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On the Sunny Side of Life: Sunshine Effects on Life Satisfaction

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  • Sylvia Kämpfer
  • Michael Mutz

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyze the influence of the weather on a person’s self-reported life satisfaction. On a theoretical level, it is claimed that ‘nice’ weather can improve the affective well-being of a person. Given this, it is argued that affects can, in turn, have an impact on that person’s general assessment of his or her life. In particular, it is expected that people would report a higher life satisfaction on days with unambiguously ‘nice’ weather. Data from three German large-scale surveys are used to test empirically to what extent self-reported life satisfaction is determined by the weather. All in all, the results are mostly consistent with the initial hypothesis. In all three samples those respondents surveyed on days with exceptionally sunny weather reported a higher life satisfaction compared to respondents interviewed on days with ‘ordinary’ weather. In two out of three samples, this difference was statistically significant. Hence, the supposed sunshine effect on peoples’ life satisfaction does indeed exist. Implications of these findings are discussed in a conclusion. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Sylvia Kämpfer & Michael Mutz, 2013. "On the Sunny Side of Life: Sunshine Effects on Life Satisfaction," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(2), pages 579-595, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:110:y:2013:i:2:p:579-595
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-011-9945-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cahit Guven, 2009. "Weather and Financial Risk-Taking: Is Happiness the Channel?," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 218, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
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    6. Jacobsen, F.M. & Wehr, T.A. & Sack, D.A. & James, S.P. & Rosenthal, N.E., 1987. "Seasonal affective disorder: A review of the syndrome and its public health implications," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 77(1), pages 57-60.
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Kuehnle & Christoph Wunder, 2016. "Using the Life Satisfaction Approach to Value Daylight Savings Time Transitions: Evidence from Britain and Germany," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(6), pages 2293-2323, December.
    2. Zhang, Xin & Wang, Yixuan & Chen, Xi & Zhang, Xun, 2019. "Prenatal Sunshine Exposure and Birth Outcomes in China," IZA Discussion Papers 12877, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Yang, Bi & Mattila, Anna S., 2020. "Consumer responses to savings message framing," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Fleming, David & Grimes, Arthur & Lebreton, Laurent & Maré, David & Nunns, Peter, 2018. "Valuing sunshine," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 268-276.
      • David Fleming & Arthur Grimes & Laurent Lebreton & David C Maré & Peter Nunns, 2017. "Valuing Sunshine," Working Papers 17_13, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    5. Claudia Schmiedeberg & Jette Schröder, 2014. "Does Weather Really Influence the Measurement of Life Satisfaction?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 387-399, June.
    6. Erda Wang & Nannan Kang, 2019. "Does life satisfaction matter for pro-environmental behavior? Empirical evidence from China General Social Survey," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 449-469, January.
    7. Michael Mutz, 2019. "Life Satisfaction and the UEFA EURO 2016: Findings from a Nation-Wide Longitudinal Study in Germany," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 14(2), pages 375-391, April.
    8. Ruhose, Jens & Thomsen, Stephan, 2017. "Non-Monetary Benefits of Continuous Training," VfS Annual Conference 2017 (Vienna): Alternative Structures for Money and Banking 168169, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    9. Agarwal, Sumit & Chomsisengphet, Souphala & Meier, Stephan & Zou, Xin, 2020. "In the mood to consume: Effect of sunshine on credit card spending," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).

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