Daniel Kahneman

Daniel Kahneman (with Vernon Smith) won the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics and is Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology and Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. Kahneman was awarded the Nobel Prize for his studies on the psychology and decision-making process of economic actors. He contributed to the field of behavioral economics by challenging the assumption that individuals make rational decisions motivated solely by self-interest. In addition, he has won the Hilgard Award for Lifetime Contribution to General Psychology and the Warren Medal of the Society of Experimental Psychologists, as well as the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award.

Toward a Science of Well-Being

The topic of well-being is attracting considerable interest among social scientists, but there is no consensus on the definition of that concept, or on an approach to measuring it. A distinction between the well-being of the experiencing self and well-being as it is assessed by a remembering self sheds new light on some old issues, and also identifies new theoretical dilemmas. Recent research that builds on this distinction will be described.