By Dennis Sale
WELLBEING is an increasing area of human concern – highlighted in the media, educational arenas, and in society generally.
A lack of wellbeing is often seen as reflecting increases in such factors as the number of people with mental-health issues, people’s negative subjective experiences of living in the world, and heightened suicide rates. For example, according to a survey by the National Health Foundation (2017), only a small minority of people (13%) were found to be living with high levels of positive mental health, and two-thirds of people (65%) say that they have experienced a mental-health problem. This rises to seven in every ten women and young adults aged 18–34. In relation to suicide, data by the Office for National Statistics found that rates among young people aged 15–19 in England rose by 35% from 2020 to 2021.
In this series I firstly unpack the concept and key theories that have sought to define and explain the development of wellbeing, and the most salient factors that impact it – both positively and negatively. I then analyse and evaluate practices advocated in the extensive wellbeing industries that claim to enhance this desired existential state. This is a tough call, as, to use an old saying, “it’s hard to see the wood for the trees”. However, getting it right can be, quite simply, the difference between health and wellness – even life and death.
Framing the concept and components of wellbeing
For overview, in the mainstream literature, wellbeing is a broad term that encompasses a person’s overall state of health and happiness. The key components include physical health, mental health, social health and spiritual health – the latter involves finding purpose and meaning in life, whether this has a solely existential base and/or through connection with a metaphysical reality (eg, a god).
However, wellbeing is also a complex and multifaceted human state, and there are various theories that span across many fields, including psychology, philosophy, economics and sociology that attempt to explain its more detailed nature – especially what constitutes the key factors that promote and inhibit it.
From a cognitive-science perspective, it is necessary to ascertain specific evidence-based criteria so that the evaluation of activities and practices that are advocated to enhance wellbeing has empirical validity, and is not based on fad or fashion. While what constitutes wellbeing is open to different interpretations and emphasis, the framing of the likely preferences of people by Pinker (2017) makes perfect sense to me:
“Most people agree that life is better than death. Health is better than sickness. Sustenance is better than hunger. Abundance is better than poverty. Peace is better than war. Safety is better than danger. Freedom is better than tyranny. Equal rights are better than bigotry and discrimination. Literacy is better than illiteracy. Knowledge is better than ignorance. Intelligence is better than dull-wittedness. Happiness is better than misery. Opportunities to enjoy family and friends are better than drudgery and monotony.”
Such a viewpoint can be supported in many similar veins and contexts. For example, Harari (2016) argues that “the most real thing in the world is suffering”. This may sound somewhat extreme – even shocking – but I don’t think many of the inmates of Auschwitz would have taken issue with such a claim. Furthermore, we don’t need to look for archetypal examples, as suffering is embedded in most people’s lives at some time, in various ways. The point is not to be morbid here, but if suffering is an existential objective fact, then notions of enhancing wellbeing must be fundamentally concerned with the alleviation, or at least mitigation, of human suffering in its myriad of forms.
What we do know from extensive research is that a whole host of physical, social and emotional experiences have massive implications for brain development and physical and mental wellbeing. For example, Swaab (2015), summarising the evidence, highlights: “Children who are seriously neglected during their early development … have smaller brains; their intelligence and linguistic and fine motor control are permanently impaired, and they are impulsive and hyperactive.”
Certainly, we would not argue the case that such experiences and outcomes contribute to the wellbeing of these children. As Harris (2011) points out: “(1) Some people have better lives than others, and (2) these differences relate, in some lawful and not arbitrary way, to states of the human brain and states of the world.”
Theories of wellbeing
I will not attempt to explicate all theories of wellbeing in these short columns but only to summarise some key theories that show different perspectives. The interested reader can explore these and others in greater detail, and the literature is extensive. Also, I offer no evaluation of these perspectives currently – simply a descriptive summary.
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Hedonism and self-satisfaction
This theory posits that wellbeing is the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain. The more pleasure and the less pain in one’s experience the more likely a greater sense of wellbeing is felt. Certainly, there is face-validity to such a notion, as much suffering results from pain (eg, physical, psychological and financial) and people who win big in a lottery tend to display great pleasure – at least at the outset.
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Human needs
The basic tenets of such theories are that humans have certain needs, which if satisfied tend to lead to better wellbeing. For example, Maslow’s theory proposes that human needs are arranged in a hierarchical order, and that individuals are motivated to fulfil these needs in sequence from the most basic to the most advanced. The hierarchy is typically depicted as a pyramid with five levels:
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Physiological needs: Basic survival needs such as food, water, warmth and rest.
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Safety needs: Protection from harm, stability and security.
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Love and belongingness needs: Relationships, friendships, intimacy and social connections.
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Esteem needs: Self-esteem, recognition, status and respect from others.
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Self-actualisation: Achieving one’s potential, self-fulfilment and personal growth.
The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) of Ryan & Deci (2017) is perhaps the most validated current theory that offers evidence-based heuristics for framing wellbeing. As the authors state: “SDT is not a relativistic framework; it hits bedrock in its conception of certain universals in the social and cultural nutrients required to support healthy psychological and behavioural functioning.”
The theory posits only three basic and universal psychological needs: competence, relatedness and autonomy. As Ryan and Deci (2017) explain: “…a basic need is essential for growth, wellness and integrity. Accordingly, optimal development, supported by basic need satisfaction, will be manifested in the motivational process of (1) intrinsic motivation, a fundamental psychological growth process; (2) the internalisation and integration of behavioural regulations and social prescriptions and values, which results in psychological coherence and integrity and (3) an experience of vitality and wellness.
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Existential Search for Meaning
A particularly influential writer is Viktor Frankl, a neurologist, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, who developed a psychological framework (logotherapy) which focused on finding purpose and meaning in life, even in the most challenging circumstances. For him, the pursuit of meaning is a primary human drive that significantly contributes to overall wellbeing and resilience. In the context of today’s increasing mental-health concerns Frankl, drawing from his experiences of around 3 years in concentration camps, made an interesting observation: “Can you image a situation that for a human being which is more full of stress than Auschwitz and nearly all neurotic symptomatology disappeared in Auschwitz, and the degree to which suicide took place in Auschwitz and Dachau was surprisingly astonishing low.”
One may make a variety of inferences and interpretations from Frankl’s analysis, and we will explore this further in subsequent columns. In the next column, I analyse and evaluate the various factors that impact wellbeing, both from a societal perspective as well at the individual level – where much responsibility for personal wellbeing must ultimately rest.
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Dennis Sale worked in the Singapore education system for 25 years as adviser, researcher and examiner. He coached over 15,000 teaching professionals and provided 100-plus consultancies in the Asian region. Dennis is author of the books Creative Teachers: Self-directed Learners (Springer 2020) and Creative Teaching: An Evidence-Based Approach (Springer, 2015). To contact Dennis, visit dennissale.com.
