In this study 170 Swedish University students participated and evaluated themselves on Subjective well-being with affect balance measured both in frequency and in intensity, and on the five-factor personality factors. The results clearly indicate that intense positive emotions and intense negative emotions correlate positively, and that women experience emotions more intensely than men. Further, measuring affect balance in frequency leads to gender differences in happiness while intensity affect balance does not. Neuroticism (inverted) and extraversion are both strong predictors of happiness, but when using frequent affect-balance, neuroticism evidently stands out as the better of the two. Extraversion and to some extent neuroticism are intensifying people’s emotions. The findings suggest future research to distinguish between intense and frequent affects when calculating Subjective well-being.

<p>In this study 170 Swedish University students participated and evaluated themselves on Subjective well-being with affect balance measured both in frequency and in intensity, and on the five-factor personality factors. The results clearly indicate that intense positive emotions and intense negative emotions correlate positively, and that women experience emotions more intensely than men. Further, measuring affect balance in frequency leads to gender differences in happiness while intensity affect balance does not. Neuroticism (inverted) and extraversion are both strong predictors of happiness, but when using frequent affect-balance, neuroticism evidently stands out as the better of the two. Extraversion and to some extent neuroticism are intensifying people’s emotions. The findings suggest future research to distinguish between intense and frequent affects when calculating Subjective well-being.</p>