Expectations of Well-being
Richard Lazarus asserts that people become accustomed to positive or negative life experiences which lead to favorable or unfavorable expectations of their present and near-future circumstances. Lazarus notes the widely accepted philosophical principle that "happiness depends on the background psychological status of the person...and cannot be well predicted without reference to" one's expectations.
With regard to happiness or unhappiness, Lazarus notes that "people whose objective conditions of life are those of hardship and deprivation often make a positive assessment of their well-being," while "people who are objectively well off...often make a negative assessment of their well-being." Lazarus argues that "the most sensible explanation of this apparent paradox is that people...develop favorable or unfavorable expectations" that guide such assessments.
Read more about this topic: Expectation (epistemic)
Famous quotes containing the words expectations of, expectations, well-being:
“Masturbation is not only an expression of self-regard: it is also the natural emotional outlet of those who ... have already accepted as inevitable the wide gulf between their real futures and the expectations of their fantasies.”
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