Abstract

Subjective well-being, or how positively people emotionally experience and cognitively evaluate their lives (Diener, 1984), is undoubtedly a desirable end-state in itself, but it is also associated with other enviable and important life outcomes, such as better health and longevity (Diener & Chan, 2011). There are many sources that contribute to one’s sense of well-being, including personality and temperament, life experiences (especially recent ones), social relationships, and resources to pursue valued goals (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999). Interestingly, though the media plays an increasingly prominent role in people’s lives, its influence on audiences’ subjective well-being is woefully understudied. Given that the media, in its many forms, has a remarkable capacity to evoke emotions, and given that the balance of one’s emotions contributes significantly to subjective well-being, this chapter explores the mediating role of emotion in the media exposure–subjective well-being relationship.