Contributions of Neurosciences to Studies of Well-Being in Tourism

Subjective Well-Being And Tourism

The field of subjective well-being (SWB) comprises the scientific analysis of how people evaluate their lives (Diener & Suh, 1997) in moments of the past, the present, and for more extended periods. It includes people’s emotional responses, domain satisfactions, and global judgments of life satisfaction, the domains being the fields of work, health, marriage, leisure, among others (Diener et al., 2003). It is also a broad category of phenomena, which need to be understood by itself; that is, it is a general area of ​​scientific interest and not just a specific construct (Diener, Suh, Lucas & Smith, 1999).

Diener (1984) describes SWB in three hallmarks. First, it is subjective because it lives within the experience of the individual; second, subjective well-being includes positive measures and negative factors; and the third one is that SWB measures include a global assessment of all aspects of a person’s life. According to the same author, SWB can be acquired when a specific state is reached, whether being an objective or need. And the discovery that SWB is associated with many desirable social and psychological results, such as higher income, a more optimistic outlook, significant relationships, better physical and mental health, and greater community involvement, demonstrate the importance of adopt this perspective (Kim & Hall, 2019).