Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Theoretical Perspectives Guiding QOL Indicator Projects

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Most of the theoretically based QOL indicators projects can be classified in terms of six major theoretical concepts: (a) socio-economic development (b) personal utility, (c) just society, (d) human development, (e) sustainability, and (f) functioning. I explain the core aspects of these six theoretical paradigms and show how they help guide QOL researchers to select and develop QOL indicators that are significantly and qualitatively distinct. A taxonomy of QOL indicators guided by a given theoretical concept is likely to be very different from others taxonomies guided by different theoretical concepts. Thus, the objective of this paper to explain these theoretical paradigms and show how they guide QOL researchers to select and develop QOL indicators that are significantly and qualitatively distinct.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alfsen, K. H., Hass, J. L., Tao, H., & You, W. (2006). International experiences with “green GDP.” Report 2006/32, Statistics Norway.

  • Alkire, S. (2002). Valuing freedoms: Sen’s capability approach and poverty reduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anand, S., & Sen, A. (2000). The income component of the human development index. Journal of Human Development, 1(1), 83–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrew, F. M., & Withey, S. B. (1976). Social indicators of well-being: America’s perception of life quality. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anielski, M. (2007). The economics of happiness: Building genuine wealth. Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada: New Society Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Battista, J., & Almond, R. (1973). The development of meaning in life. Psychiatry, 36, 409–427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berenger, V., & Verdier-Chouchane, A. (2007). Multidimensional measures of well-being: Standard of living and quality of life across countries. World Development, 35(7), 1259–1276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger-Schmitt, R. (2002). Considering social cohesion in quality of life assessments: Concept and measurement. Social Indicators Research, 58, 403–428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bovar, O., Demotes-Mainard, M., Dormoy, C., Gasnier, L., Marcus, V., & Tregouet, B. (2008). Les indicateurs de developmpement durable. L’economie Francaise: Comptes et Dossiers. 2008 edn, INSEE.

  • Bradburn, N. M. (1969). The structure of psychological well-being. Chicago: Alpine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brickman, P., Coates, D., & Janoff-Bulman, R. (1978). Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 646–653.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, A., Converse, P. E., & Rodgers, W. L. (1976). The quality of American life: Perspectives, evaluations, and satisfactions. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concerns. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S., Lawrence, J. W., & Scheier, M. F. (1996). A control-process perspective on the origin of affect. In L. L. Martin & A. Tesser (Eds.), Striving and feeling: Interactions among goals, affect, and regulation (pp. 11–52). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chamberlain, K., & Zika, S. (1988). Measuring meaning in life: An examination of three scales. Personality and Individual Differences, 9, 589–596.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cobb, C. W., & Cobb, J. (1994). The green national product. Lanham: University of Press of America.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cobb, J., & Daly, H. (1989). For the common good: Redirecting the economy toward community, the environment, and a sustainable future. Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding Flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York: Harper Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M., Tathunde, K., & Whalen, S. (1993). Talented teenagers: The roots of success and failure. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, R. A., Eckersley, R., Pallant, J., Van Vugt, J., & Misajon, R. (2003). Developing a national index of subjective wellbeing: The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index. Social Indicators Research, 64, 159–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Iribarne, P. (1974). The relationship between subjective and objective well being. In B. Strumpel (Ed.), Subjective elements of well being. Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 75(3), 542–575.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Diener, C. (1995). Income and the quality of life of nations. Social Indicators Research, 36, 275–286.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Emmons, R. A. (1984). The independence of positive and negative affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 1105–1117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Fujita, F. (1997). Social comparisons and subjective well-being. In B. Buunk & R. Gibbons (Eds.), Health, coping, and social comparison (pp. 329–357). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Sandvik, E., Seidlitz, L., & Diener, M. (1993). The relationship between income and subjective well-being: Relative or absolute? Social Indicators Research, 28, 195–223.

    Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D., Oishi, S., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators, 97(2), 143–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dluhy, M., & Swatrz, N. (2006). Connecting knowledge and policy: The promise of community indicators in the United States. Social Indicators Research, 79, 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dockray, S., Grant, N., Stone, A. A., Kahneman, D., Wardle, J., & Steptoe, A (2010). A comparison of affect ratings obtained with ecological momentary assessment and the Day Reconstruction Method. Social Indicators Research. doi:10.1007/s11205-010-9578-7.

  • Dolan, P., & Kahneman, D. (2008). Interpretations of utility and their implications for the valuation of health. Economics Journal, 118, 215–234.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dyck, M. J. (1987). Assessing logotherapeutic constructs: Conceptual and psychometric status of the purpose in life and seeking of noetic goals tests. Clinical Psychology Review, 7, 439–447.

    Google Scholar 

  • Easterlin, R. A. (1974). Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence. In P. A. David & M. W. Reder (Eds.), Nations and households in economic growth (pp. 89–125). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emmons, R. A. (1992). Abstract versus concrete goals: Personal striving level, physical illness, and psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 292–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Estes, R., Levy, M., Srebotnjak, T., & de Shrebinin, A. (2005). The 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index: National environmental stewardship. New Haven, CT: Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankl, V. (1963). Man’s search for meaning (Revised ed.). London: Hodder & Stoughton.

  • Frankl, V. (1967). Psychotherapy and existentialism. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(special issue), 218–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frisch, M. B. (2006). Quality of life therapy: Applying a life satisfaction approach to positive psychology and cognitive therapy. Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fukuda-Parr, S. (2002). Rescuing the human development from the HDI: Reflections on a New Agenda, retrieved 17 March 2006 on http://www.nu.or.cr/pnud/docs/fukuda-parr2.pdf.

  • Hagerty, M. R., Cummins, R. A., Ferriss, A. L., Land, K., Michalos, A. C., Peterson, M., et al. (2001). Quality of life indexes for national policy: Review and agenda for future research. Social Indicators Research, 55, 1–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haller, M., & Hadler, M. (2006). How social relations and structures can produce happiness and unhappiness: An international comparative analysis. Social Indicators Research, 75, 169–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Headey, B. W. (1993). An economic model of subjective well-being: Integrating economic and psychological theories. Social Indicators Research, 28, 97–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Headey, B. W., Holmstrom, E. L., & Wearing, A. J. (1984). Well-being and ill-being: Different dimensions? Social Indicators Research, 14, 115–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Headey, B. W., Holmstrom, E. L., & Wearing, A. J. (1985). Models of well-being and ill-being. Social Indicators Research, 17, 211–234.

