This thesis pursues the topic of satisfaction in romantic relationships. The previous research was focused mainly on unhappy relationships, marital crises and divorce. This thesis follows the other direction. Its aim is to describe variables which make longterm romantic relationships satisfying. In the theoretical part is an overview of literature and researches that adressed this topic. In the empirical part of this thesis is qualitative research that tries to enlighten the specifics of happy couples in Czech Republic. The grounded theory was used to analyze interviews with 22 respondents. The results are 10 categories representing various areas that contributed to satisfaction in respondents' relationships: harmony, safety, good choice of spouse, stable financial situation, family, overcoming of differences and obstacles, doing things together, communication, endurance and trying not to solve everything.

Research suggests that there are now two distinct approaches to Emotional Intelligence (EI): ability and trait. To date, however, the literature indicates that the construct remains poorly defined and not always adequately measured. Focusing on trait EI, the current thesis identifies a number of research questions that centre on what it is that defines EI in relation to existing definitions and other constructs, namely, happiness, self-esteem, mood and personality. Moreover, a programme of empirical study investigates whether a training intervention can enhance levels of EI and thus contribute to the emerging applied field of enquiry. This has been achieved through the employment of a series of studies. The initial study used the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to generate a definition of EI, which directed this thesis towards alignment with the trait approach. The second study aimed to identify correlations and explore possible predictor variables through the application of Pearson’s r and Hierarchical Regression analysis. Moreover, a Mediation and Moderation analysis investigated whether EI has a mediating or moderating role when combined with other predictors. Two further experimental studies examined whether EI could be experimentally enhanced through a programme of relaxation and positive thinking when compared with a control group engaged in a non-demanding reading task. The results of the first study produced a definition of EI that included descriptions of work-related qualities with the second study yielding results of high correlations between EI, happiness and self-esteem, which were also identified as predictor variables. EI was found to act as a mediator and moderator. Analysis of Variance generated results for the first experimental study that showed overall non-significant interactions. To investigate beyond these findings, the second programme showed that the training programme induced positive changes. It was concluded that, overall, the results contribute to a definition beyond existing definitions of EI, demonstrating EI’s strong associations particularly with happiness, self-esteem and, its mediating and moderating role with other predictors. Primarily, the results from the second experimental study demonstrate the potential of EI in the applied field, including education, work and health.

The focus of this thesis was the hedonic value of stimuli, which is more commonly known as pleasure or positive affect. First, the scientific meaning of hedonic value was dissected. Second, a classification identifying core causes of positive affect was created. The classification was derived from specific positive moments reported by individuals throughout a day (collected through experience sampling methodology). Seventeen triggers of positive affect were identified, which were extracted from the data rather than originating from theory. Third, affective influences on reflexive-like motor responses were investigated using an approach-avoidance task. Contrary to previous studies, approach reaction times were not speeded by highly affective stimuli. Instead, a novel non-emotional effect was found on reaction times, which could directly explain the current results, and those of previous studies, in non-affective terms. Fourth, the propagation of hedonic reactivity from pleasurable to neutral stimuli was investigated. Contrary to expectations, the evaluative conditioning procedure utilised did not exhibit a phenomenon called blocking. Instead, 'liking' spread non-selectively to all stimuli co-occurring with the source hedonic stimulus. Fifth, the positive effect of pleasure on goal-directed motivation was established: participants were found to press a food trigger harder for highly palatable snacks compared to bland snacks, even though participants were not informed about the hidden measurement of forces. Additionally, the impact of hedonic value on actual food intake was quantified with best-fit equations that predicted consumption at both the group and individual level. In the last study, hedonic habituation, or the inhibitory effect of pleasure on itself, was demonstrated: eating pleasant snacks, as compared to bland ones, reduced the hedonic ratings of test foods that were consumed afterwards. Finally, these inputs and outputs of hedonics were integrated into a model specifying principal roles of pleasure in human behaviour. This pleasure-incentive model explains the effects of pleasure on incentive motivation, and makes important predictions about the mechanisms of pathological conditions such as over-eating and drug addiction.

