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The relationship between wealth and overall happiness has been extensively researched. For example, happiness has been examined by previous research using fundamental questions such as the fulfillment of basic needs, social psychological needs, and various economic predictors that parallel increased income. In this current Collaborative Replications and Education Project (CREP) of Diener et al. (2010), a United States sample (N = 100) with random-digit telephone dialing used identical Gallup World Poll questions from the original study. Phone survey questions were used to assess different types of subjective well-being (overall life assessment, positive feelings, negative feelings), various social psychological predictors (e.g., feelings of respect, reliance on family and friends), and various economic predictors (e.g., annual household income, luxury conveniences). A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to examine associations between potential mediators on three dependent variables measuring subjective well-being: overall life assessment, positive feelings, and negative feelings. Using four steps, predictors were entered in the following order for each dependent variable: unfulfilled basic needs, social psychological needs, luxury conveniences and satisfaction with standard living, and log income. Unfulfilled basic needs and social psychological predictors significantly predicted overall life assessment and positive feelings (p’s < .05); however luxury conveniences and satisfaction with standard of living, as well as log income, did not. At step four, R squared = .37 for overall life assessment and R squared = .18 for positive feelings. Negative feelings were significantly predicted by unfulfilled basic needs (p = .004) with no other predictors contributing significantly. At step four, R squared = .13. Most notably, log income did not significantly predict any of the subjective well-being variables. These results provide independent empirical support for most of Diener’s findings. While fulfillment of basic needs offers the greatest prediction of subjective well-being, social psychological mediators are crucial for overall life assessment and positive feelings. The importance of this replication utilizing a United States sample offers an exploration into specific mediators that may enhance quality of life and potential happiness among individuals within the nation. Our findings reaffirm the idea that quality of life and happiness is not merely income.
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