    Google Scholar 

  • Helliwell, J. F., Barrington-Leigh, C., Harris, A., & Huang, H. (2009). International evidence on the social context of well-being. In E. Diener, D. Kahneman, & J. F. Helliwell (Eds.), International differences in well-being. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hemmati, M. (2000). Gender-specific patterns of poverty and (over-)consumption in developing and developed countries. In E. Jochem, et al. (Eds.), Society, behaviour, and climate change mitigation (pp. 169–189). Dordrechet, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hemmati, M., & CSD NGO Women’s Caucus. (2000). Women and sustainable development 2000–2002: Recommendations in Agenda 21 and suggestions for a review of implementation. New York/London: CSD NGO Women’s Caucus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hicks, D. (1997). The inequality-adjusted human development index: A constructive proposal. World Development, 25(8), 1283–1298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hicks, J. A., & King, L. A. (2007). Meaning in life and seeing the big picture: Positive affect and global focus. Cognition and Emotion, 21, 1577–1584.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jamieson, D. (2002). Morality’s progress. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B., Schkade, D. A., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2004). A survey method for characterizing daily life experience: The day reconstruction method. Science, 306, 1776–1780.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1996). Further examining the American dream: Differential correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 280–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenny, C. (2005). Does development make you happy? Subjective wellbeing and economic growth in developing countries. Social Indicators Research, 73(2), 199–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43, 207–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knack, S., & Keefer, P. (1997). Does social capital have an economic payoff? A cross-country investigation. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112, 1251–1288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lance, C. E., Mallard, A. G., & Michalos, A. C. (1995). Tests of the causal directions of global-life facet satisfaction relationships. Social Indicators Research, 34, 69–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Land, K., Lamb, V. L., & Mustillo, S. K. (2001). Child and youth well-being in the United States, 1975–1998: Some findings from a new index. Social Indicators Research, 56, 241–320.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larson, R. (1978). Thirty years of research on the subjective well-being of older Americans. Journal of Gerontology, 33, 109–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd, K. M., & Auld, C. J. (2002). The role of leisure in determining quality of life: Issues of content and measurement. Social Indicators Research, 57(1), 43–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massimini, F., & Carli, M. (1988). The systematic assessment of flow in daily experience. In M. Csikszentmihalyi & I. Csikszentmihalyi (Eds.), Optimal experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness (pp. 266–287). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meadow, H. L., Mentzer, J. T., Rahtz, D. R., & Sirgy, M. J. (1992). A life satisfaction measure based on judgment theory. Social Indicators Research, 26(1), 23–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mehnert, T., Krauss, H. H., Nadler, R., & Boyd, M. (1990). Correlates of life satisfaction in those with disabling conditions. Rehabilitation Psychology, 35, 3–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melton, A. M. A., & Schulenberg, S. E. (2008). On the measurement of meaning: Logotherapy’s empirical contributions to Humanistic psychology. The Humanistic Psychologist, 36, 31–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michalos, A. C. (1985). Multiple discrepancies theory (MDT). Social Indicators Research, 16, 347–413.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michalos, A. C. (2005). Arts and the quality of life: An exploratory study. Social Indicators Research, 71, 11–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michalos, A. C., & Kahlke, P. M. (2008). Impact of arts-related activities on the perceived quality of life. Social Indicators Research, 89, 193–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michalos, A. C., & Zumbo, B. D. (2003). Leisure activities, health and the quality of life. In A. C. Michalos (Ed.), Essays on the quality of life (pp. 217–238). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moran, D., Wackernagel, M., Kitzes, J., Godlfinger, S., & Boutaud, A. (2008). Measuring sustainable development—Nation by nation. Ecological Economics, 64(3), 470–474.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, J., & Farsides, T. (2009). Measuring meaning in life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10(2), 197–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Narayana, M. R. (2009). Education, human development and quality of life: Measurement issues and implications for India. Social Indicators Research, 90, 279–293.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neugarten, P., Havighurst, P., & Tobin, S. (1961). The measurement of life satisfaction. Journal of Gerontology, 16, 134–143.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nolan, B., & Whelan, C. T. (1996). Resources, deprivation, and poverty. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noll, H.-H. (2002). Towards a European system of social indicators: Theoretical framework and system architecture. Social Indicators Research, 58, 47–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nordhaus, W., & Tobin, J. (1973). Is growth obsolete? In M. Moss (Ed.), The measurement of economic and social performance. New York: National Bureau of Economic Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M. C. (2000). Women and human development: The capabilities approach. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Hare, W. P., & Bramstedt, N. L. (2003). Assessing the KIDS COUNT composite index. A Kids Count working paper. Baltimore, MD: Annie E. Casey Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osberg, L., & Sharpe, A. (2002). An index of economic well-being for selected OECD countries. The Review of Income and Wealth, Series 48, Number 3.

  • Palomar, J. (1997). La Pobreza y el Bienestar Subjetivo. Unpublished manuscript.

  • Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the satisfaction with life scale. Psychological Assessment, 5, 164–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pavot, W., Diener, E., Colvin, R., & Sandvik, E. (1991). Further validation of the satisfaction with life scale: Evidence for the cross-method convergence of self-report well-being measures. Journal of Personality Assessment, 57, 149–161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Proshansky, H. M., & Fabian, A. K. (1986). Psychological aspects of the quality of urban life. In D. Frick (Ed.), The quality of urban life (pp. 19–29). New York: Walter de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawls, J. (1971). A theory of justice. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawls, J. (1975). Fairness to goodness. Philosophical Review, 84, 530–543.

