Retrospective Perceptions of Life Satisfaction Change: Evaluation Strategies and Correspondence With Measured Change

Abstract

Life satisfaction has been shown to change over time, but we know little about how people perceive those changes. In preregistered analyses, the current research investigated the degree of correspondence between people’s retrospective perceptions of life satisfaction change and their measured life satisfaction change (Sample A analytic N = 359; Sample B analytic N = 336). On average, retrospective perceptions of change were moderately correlated with measured change (r = .20–.25). When evaluating their life satisfaction change, participants reported that they focused more on the present compared to the past, considered their life circumstances more than their feelings, and engaged in careful consideration more than relying on gut instinct. Findings suggest people have some insight into changes in their life satisfaction. Consistent with the individual differences in evaluating life satisfaction (IDELS) model, people engaged in a variety of evaluation strategies and differed from one another in the degree to which they used each strategy.