L’écriture de la nature de Thoreau plonge ses racines dans la Nouvelle-Angleterre du XIXe. Nourri de ses valeurs, l’auteur montre comment la vie doit être économisée et non dépensée en vain dans des activités frivoles. Pour se faire, il choisit la voie de la simplicité et de la solitude dans la nature ce qui lui permet de remettre en cause ce que la société considère d’ordinaire comme des vertus. Vivre seul dans la nature sauvage est un moyen anthropocentrique pour accéder au bonheur car la nature apporte à l’homme tout ce dont il a besoin. Ainsi, Thoreau est un naturaliste qui vit dans la nature et la parcourt. Son naturalisme s’éloigne de plus en plus des théories emersoniennes sur l’immanence. Le véritable scientifique sait regarder les animaux en engageant sa subjectivité et peut aller jusqu’à voir dans certains animaux l’incarnation de vertus.Pour nuancer cet anthropocentrisme, Thoreau appelle au zoocentrisme. Celui-ci peut même amener à une cohabitation pacifique entre les espèces. Toutefois, l’écriture et la pratique de Thoreau sont nourries de paradoxes en ce qui concerne la chasse, la pêche et le végétarisme. Pour vivre en harmonie avec la nature, Thoreau se rapproche du modèle indien qui a ses limites. Parmi quelques suggestions, Thoreau est le premier à proposer la création de parcs nationaux. / Thoreau’s nature writing is rooted in 19th century New-England. Fed on New-England’s values, the author shows life should be spared and not spent in vain in mundane activities. In order for him to do so, he chooses the way of a life of simplicity and solitude in nature, which enables him to question what society traditionally sees as virtues.Living alone in the wild is an anthropocentric means to reach happiness because nature provides man with all that he needs. Hence, Thoreau is a naturalist who lives in nature and walks in ii. His naturalism becomes more and more estranged from Emerson’s theory on immanence. The real scientist can watch animals using his subjectivity and can go so far as to see in certain animals the incarnation of some virtues.To nuance this anthropomorphist approach, Thoreau advocates zoocentrism. This point of view can even lead to a peaceful cohabitation between species. However, Thoreau’s writing and actions are fed with paradoxes as far as hunting, fishing and being a vegetarian is concerned. To live in harmony with nature, Thoreau gests closer to the Indian model which has limits. Thoreau makes many suggestions, among which the creation of national parks.

De senaste årtiondena har forskning visat att det finns flera fördelar med att ha en välutvecklad emotionell intelligens. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vilken effekt den emotionella intelligensen har på människors subjektiva välbefinnande med samtidig kontroll för effekten av personlighet. Syftet var också att studera om den emotionella intelligensen kan påverka sambandet mellan personlighet och subjektivt välbefinnande. I en tvärsnittsstudie samlades data in via en enkät som mätte deltagarnas emotionella intelligens, personlighet samt subjektiva välbefinnande via delkomponenterna livstillfredsställelse och lycka. Totalt deltog 275 svenska respondenter i åldrarna 18-70 år. Resultatet visade att emotionell intelligens positivt förutspådde både subjektivt välbefinnande samt delkomponenterna livstillfredsställelse och lycka. Dessutom var den emotionella intelligensen en starkare prediktor än personlighet för det subjektiva välbefinnandet. Däremot modererade inte emotionell intelligens sambandet mellan respektive personlighetsdrag och subjektivt välbefinnande. Slutsatsen för studien är att en hög grad av emotionell intelligens förutspår ett högt subjektivt välbefinnande och ett lyckligt liv. / A well-developed emotional intelligence has shown to have many benefits. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of emotional intelligence on subjective well-being, while controlling for the effect of personality. The study also examined whether the association between personality and subjective well-being changes depending on the level of emotional intelligence. In a survey with a cross-sectional design, trait emotional intelligence, personality and subjective well-being, measured by its two components lifesatisfaction and happiness, were measured. 275 Swedish respondents in the age range of 18-70 years participated in the study. The results showed that emotional intelligence was a strong positive predictor of subjective well-being as well as for life satisfaction and happiness. Moreover, emotional intelligence was a stronger predictor of subjective well-being than personality was. However, emotional intelligence did not moderate the association between personality traits and subjective well-being. The conclusion is that a high level of emotional intelligence predicts high subjective well-being and a happy life.