    Google Scholar 

  • Repetto, R., Malgrath, W., Wells, M., Beer, C., & Rossini, F. (1989). Wasting assets: Natural resources in the national income accounts. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ringen, S. (1995). Well-being, measurement, and preferences. Acta Sociologica, 38, 3–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. The American Psychologist, 55, 68–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rychen, D. S., & Salganik, L. H. (2003). Key competencies: For a successful life and well-functioning society. Cambridge, MA: Hogefe and Huber.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological wellbeing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069–1081.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 719–727.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (1996). Psychological well-being: Meaning, measurement, and implications for psychotherapy research. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 65, 14–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (1998). The contours of positive human health. Psychological Inquiry, 9, 1–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schulenberg, S. E., & Melton, A. M. A. (2010). A confirmatory factor-analytic evaluation of the Purpose in Life Test: Preliminary psychometric support for a replicable two-factor model. Journal of Happiness Studies, 11(1), 95–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwab, D. P. (1980). Construct validity in organizational behavior. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 2, pp. 3–43). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (1987). Commodities and capabilities. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Delhi, India: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shin, D. C. (1980). Subjective indicators and the comparative evaluation of the quality of community life. American Journal of Community Psychology, 8(5), 523–535.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sirgy, M. J., Cole, D., Kosenko, R., Meadowm, H. L., Rahtz, D., Cicic, M., et al. (1995). A life satisfaction measure: Additional validational data for the Congruity Life Satisfaction Measure. Social Indicators Research, 34, 237–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sirgy, M. J., Rahtz, D. R., Cicic, M., & Underwood, R. (2000). A method for assessing residents’ satisfaction with community-based services: A quality-of-life perspective. Social Indicators Research, 49, 279–316.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steger, M. F., Kashdan, T. B., Sullivan, B. A., & Lorentz, D. (2008). Understanding the search for meaning in life: Personality, cognitive style, and the dynamic between seeking and experiencing meaning. Journal of Personality, 76, 199–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talberth, J., Cobb, C., & Slattery, N. (2006). The Genuine Progress Indictor 2006: A tool for sustainable development. Oakland, CA: Redefining Progress (available at www.rprogress.org).

  • The Boston Foundation. (2001). Social capital in Boston: Findings from the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey. Boston: The Boston Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNDP. (1995). Human development report 1995. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNDP. (1996). Human development report 1996. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNDP. (2005). Human development report 2005. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNDP. (2006). Human development report 2006. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veenhoven, R. (1988). The utility of happiness? Social Indicators Research, 20, 334–354.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veenhoven, R. (1991). Is happiness relative? Social Indicators Research, 24, 1–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veenhoven, R. (1996). Happy life expectancy: A comprehensive measure of quality-of-life in nations. Social Indicators Research, 39, 1–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wackernagel, M., & Rees, W. (1995). Our ecological footprint: Reducing human impact on the earth. Gabriola Island, British Columbia: New Society Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagle, U. (2008). Multidimensional poverty measurement: Concepts and applications. New York, NY: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waterman, A. S. (2005). When effort is enjoyed: Two studies of intrinsic motivation for personally salient activities. Motivation and Emotion, 29, 165–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waterman, A. S., Schwartz, S. J., & Conti, R. (2008). The implications of two conceptions of happiness (hedonic enjoyment and eudaimonia) for the understanding of intrinsic motivation. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 41–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070.

    Google Scholar 

  • Widgery, R. N. (1982). Satisfaction with the quality of urban life: A predictive model. American Journal of Community Psychology, 10(1), 37–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, V., Wylie, H., & Sheafor, B. (1969). An analysis of a short self-report measure of life satisfaction: Correlation with rater judgments. Journal of Gerontology, 24, 465–469.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pamplin College of Business, Department of Marketing, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech), 2025 Pamplin Hall, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0236, USA

    M. Joseph Sirgy

Authors
  1. M. Joseph Sirgy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Joseph Sirgy.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sirgy, M.J. Theoretical Perspectives Guiding QOL Indicator Projects. Soc Indic Res 103, 1–22 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-010-9692-6

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-010-9692-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation