1 Introduction

The contemplation of a fulfilling and satisfying—and, in this sense, ‘happy’—life has long been a subject of interest for philosophers (Michalos & Weijers, 2017). It is only in the postmodern era that this inquiry has evolved into a widespread concern for everyone, if not an obsession (Burnett, 2012). But what constitutes a happy and content life? Empirical social science research strives to provide answers to this question beyond philosophical discourse—or rather, multiple answers, as evidenced by the World Database of Happiness, which currently lists approximately 25,000 entries on happiness correlates (available at https://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/). This substantial number clearly illustrates that human happiness is the sum of many small elements.

To avoid losing sight of the forest for the trees, scholars have proposed various approaches to identify the building blocks of happiness (Allardt, 1993; Cummins, 2014; Skidelsky & Skidelsky, 2013; Veenhoven, 2012). A relatively new and expanding field of research focuses on the kinds of lives people aspire to, alternatively conceptualized as life goals (Monnot & Beehr, 2022; Ryan et al., 2008), value orientations (Bojanowska & Kaczmarek, 2022), well-being motivations (Giuntoli et al., 2021; LeFebvre & Huta, 2021), well-being orientations (Richter and Hunecke 2021; Sabato & Bar-Ilan, 2023), personal life philosophies (Thomas et al., 2022), or happiness recipes (Headey et al., 2022). However, few of these studies also consider the actual lives people lead and the extent to which these lives align with the lives they strive for (but see Thomas et al., 2022; Vermote et al., 2023). This article aims to address precisely that questions. We examine the impact of achieved ways of life—the degree to which popular concepts of a good life are actually realized—on individual life satisfaction, both on their own and in conjunction with the personal importance (which way of life is valued?) individuals place on them. Drawing on sociological theories of cultural change and modernization (Inglehart, 1997; Riesman, 1950; Schulze, 1992) and subsequent reflections on the existential challenges that characterize life in postmodern societies (Delhey & Schneickert, 2022; Schneickert et al., 2024), we focus on four distinct life conceptions. Two of these are considered paradigmatic life conceptions in value change theory: the prosperous life, which seeks economic and occupational success, and the exciting life, which centers around enriching experiences and variety (see Schneickert et al., 2024). As an innovative contribution, we also examine two additional life conceptions that emerge from the darker side of modern affluent societies: the cozy life, which emphasizes relaxation and mindfulness as a counter to societal acceleration (Rosa, 2003); and the sustainable life, which represents a response to ecological threats (Beck, 1992) and the climate crisis. Thus, while the prosperous life and the exciting life focus on greater participation in the ‘goods’ offered by affluent societies, the cozy life and the sustainable life seek to mitigate the ‘bads’ these societies also produce.

We utilize high-quality cross-sectional survey data from a population-based panel study based on random samples of the German resident population. Germany, an affluent democracy with a conservative welfare state, is one of the pioneer countries in the shift toward emancipative values (Welzel, 2013) and post-materialist experience seeking (Schneickert et al., 2024). These characteristics make Germany an interesting test case for examining the determinants of subjective well-being. The dataset provides information on which life conceptions respondents deem important and the extent to which they believe they are able to actualize these conceptions. Our primary objective is to provide empirical insights into the questions: (a) Which way of life contributes most to life satisfaction? and (b) Do these contributions vary according to the value individuals place on the respective way of life?

2 Theory and State of Research

2.1 Seeing Satisfaction with Life Through the Lens of Life Conceptions

Subjective well-being is a multi-faceted concept encompassing emotional well-being (positive and negative affect), evaluative well-being (life satisfaction or life happiness), and a sense of flourishing (eudaimonic well-being)—what Nettle (2005) referred to as level one, level two, and level three happiness. In this paper, we focus on evaluative well-being (level two happiness), specifically individuals’ satisfaction with life as a whole.

The diversity and volume of empirical studies on subjective well-being in recent decades are remarkable and hold practical advantages. They enable individuals to reference research findings for guidance on particular life decisions, events, or circumstances. For instance, is marriage superior to cohabitation (Lee & Ono, 2012)? Are pet owners happier (Bao & Schreer, 2016)? How does an education-occupation mismatch affect happiness (Chen et al., 2020)? Naturally, there are also more comprehensive approaches to understanding well-being. One such approach involves categorizing individual well-being determinants into broader thematic sections. The triad of “having, loving, being” (Allardt, 1993) is a notable example. Another is the concept of the seven elements of a good life—health, security, respect, personality, harmony with nature, friendship, and leisure—referred to as “basic goods” (Skidelsky & Skidelsky, 2013, ch. 6).

