12. Goal Implementation and Attainment. 13. Re-appraisal. Part IV: Inter- and Intra-domain Strategies. 14. Balance. Index. About the Author.