Matt has had a wonderful semester at college. He has made A's or B's on most of his tests and assignments. He enjoys his part-time job and recently got a raise, and he has a steady girlfriend, whom he enjoys spending time with and who is also very supportive. However, Matt's mother called this morning to tell him that his grandfather, to whom he is very close, is very ill. According to the research, Matt's happiness or subjective well-being would be
A)low due to the overwhelmingly negative emotion Matt is feeling regarding his grandfather's illness.
B)neutral, since the intense negative emotion generated by his grandfather's illness cancels out the positive emotions generated by Matt's everyday college experiences.
C)high because Matt is experiencing frequent positive emotions and relatively few negative emotions.
D)unpredictable, since Matt is young, and his emotions tend to fluctuate daily.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Matt's happiness or subjective well-being would likely be high because he is experiencing frequent positive emotions from various aspects of his life (academic success, job satisfaction, and a supportive relationship) and relatively few negative emotions, even considering his grandfather's illness. The positive aspects of his life can contribute significantly to his overall subjective well-being, outweighing the negative emotion from his grandfather's illness.

Matt Has Had a Wonderful Semester at College