A second approach centers on domain satisfactions (Campbell et al., 1976), positing that individuals assess various life domains before synthesizing these partial satisfactions into an overall evaluation of life. The International Well-being Index is a well-known instrument based on this approach, encompassing eight domains such as health, personal relationships, and standard of living, each contributing unique variance to overall life satisfaction (Cummins, 2014).

A third and rapidly expanding approach conceives pathways to happiness with life as a whole, grounded in diverse values, goals, motivations, and orientations towards life and well-being. The more sophisticated of these approaches also incorporate behaviors (Bojanowska & Kaczmarek, 2022) or consider the extent of goal attainment as a predictor of subjective well-being (Headey & Wagner, 2019; Headey et al., 2022; Ryan et al., 2008; Sherman et al., 2021; Thomas et al., 2022; Vermote et al., 2023). For instance, Headey and colleagues define happiness recipes as “linked sets of values, attitudes, behavioral choices, and domain satisfactions that have a positive or negative effect on life satisfaction” (Headey et al., 2022, p. 763). Cross-national evidence indicates that recipes centered on family values, friendship and leisure values, as well as social and pro-environmental values, consistently contribute positively to life satisfaction across all world regions. In contrast, recipes based on materialistic, political, and religious values can play out positively, neutrally, or negatively, contingent on the socio-cultural context (Headey et al., 2022, p. 790).

To further develop this line of research, this article introduces the life conceptions approach. Technically, its main components include a set of basic life orientations that provide insights into the way(s) of life people aspire to and the extent to which these ways are achieved. This framework allows for the set-up of relatively simple models that estimate the effects of actual lived experiences on life satisfaction. Additionally, the interaction between aspirations (individuals’ fundamental life orientations) and the ways of life they attain can be modeled in a straightforward manner.

Our starting point is the premise that people derive happiness and life satisfaction from having good reasons for these feelings (Skidelsky & Skidelsky, 2013, p. 123). We posit that life conceptions—collectively shared notions of a meaningful way of life—play a crucial role in this process. Life conceptions integrate specific yet thematically related ideas of a good life that address a common existential challenge. For example, the concept of the prosperous life is associated with the existential challenge of attaining the highest possible occupational, economic, and social status. In Western capitalist societies, this is effectively achieved through the expansion of material opportunities and occupational advancement. This life concept, therefore, centers on prosperity and success in general, encompassing a broad array of specific aspirations and achievements such as good grades in school, career advancement, a high income, a nice car, and a house with a pool. We intentionally refer to life conceptions in the plural because postmodern societies—and likely also less pluralistic ones—are characterized by the coexistence of several, yet not an unlimited number of, such life conceptions.

Life conceptions serve as a bridge between collective and individual views of life. “[They] are objective in the sense of being shared, publicly available understandings, [yet] also subjective and partially internalized, thereby shaping personal aspirations and identities” (Blair-Loy, 2001, p. 689). When examining individual subjective well-being, it is therefore useful to consider two key pieces of information: the extent to which the life the person actually leads aligns with culturally shaped life conceptions (the achieved way of life) and the importance of a particular life conception to the individual (the basic life orientations). We assume that the decisive component is the achieved way of life. It is the realization of a good life—however defined—that brings satisfaction, rather than merely striving for it, particularly if those aspirations remain unfulfilled. Of course, this does not imply that life goals are unimportant, as demonstrated by research on values (e.g., Bojanowska & Kaczmarek, 2022; Headey, 2008; Sortheix & Schwartz, 2017) and well-being orientations (Richter & Hunecke, 2021). However, individual-level correlations between life goals and outcome measures of subjective well-being are typically weak (e.g., Bojanowska & Kaczmarek, 2022; Headey, 2008; Sortheix & Schwartz, 2017). Moreover, having—or lacking—a particular way of life may matter more for life satisfaction when individuals consider the respective life conception personally significant. Both the Desire Fulfillment Theory (Heathwood, 2015) and the concept of “perceived good life coherence” (Thomas et al., 2022) suggest such an interplay between life goals and goal attainment.

