Needs and subjective well-being around the world
Tay and Diener examined need fulfilment and subjective well-being in 123 countries. Their abstract reports that need fulfilment was consistently linked to well-being across world regions, that life evaluation was most tied to meeting basic needs while positive and negative feelings were tied to social, respect and autonomy needs, that societal-level need fulfilment predicted well-being beyond individuals' own, and that the patterns held with household income accounted for.
Tay and Diener examined need fulfilment and subjective well-being in 123 countries. Their abstract reports that need fulfilment was consistently linked to well-being across world regions, that life evaluation was most tied to meeting basic needs while positive and negative feelings were tied to social, respect and autonomy needs, that societal-level need fulfilment predicted well-being beyond individuals' own, and that the patterns held with household income accounted for.
Written from the abstract, OpenAlex record and journal record, 2026-11-11.
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Tay, L., & Diener, E. (2011). Needs and subjective well-being around the world. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(2), 354-365. doi:10.1037/a0023779 https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023779