Cette recherche prend pour objet d’étude la conception stoïcienne de la responsabilité, éclairée par la thématique contemporaine de l’engagement. Les différents niveaux du discours – ontologique, physique, psychologique, moral et politique – réinterrogent également, par leur articulation problématique, l’unité des stoïciens. On résume traditionnellement leur fatalisme à un «compatibilisme», dans la mesure où ils conjuguaient liberté et déterminisme. Cette compatibilité est au principe même de la notion de responsabilité, dont il s’agit de comprendre comment, de la physique à la morale, mais aussi, du stoïcisme hellénistique au stoïcien impérial, elle reçoit un traitement autant inédit qu’équivoque. On s’interrogera ainsi sur l’articulation du concept de «cause» (αἴτιον) avec celui de «ἐφ' ἡμῖν» (ce qui dépend de nous), concepts qui mettent en jeu la problématique de l’imputation – où il s’agit de fonder la responsabilité humaine – dans son lien avec celle de l’assomption, où il s’agit de la reprendre à son propre compte en accomplissant son rôle et ses devoirs. Ces deux versants de la responsabilité mobilisent toutes les branches du système stoïcien, et leur caractère organique. On montre que la responsabilité reçoit une extension maximale, parce que son analyse est synthétique. Le passage de la responsivité ontologique à l’assomption morale, qui ouvre, de Chrysippe à Épictète et Marc Aurèle, à une éthique de la responsabilité et à un engagement philosophique, qui fait fond sur l’idée d’acceptation et de renversement, constituera le point de mire de notre questionnement. / This research studies the Stoic conception of responsibility, informed by the contemporary theme of commitment. Different levels of the discourse - ontological, physical, psychological, moral and political - will also question anew, by their problematic articulation, the unity of the Stoics. Traditionally, their fatalism is summarized by a "compatibilism", insofar as they associate freedom and determinism. This compatibility is at the very principle of the concept of responsibility, which we should understand by how it receives a treatment as unique as equivocal, from its physics to its morals, but also from the Hellenistic to the Imperial stoicism. We will thus wonder about the articulation of the concept of "cause" (αἴτιον) with that of "ἐφ' ἡμῖν" (that which is up to us), concepts that involve the issues of attribution - where it comes to build up human responsibility - and assumption, where it comes to seize it again by performing one's role and duties. Those both sides of responsibility mobilize all the branches of the Stoic system and their organic character. We show that responsibility receives a maximal extension, because its analysis is synthetic. The shift from ontological responsiveness to moral assumption that leads, from Chrysippus to Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, towards an ethics of the responsibility and a philosophical commitment, which builds on the idea of acceptance and overthrow, will be the focus of our inquiry.

Os professores, para além de seus cursos de formação, são produzidos cotidianamente pela forma como vivem a experiência de ser professor, o que se realiza no interior do próprio funcionamento da instituição escolar. Esse funcionamento está baseado em uma série de racionalidades que delimitam o fazer docente, estabelecendo assim as referências para uma forma de pensar e de fazer-se como professor. E é nessa atualidade escolar que se verifica a ampla circulação de termos como segurança, gestão de riscos, necessidade de proteção, dano, vulnerabilidade, judicialização, entre outros, o que aponta para a existência de intensos investimentos na linha das políticas de controle e vigilância. Esse trabalho se dedicou à realização de um exercício analítico sobre o funcionamento do que foi aqui considerado como uma economia jurídica que atravessa a escola e que é refinada na sua dinâmica cotidiana. Tal economia foi abordada na sua articulação com o imperativo da busca por bem-estar e felicidade, uma das principais estratégias de governo dos indivíduos na contemporaneidade. Na instituição escolar essa economia jurídica produz sujeitos e um modo de se relacionar com a vida; produz, portanto, importantes efeitos, que se tentou desnaturalizar abordando-os do ponto de vista das estratégias de poder. As principais referências utilizadas foram os desenvolvimentos analíticos de Michel Foucault (1926-1984) acerca das relações de poder e das tecnologias de produção dos sujeitos, tendo o seu conceito de governamentalidade como ponto de condensação. Tentou-se uma escrita que, ao entrar no jogo da verdade que envolve a educação escolar, contribua de forma particular para obstaculizar alguns efeitos de poder que os discursos verdadeiros sobre educação, escola, professor, etc., têm produzido. Tal iniciativa, para além de uma simples ação negativa, pode também ser compreendida como uma forma de enfrentar uma situação de sufocamento, de excesso de certezas que impedem a ação do pensamento, coisa comum na atual educação escolar, e assim assume a forma de uma ação positiva de produção de vãos, brechas e buracos. Uma importante consideração a respeito do que foi analisado refere-se à ideia de que, nas escolas, ao invés de produzirmos formas de vida fortalecidas pelos confrontos no plano ético, temos produzido formas de vida enfraquecidas pela submissão à necessidade normativa e aos conchavos indispensáveis à autoproteção. Tal movimento está na base de um estreitamento do agir político que o tem restringido à garantia da formalidade e à conveniência individual. Sem pretensões à produção de esclarecimentos, tal trabalho procura atuar no plano da provocação do pensamento, onde o que está em questão é a coragem. / Teachers, beyond their formation courses, are produced day-to-day by the way they experience being teachers, a process that takes place within the very operation of educational institutions. This operation is based on a series of rationalities which delineate teaching, thus establishing references for a way of thinking and making oneself as a teacher. In present-day educational reality the wide usage of terms such as security, risk management, need for protection, damage, vulnerability, judicialization, among others, points towards the existence of intensive investment along the lines of control and vigilance policies. The present work has carried out an analysis on the mechanisms of what has been considered here as a juridical economy which pervades schools and is refined at its daily dynamics.This economy has been approached in its connections with the urgence for a search for welfare and happiness, one of the main governmental strategies of contemporary individuals. Within educational institutions this juridical economy produces subjects and a mode of relating to life. Therefore it produces important effects which we have tried to denature by approaching them from the viewpoint of the strategies of power. The main references used were the works of Michel Foucault (1926-1984) on relations of power and technologies for the production of subjects, having as a point of condensation his concept of governmentality. By entering the game of truth involving school education we have attempted to contribute in a particular manner towards hindering some of the effects of power that true discourses produce on education, school, teachers etc. Besides a mere negative action, such an initiative might also be understood as a way to confront a suffocating situation where the excess of certainties hampers the action of thought. This situation occurs often in current school education as it assumes the form of a positive action that produces gaps, breaches and holes. One important consideration on what has been analyzed: in schools, instead of life forms strengthened by confrontations at the ethical sphere, what has been under production is life forms weakened by the submission to normative need and to the plots indispensable to selfprotection. This movement forms the basis of a process that narrows political action down to ensuring formality and individual convenience. Although without any claim to clarification, we have focused on inciting reflective thought, where what is at stake is courage.