2.2 Cultural Modernization and the Sequence of Life Conceptions

Our conceptual framework is based on the sociological Theory of Life Conceptions (TLC) (Delhey & Schneickert, 2022; Schneickert et al., 2024). This theory posits a predictable sequence of existential challenges accompanying societal change and, consequently, a progression of ideas about what constitutes a good life. The framework integrates seminal sociological theories of cultural change and modernization, such as those of Inglehart (1997), Riesman (1950), and Schulze (1992). These scholars converge on the view that, with the shift from traditional to modern societies, the ideal of a prosperous life became culturally dominant, wherein individuals increasingly seek peer approval through material success and the display of status-related goods (Veblen 1953). Later, as mass prosperity increased, the ideal shifted towards a more post-materialistic conception of a life rich in interesting experiences—referred to as the exciting life (see Schneickert et al., 2024; Schulze, 1992). Although this new life concept emphasizes intrinsic over extrinsic motivation, it remains fundamentally rooted in the credo of growth, encapsulated by the notion ‘the more experiences, the better.’ For Western societies, the breakthrough of these two life conceptions is typically traced to the post-World War II era for the prosperous life and the 1970s/80s for the exciting life (see Ingleharts (1997) seminal study of 1977 on the shift from materialism to post-materialism).

As a novel element, the TLC proposes two more recent postmodern life concepts that address today’s urgent existential challenges (Delhey & Schneickert, 2022). These arise from the increasingly apparent dark sides of contemporary societies, which make the modernization process reflexive (Beck, 1992). The cozy life can be seen as a response to living in an accelerated (Rosa, 2003) and stressful society that overwhelms many individuals (Ehrenberg, 2009). Between 2010 and 2020, self-reported stress increased in the vast majority of countries (Conceicao, 2024: 6). Lastly, the concept of the sustainable life has emerged in response to escalating ecological risks (Beck, 1992) and the unsustainability of growth-oriented societies (Jackson, 2009). Many people globally express deep concern about environmental issues (Dunlap & York, 2008), and a significant number of young people fear the impacts of climate change (Hickman et al., 2021). Both of these new life conceptions resonate well with the post-growth movement (Jackson, 2009) and its credo, “less is more”.

How can these life conceptions be characterized more precisely (see Gercke et al., 2025)? The prosperous life centers on “occupational and material success on the one hand, and recognition and prestige on the other” (Schneickert et al., 2024: 5). The associated disposition, a status orientation, denotes an external focus, as it seeks objects outside the individual—whether money, luxury goods, authority, or esteem. Status-seekers adhere to the motto ‘more is better’: more success, a higher income, and a bigger house are valued more highly. This orientation is akin to what other researchers describe as materialism (Górnik-Durose, 2020; Isham et al., 2021; Yoo et al., 2021) or extrinsic motivation (Ryan et al., 2008; LeFebvre & Huta, 2021).

The exciting life is characterized by fun, enjoyment, and a pursuit of diversion and stimulation (Delhey & Schneickert, 2022; Schneickert et al., 2024). This inward-looking conception emphasizes an experience orientation, as positive psychophysical states are primarily achieved through experiential episodes. Activities such as traveling, attending events, dining out, and engaging with entertainment media are typical expressions of this orientation (see, for example, Mitas & Kroesen, 2020). Experience-seekers, like status seekers, also adhere to the motto ‘more is better,’ but their focus is on acquiring new and appealing experiences rather than on amassing status symbols and other success trappings (Schulze, 1992: Ch. 9). Related concepts in well-being research include pleasure orientation (Giuntoli et al., 2021), hedonic pleasure motivation (LeFebvre & Huta, 2021), a life of pleasure (Richter & Hunecke, 2021), and a psychologically rich life (Besser & Oishi, 2020; James, 2024).

The cozy life focuses on emotional, mental, and physical well-being. Its ideal is a relaxed and stress-free existence, achievable through an emotional comfort orientation that values deceleration and mindfulness. The guiding principle is ‘less is more’—for instance, reducing work commitments and not overcrowding one’s free time with activities—to avoid excessive strain in a society increasingly perceived as fast-paced and exhausting (Rosa, 2003). This orientation parallels concepts like hedonic comfort orientation (LeFebvre & Huta, 2021), relaxation orientation (Giuntoli et al., 2021), and hedonic avoidance orientations (Chen & Zeng, 2023).

