Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS)
Lyubomirsky Global Happiness Assessment
How happy are you, really? Not how you feel right now, but whether you see yourself as a happy person overall. 4 items, about 2 minutes.
How happy are you, really?
Not how you feel right now, not whether you have had a good week. Strip that all away and ask yourself: am I, on the whole, a happy person?
The Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) asks exactly that. Just 4 items on a 7-point scale, averaged into a single score - Lyubomirsky and Lepper published it in 1999. Brief, but it does not try to inventory your moods - it asks you to make a global judgment about your life.
The scale has a single-factor structure validated across multiple cultures, with Cronbach alpha typically between .80 and .90. Higher scores mean you see yourself as a happier person. It is freely available from the Lyubomirsky lab website.
One caveat: the SHS measures subjective happiness - your own take, not an outsider evaluation. Useful as a reference point, but happiness does not really have a single right answer.
Scoring Guide
Mean of 4 items, range 1-7. Higher = happier. General population mean ~4.5-5.5. Item 4 reverse-scored.Result Interpretation
After completing the 4 questions, you'll receive an immediate, detailed report with:
- Your score — calculated automatically based on your responses
- Score interpretation — what your score means in practical terms
- Context — how your results compare to general population norms where available
All results are displayed on screen. No account or login needed.