L'économie politique est l'une des sous-disciplines de la littérature économique. Les économistes politiques étudient les effets des facteurs politiques sur les résultats économiques. Les institutions et l'influence de différentes structures institutionnelles sur les marchés sont parmi les principaux domaines de recherche de l'économie politique. Dans la littérature existante, le nombre d'analyses empiriques portant sur les déterminants des institutions est faible par rapport aux études qui se concentrent sur les effets des institutions sur les performances économiques. De plus, les analyses qui examinent l’impact de la culture, en particulier de la religion, sur les institutions sont rares. Sans aucun doute, la religion peut avoir des effets dramatiques sur les variables sociales et économiques. L’objectif de ce travail est donc d’examiner les effets de la religion et de la religiosité sur la corruption, le bonheur des individus et le comportement électoral. Nous contribuons à la littérature existante en fournissant de nouvelles preuves et en nous concentrant sur les pays non analysés dans les études précédentes. [...] / Political economy is one of the sub-diciplines of economics literature. Political economists investigate the effects of political factors on economic outcomes. Institutions and the influence of different institutional structures on markets are among the main research areas of political economy. In the existing literature, the number of empirical analyses which investigate the determinants of institutions is low in comparison to the studies that focus on the effects of institutions on economic performance. Moreover, the analyses which examine the impact of culture, specifically religion, on institutions are scarce. Without doubt, religion can have dramatic effects on social and economic variables. Hence, the aim of this work is to investigate the effects of religion and religiosity on corruption, individuals’ happiness and voting behaviour. We contribute to the existing literature by providing new evidence and by focusing on the countries which are not analysed in the previous studies. [...]