The sustainable life focuses on living in full harmony with nature’s needs (cf. Delhey and Schneickert, 2022). The associated ecology orientation prioritizes the preservation of natural resources, making its focus external. This orientation valorizes environmental protection and sufficiency in daily life, advocating for self-restraint in personal (consumption) activities to minimize one’s ecological footprint. For the ideal–typical ecology-seeker, ‘less is more,’ reflecting the credo of the post-growth movement (Kurz, 2019).

Figure 1 schematically illustrates the substantial differences between the life conceptions. The horizontal axis represents whether a life conception is focused on external circumstances or internal states (external vs. internal), while the vertical axis differentiates between an expansionist logic of ‘more is better’ and a contrasting logic of ‘less is more’ (growth vs. limitation). It is important to emphasize that this scheme is not intended as an exhaustive or universal inventory of life conceptions but is primarily tailored to address existential challenges in affluent Western societies. Furthermore, in social reality, these life conceptions are not mutually exclusive; individuals may consider some or all of them personally significant and perceive themselves as realizing some or all of these conceptions.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Schema of life conceptions

Full size image

2.3 State of Research and Hypotheses

Aligning one’s own life with one or more of these life conceptions can contribute to life satisfaction via a hedonic path (resulting in feeling better) and a eudaimonic path (leading to a heightened sense of flourishing). What research findings exist that directly or indirectly illuminate the relationship between these life conceptions—both as achievement and aspiration—and subjective well-being?

Prosperous Life. It is well-established that material and professional success, along with the associated appreciation from others, positively impacts life satisfaction. Evidence supports this in terms of standard of living (Christoph, 2010; Whelan & Maître, 2013), income (Easterlin, 2021; FitzRoy & Nolan, 2022; Delhey & Steckermeier 2016), home ownership (Schneickert et al., 2019), financial assets (Jantsch et al., 2024), occupational class (Lipp & Oesch, 2018), and social esteem (Schneickert et al., 2019). In contrast, there is also well-established evidence of a negative relationship at the individual level between status orientation (or similar concepts) and subjective well-being (e.g., Dittmar et al., 2014; Gatersleben et al., 2018; Headey et al., 2022; Isham et al., 2021; Messner, 2023; Sortheix & Schwartz, 2017).

Exciting Life. Empirical evidence indicates that spending money on experiential goods such as travel, tourism, and entertainment correlates with higher levels of subjective well-being (Carvalho Mesquita et al., 2022; Choung et al., 2021; Mitas & Kroesen, 2020), suggesting that leading an exciting life enhances well-being. Regarding the effect of an experience orientation, studies have found that striving for exciting experiences is linked to higher subjective well-being (e.g., Bojanowska & Kaczmarek, 2022; Messner, 2023; Sortheix & Schwartz, 2017). A similarly positive association has been observed for pleasure orientation (Giuntoli et al., 2021).

Cozy Life. Empirical evidence shows that a mindful lifestyle and mindfulness techniques are consistently associated with higher levels of well-being—such as greater life satisfaction, positive affect, fewer mental health problems, and reduced negative thinking (Brown & Ryan, 2003; Ericson et al., 2014; Gu et al., 2015; Richter & Hunecke, 2021; Upchurch & Johnson, 2018). However, evidence on the relationship between personally valuing a cozy life—reflecting an emotional comfort orientation—and subjective well-being is limited. A recent study on this topic reports no significant association between a relaxation orientation and various measures of well-being (Giuntoli et al., 2021).

Sustainable Life. Empirical evidence suggests that leading a sustainable life—or at least possessing a green self-image—positively influences life satisfaction (Binder & Blankenburg, 2017; Mayer & Frantz, 2004; Welsch & Kühling, 2018). A recent meta-study attributes this primarily to the sense of doing something meaningful (Zawadzki et al., 2020). Pro-environmental value orientations, what we refer to as ecology orientation, are generally linked to higher subjective well-being (Gatersleben et al., 2018; Headey et al., 2022; Vaznonis et al., 2024), although some studies have found no correlation (Mayer & Frantz, 2004).

