Measures

Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)

A short measure of global life evaluation, distinct from today’s mood.

Questionnaire The format describes how observations are obtained, not an evidence rating.

What it measures

Cognitive judgments of satisfaction with one’s life as a whole.

What people do

Respondents rate five global statements on a 7-point agreement scale from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 7 (Strongly agree). Preserve the response format of the selected version.

What the scores mean

Sum the five items using the official 1-to-7 coding to produce a total score from 5 to 35. Changing the response scale changes the numerical metric and the reference information needed for interpretation.

This explains the logic of a score. It does not supply a test form, individual result or administration manual.

Development and versions

Ed Diener, Robert Emmons, Randy Larsen and Sharon Griffin introduced SWLS in 1985.

Evidence: (Ed Diener: Satisfaction with Life Scale, n.d.); (Spielman et al., 2020)

Reliability and validity evidence

The inspected developer page establishes the intended construct and provides validation references. This profile does not independently verify every translation, norm or change threshold.

Evidence belongs to a version, sample and interpretation. Read the source notes for what was actually inspected.

Evidence: (Ed Diener: Satisfaction with Life Scale, n.d.); (Spielman et al., 2020)

Where it is used

Research on evaluative well-being, complementing rather than replacing affect measures.

Limits and common misreadings

  • Global satisfaction does not identify which life domain needs attention.
  • Mood, cultural standards and comparison groups can affect judgments.
  • A low score is not a clinical diagnosis.

Read an example

Original teaching example

An original teaching scenario contrasts a tiring day with a satisfying life overall. A mood inventory may reflect the day; a global life-evaluation scale asks a broader question. The two responses need not conflict.

Constructed for learning; this is not a result from the instrument’s validation study.

Access and permission

The developer site allows noncommercial research use with attribution while retaining copyright. Check other uses separately.

Read the source for Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)

Textbook connection

Related contextPsychology 2e: 14.5 The Pursuit of Happiness

Conceptual context; the instrument-specific sources in this profile provide the primary evidence.

Related measures

Read a measure critically · Explore score examples · Review research methods

Sources and inspection notes

Checked October 22, 2026. An inspection date is not a publication date. Publisher information is not presented as independent validation; abstract-only and indexed-excerpt access are identified below.

  1. Ed diener: Satisfaction with life scale. (n.d.). https://eddiener.com/satisfaction-with-life-scale-swls/Developer estate: description and permission notice

    Five-item cognitive life-satisfaction purpose, 7-point scale (5 to 35 total) and noncommercial research terms inspected. No population norms or clinical cutoffs verified.

  2. Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/14-5-the-pursuit-of-happinessTextbook: conceptual context

    Conceptual context; the instrument-specific sources in this profile provide the primary evidence.