Aufbauend auf den theoretischen Arbeiten von Bolton und Roland (1997) sowie Hirschman und Rothschild (1973) zeigt diese Arbeit empirische Evidenz dafür, dass die interregionale Ungleichheit einen negativ signifikanten Einfluss auf die Lebenszufriedenheit hat und dass dieser Effekt gegenüber der Verwendung unterschiedlicher Kontrollvariablen, Aggregationsebenen, Datensätze und Regressionsmethoden robust ist. Das Maß für die Lebenszufriedenheit entspricht in allen Teilen der Arbeit den Selbsteinschätzungen von Befragten zur aktuellen Lebenszufriedenheit beziehungsweise dem empfundenen Glück. Hier lehnt sich die Dissertation an die vorhandene empirische Literatur an. Auch die Kontrollvariablen und die Regressionsmethodik basieren auf der vorhandenen Literatur. Der bevölkerungsgewichtete Variationskoeffizient des regionalen BIP pro Kopf dient als Maß für die interregionale Ungleichheit und wird zum Beispiel in der Literatur verwendet, um den Einfluss der interregionalen Ungleichheit auf das Risiko interner Konflikte zu messen [zum Beispiel Lessmann (2013)].:Tabellenverzeichnis Abbildungsverzeichnis Abkürzungsverzeichnis Symbolverzeichnis 1 Einführung 2 Die Messung der Kernvariablen Lebenszufriedenheit und interregionale Ungleichheit 2.1 Die Messung der Lebenszufriedenheit 2.2 Die Messung der interregionalen Ungleichheit 3 Theoretische Literatur 3.1 Einkommen, Aspiration und Lebenszufriedenheit 3.2 Absolutes und relatives Einkommen als Bestandteile der Nutzenfunktion 3.3 Der Tunneleffekt für interregionale Ungleichheit 3.4 Interregionale Ungleichheit und unterschiedliche Präferenzen 3.5 Räumliche Distanz, interregionale Ungleichheit und Nutzen 3.6 Implikationen der theoretischen Literatur für die empirische Untersuchung des Einflusses der interregionalen Ungleichheit auf die Lebenszufriedenheit 4 Empirische Literatur 4.1 Der Einfluss des absoluten Einkommens und des Referenzeinkommens auf die Lebenszufriedenheit 4.2 Persönliche Einkommensungleichheit und Lebenszufriedenheit 4.3 Einkommensungleichheit und die Präferenz für Umverteilung 4.4 Die Wirkung regionaler Effekte auf die Lebenszufriedenheit 4.5 Determinanten der Lebenszufriedenheit 4.5.1 Mikroökonomische Determinanten der Lebenszufriedenheit 4.5.2 Makroökonomische Determinanten der Lebenszufriedenheit 5 Ökonometrische Methoden 5.1 Ordered Response-Modelle 5.2 Regressionsmethoden unter der Annahme der Kardinalität der Lebenszufriedenheit 5.2.1 Die OLS-Regression 5.2.2 Die LSDV-Regression 6 Eine mikroökonomische Untersuchung des Einflusses der interregionalen Ungleichheiten auf die Lebenszufriedenheit 6.1 Hypothesen 6.2 Daten 6.3 Regressionen 6.3.1 Der Einfluss der interregionalen Ungleichheit auf die Lebenszufriedenheit in OECD-Ländern 6.3.2 Robustheitsanalyse 6.4 Ergebnisse 7 Der Einfluss der räumlichen Distanz auf den Zusammenhang zwischen der interregionalen Ungleichheit und der Lebenszufriedenheit 7.1 Hypothesen 7.2 Daten 7.3 Regressionen 7.3.1 Der Einfluss der distanzgewichteten Ungleichheit zwischen Bundesländern 7.3.2 Der Einfluss der distanzgewichteten Ungleichheit zwischen Kreisen 7.3.3 Robustheit des Einflusses der distanzgewichteten Ungleichheit zwischen Kreisen 7.4 Ergebnisse 8 Eine makroökonomische Untersuchung des Einflusses der interregionalen Ungleichheit auf die Lebenszufriedenheit 8.1 Hypothese 8.2 Daten 8.3 Regressionen 8.3.1 Der Einfluss der interregionalen Ungleichheit auf die aggregierte Lebenszufriedenheit 8.3.2 Robustheitsanalyse 8.4 Ergebnisse 9 Fazit Anhang Literaturverzeichnis

In Book VI of the Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle makes the assumption that there are five states of the soul through which we interact with truth. He continues Book VI with a discussion of his intended meaning of each of these states of the soul. In this study the relevant discussions on each state are extracted from the text to enable a clearer understanding of these states, as Aristotle presents them. Subsequently, the role of each state is studied in the context of the entire Nicomachean Ethics. The primary focus is directed at a clearer understanding of Aristotle’s proposed intellectual virtues, and on their respective roles in the ethical life. Simultaneously, the ethical life that Aristotle presents, and its ultimate end eudaimonia, or happiness, are approached from this perspective. Aristotle argues that reason is the distinguishing feature of humans, and that man’s excellence must include the excellent use of this capacity. This study investigates how Aristotle proposes that the rational intellect should reach its completion, and comes to the conclusion that true mastery of the intellect can only result from the cooperation of the five states of the rational soul. It becomes evident that each state of the soul has a different nature and function, and that through directed cooperation they do not compete with one another, but are mutually enhanced. However, Aristotle repeatedly emphasises the importance of extending thought into action. This makes Aristotle’s ethical theory so attractive: he manages to consolidate his theorizing with the value of experienced reality. This is his essential key to happiness, which is experienced both in perception and in action. By approaching the Nicomachean Ethics from the perspective of the five states of the rational soul, an appreciation is acquired for the fine balance by which action and reason may combine to result in man’s fulfilment of his highest potential. It is in this balance that one finds the secret to eudaimonia. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Ancient Languages / unrestricted