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A Person-Centered Exploration of Happiness Conceptions and Their Relation to Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being

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  • Mohsen Joshanloo

    (Keimyung University)

Abstract

This study employed a person-centered approach to investigate how individuals’ conceptions of happiness relate to their experienced well-being in a sample of 660 Canadian adults. Cluster analysis of eight different conceptions of happiness revealed three meaningful subgroups labeled skeptics, happiness seekers, and growth seekers. Skeptics highly valued happiness but perceived it as fragile, externally determined, and inflexible, and showed relatively high levels of fear of happiness. Happiness seekers had a "seize the moment" attitude, viewing happiness as malleable, controllable, and fleeting yet worth pursuing for pleasure and enjoyment. Growth seekers focused on meaning, growth, and self-actualization, believing happiness is relatively enduring and internally controllable. Cluster membership explained significant variation (6-13%) in participants' hedonic (life satisfaction, affect) and eudaimonic (psychological, social) well-being, with growth seekers reporting the highest levels and skeptics reporting the lowest levels of overall well-being. The findings highlight the diversity of happiness conceptions and their links to well-being. They suggest interventions should be tailored to individuals' specific belief systems, as a one-size-fits-all approach may be insufficient. By uncovering distinct subgroups of individuals, this study provides insights into heterogeneity in happiness conceptualizations and underscores the importance of personalized approaches to well-being promotion.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohsen Joshanloo, 2025. "A Person-Centered Exploration of Happiness Conceptions and Their Relation to Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 26(7), pages 1-19, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:26:y:2025:i:7:d:10.1007_s10902-025-00953-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-025-00953-w
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christopher Peterson & Nansook Park & Martin Seligman, 2005. "Orientations to happiness and life satisfaction: the full life versus the empty life," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 25-41, March.
    2. Andrew J. Howell & Holli-Anne Passmore & Mark D. Holder, 2016. "Implicit Theories of Well-Being Predict Well-Being and the Endorsement of Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(6), pages 2347-2363, December.
    3. Ethan McMahan & David Estes, 2011. "Hedonic Versus Eudaimonic Conceptions of Well-being: Evidence of Differential Associations With Self-reported Well-being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 103(1), pages 93-108, August.
    4. Charrad, Malika & Ghazzali, Nadia & Boiteau, Véronique & Niknafs, Azam, 2014. "NbClust: An R Package for Determining the Relevant Number of Clusters in a Data Set," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 61(i06).
    5. Mohsen Joshanloo, 2021. "Centrality and Dimensionality of 14 Indicators of Mental Well-Being in Four Countries: Developing an Integrative Framework to Guide Theorizing and Measurement," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 158(2), pages 727-750, December.
    6. Mohsen Joshanloo & Dan Weijers & Ding-Yu Jiang & Gyuseog Han & Jaechang Bae & Joyce Pang & Lok Ho & Maria Ferreira & Melikşah Demir & Muhammad Rizwan & Imran Khilji & Mustapha Achoui & Ryosuke Asano &, 2015. "Fragility of Happiness Beliefs Across 15 National Groups," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(5), pages 1185-1210, October.
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