Given the bitterness of ideological battles in the modern world, it is important for social scientists to illuminate where the evidence lies and help explain the divergence between truth and fiction.

Well-being, which is sometimes also referred to as psychosocial well-being, is defined in different ways depending on who you ask. Psychologists have tended to define well-being in one of two ways.

Researchers are still figuring out how people define well-being across countries and cultures. Happiness is a factor, but it’s probably not the only one. Whether or not a person is happy is often ...