Life satisfaction and happiness: Are they values ?

Philosophy has long wondered about relations between a happy and an honest, moral life. Instead, notwithstanding the progress of investigation on the components, antecedents and consequences of personal well-being, psychosocial research has neglected this issue. The main aim of the study presented in this chapter was to verify whether satisfaction with life – the cognitive component of Subjective Well-Being − and happiness constitute values, conceived as evaluations of the optimal choice of certain life goals and of the suitable behaviors to pursue them. 240 Italian subjects aged between 15 and 95 years completed the 15-value Questionario dei Valori [Value Questionnaire] (QV; Antonelli, Vidi, Rubini & Saviane, 2001) to which the items Being satisfied with life and Happiness were added. Participants were asked to rate the importance of each value as a guiding principle of their life. Main findings underline that both satisfaction with life and happiness are remarkable values for participants, especially the younger ones. Results are discussed in terms of the societal and cultural influences that lead to consider these two concepts as important values in one’s life.