Life Satisfaction, Concept of

Life satisfaction is an endorsement of or positive attitude toward one’s life overall.

Description

The concept of life satisfaction is employed in philosophical and psychological accounts of happiness and well-being. “Life satisfaction” is regularly used as a synonym for “happiness” and is often either identified with or seen as a significant component of well-being. However, there are two distinct senses of “satisfaction” at use in these various accounts: in some accounts, “satisfaction” refers to the perceived fulfillment of expectations or standards; in other accounts, “satisfaction” refers to a feeling of being pleased with something. Because of these different senses of the term “satisfaction,” there are broadly two different conceptions of life satisfaction at use in life satisfaction accounts.

Accounts using “satisfaction” in the first sense (the standard-fulfillment sense) are “cognitive” accounts of life satisfaction. In.