| Abstract: |
This paper studies the test-retest reliability of a standard self-reported
life satisfaction measure and of affect measures collected from a diary
method. The sample consists of 229 women who were interviewed on Thursdays,
two weeks apart, in Spring 2005. The correlation of net affect (i.e.,
duration-weighted positive feelings less negative feelings) measured two weeks
apart is 0.64, which is slightly higher than the correlation of life
satisfaction (r=0.59). Correlations between income, net affect and life
satisfaction are presented, and adjusted for attenuation bias due to
measurement error. Life satisfaction is found to correlate much more strongly
with income than does net affect. Components of affect that are more
person-specific are found to have a higher test-retest reliability than
components of affect that are more specific to the particular situation. While
reliability figures for subjective well-being measures are lower than those
typically found for education, income and many other microeconomic variables,
they are probably sufficiently high to support much of the research that is
currently being undertaken on subjective well-being, particularly in studies
where group means are compared (e.g., across activities or demographic groups). |