This paper studies the test-retest reliability of a standard self-reported life satisfaction measure and of affect measures collected from a diary method. The sample consists of 229 women who were interviewed on Thursdays, two weeks apart, in Spring 2005. The correlation of net affect (i.e., duration-weighted positive feelings less negative feelings) measured two weeks apart is .64, which is slightly higher than the correlation of life satisfaction (r = .59). Correlations between income, net affect and life satisfaction are presented, and adjusted for attenuation bias due to measurement error. Life satisfaction is found to correlate much more strongly with income than does net affect. Components of affect that are more person-specific are found to have a higher test-retest reliability than components of affect that are more specific to the particular situation. While reliability figures for subjective well-being measures are lower than those typically found for education, income and many other microeconomic variables, they are probably sufficiently high to support much of the research that is currently being undertaken on subjective well-being, particularly in studies where group means are compared (e.g., across activities or demographic groups).
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Volume (Year): 92 (2008) Issue (Month): 8-9 (August) Pages: 1833-1845 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
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Alan B. Krueger & Daniel Kahneman & David Schkade & Norbert Schwarz & Arthur A. Stone, 2007.
"National Time Accounting: The Currency of Life,"
NBER Chapters,
in: Measuring the Subjective Well-Being of Nations: National Accounts of Time Use and Well-Being, pages 9-86
National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
[Downloadable!]
Other versions:
Alan B. Krueger & Daniel Kahneman & David Schkade & Norbert Schwarz & Arthur A. Stone, 2007.
"National Time Accounting: The Currency of Life,"
Working Papers
1034, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
[Downloadable!]
Alan B. Krueger & Daniel Kahneman & David Schkade & Norbert Schwarz & Arthur A. Stone, 2008.
"National Time Accounting: The Currency of Life,"
Working Papers
1061, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
[Downloadable!]
David G. Blanchflower, 2007.
"International Evidence on Well-Being,"
NBER Chapters,
in: Measuring the Subjective Well-Being of Nations: National Accounts of Time Use and Well-Being, pages 155-226
National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
[Downloadable!]