While these empirical insights are valuable, there is a lack of studies that (a) simultaneously examine various life conceptions and (b) provide information on both the achieved ways of life and the personal importance individuals assign to them, as expressed through basic life orientations. This is precisely where our study aims to contribute new findings. The first hypothesis addresses the potentially varying association of achieved ways of life with life satisfaction. Since all four ways of life included in our framework are societally accepted and fulfill fundamental human needs, they can generally be assumed to contribute to subjective well-being. However, Goal Contents Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Kasser & Ryan, 1993; see Bradshaw, 2023 for an overview) suggests that the well-being benefit is greater when intrinsic goals are attained compared to extrinsic ones. Applied to our four life conceptions, this implies that:

H1: Leading an exciting life or a cozy life contributes more significantly to life satisfaction than leading a prosperous life or a sustainable life.

The second hypothesis examines whether the ‘recipe’ for life satisfaction identified in H1 for the general population also holds true for different sub-populations, such as individuals who are rich or poor, young or old, men or women. While there is preliminary evidence suggesting that well-being orientations are socially structured (LeFebvre & Huta, 2021), basic human needs are generally considered largely invariant (Veenhoven, 2012). Our hypothesis is based on the latter argument:

H2: Each sub-population exhibits a structurally similar recipe for life satisfaction.

The third hypothesis concerns the interaction between aspirations and realizations. Specifically, it explores whether attaining a particular way of life contributes more significantly to subjective well-being when individuals find it personally important. Desire-Fulfillment Theory (Heathwood, 2015), also known as Desire Satisfaction Theory, suggests such an interaction exists.

H3: Individuals’ basic life orientations moderate the extent to which achieved ways of life contribute to life satisfaction.

3 Data and Methods

3.1 Data

We use high quality survey data from the 2023 cross section of the GESIS Panel, a random probability mixed-mode access (online and postal, around 75% participating online) panel survey of the German population aged between 18 and 70 and permanently resident in Germany (Bosnjak et al., 2018). The panel survey started in February 2014 with 4,900 participants based on a random register sample. To counteract panel attrition, three refreshment samples have been added, in 2016, 2018, and 2021. The first three samples were drawn from the General Social Survey Germany, the 2021 refreshment from the German participants of the International Social Survey Programme. In four survey waves per year, the GESIS Panel collects information on regularly repeated core modules as well as on special topics. In 2023, the special module “Transformation of the experience society” (see GESIS, 2024) was part of the second wave (wave kb), together with the core modules personality, values, and environmental orientations.

The cross-section of the 2023 GESIS Panel used here (consisting of the waves jd, fielded from December 2022 to January 2023; ka, fielded from February to April 2023; and kb, fielded from May to July 2023) is a rich data base that includes information on the orientations towards and the realization of different life concepts. After removing 377 cases with missing values (8.4% of the sample), our final working sample consists of 3,972 individuals (for descriptive statistics of all variables, see Table 6 in the Appendix). Integration of the refreshment waves requires the use of design weights, as the inclusion probability of the participants differs depending on cohort. Thus, all analyses are weighted to correct for age and place of residence bias, using the unstandardized design weight (Sand et al, 2025).

3.2 Measures

3.2.1 Dependent Variable

3.2.1.1 Life satisfaction

To measure general life satisfaction, respondents were asked: “All in all, how satisfied are you with your current life?” on a five-point scale ranging from 0 (extremely dissatisfied) to 4 (extremely satisfied). Due to the mixed-mode access, GESIS Panel generally uses five-point or seven-point scales in the questionnaires (GESIS, 2021, p. 10). Thus, our study makes use of this shorter scale instead of the more commonly used ten-point or eleven-point scale.

3.2.2 Independent Variables

3.2.2.1 Ways of life: realized life conceptions.

Based on our theoretical framework, we distinguish four ways of life as central independent variables: (1) “I lead a life full of success and prosperity” (in short, prosperous life); (2) “I lead a life full of pleasure and beautiful experiences” (exciting life); (3) “I lead a life full of inner balance and without stress” (cozy life); and (4) “I lead a life full of consideration for nature and the environment” (sustainable life). Respondents were asked to rate the extent to which they lead such a life on a six-point scale ranging from 0 (do not at all agree) to 5 (very much agree) (Table 1). The main advantage of self-ratings is to obtain a summarized assessment of the extent of realization of life conceptions (for a similarly “subjective” approach, see Thomas et al., 2022).

Table 1 Operationalization of life orientations and realized ways of life
Full size table
3.2.2.2 Basic orientations: the personal importance of life conceptions.

We measure the personal importance people attribute to life conceptions via basic orientations. We construe four such orientations, which aim at: status, experiences, emotional comfort, and ecology. These were assessed using a Schwartz-like value survey instrument (Schwartz, 2012, PVQ) whereby respondents were asked how similar they are to a hypothetically described person on a six-point scale ranging from 0 (not at all similar to me) to 5 (very similar to me). Status orientation and experience orientation were largely measured with existing items from the Schwartz values (see Delhey et al., 2022; Delhey & Schneickert, 2022; Paskov et al., 2017; Schneickert et al., 2024). We developed further items in the same question format to assess emotional comfort orientation and ecology orientation. Eachorientation was measured by four items (see Table 1 for the exact wording), the empirical fit of which we validated using principal component analysis (see Table 2).

Table 2 Factor analysis of life orientations (N = 4,289)
Full size table

3.2.3 Socio-Demograhic Control Variables

All models control for socio-demographic characteristics that typically correlate with life satisfaction: gender (e.g., Joshanloo & Jovanović, 2020), age categorized in four age groups, 18–39; 40–49; 50–64 as reference; 65 and older (e.g., Blanchflower et al., 2023), educational level (e.g., Möwisch et al., 2021), quartiles of household income (e.g., Easterlin, 2021), having a partner (e.g., Stahnke & Cooley, 2021) and a child (e.g., Johnson et al., 2021), whether the respondent lives in East or West Germany (e.g., Schneickert et al., 2019), and the level of urbanity. The available findings on the correlates of life orientations—status orientation and experience orientation have already been examined—suggest a social structuring similar to that of life satisfaction (see Delhey et al., 2022; Paskov et al., 2017; Schneickert et al., 2024).

3.3 Analytical Strategy

We proceed in four analytical steps. In the first step, we report the central tendency of the key variables and briefly discuss the correlation matrix. In the second step, we use ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions with robust standard errors to estimate the influence of the realized ways of life and of the associated basic orientations on life satisfaction. Step 1 and 2 consequently provide empirical evidence on the contribution of the realization of life conceptions to life satisfaction (H1). In a third step, we use the regression models from step 2 to establish how much each realized way of life and the respective life orientation contribute to life satisfaction for the total population and relevant sub-populations (H2). To this end, we employ the so-called level importance (following Achen, 1983). Technically, this measure results from the mean value of a variable in the population under consideration multiplied by its unstandardized regression coefficient, formally expressed as \(level\, importance= {\widehat{\beta }}_{j}{\overline{x}}_{j}\). In a fourth and final step, we use OLS regression models with interaction terms and robust standard errors to examine whether the personal importance that respondents attach to a way of life (i.e., the respective basic orientation) moderates the effect of the realized way of life itself (H3).

4 Findings

4.1 Descriptive Findings: Life Satisfaction, Life Orientations, and Achieved Ways of Life

Table 3 presents the distributions of the central dependent and independent variables (see Table 6 in the appendix for detailed descriptive information). The average life satisfaction of the population in Germany is 2.68 (SD = 0.94), or 67% of the scale maximum, slightly below the normal range of 70–80 known from Western countries (Cummins et al., 2012). The respondents state that their current way of life corresponds particularly to a sustainable life (M = 2.8, SD = 0.8) and an exciting life (M = 2.7, SD = 1.0), each measured on a scale of 0–5. To a lesser, but still considerable, extent, people in Germany say that they lead a prosperous life (M = 2.4, SD = 1.1) and a cozy life (M = 2.4, SD = 1.0).

Table 3 Descriptive statistics (N = 3,972)
Full size table

Moving to the corresponding basic orientations, the two orientations geared toward growth, status orientation (M = 1.9, SD = 0.9) and experience orientation (M = 2.4, SD = 1.0), score significantly lower in personal importance than the two orientations geared toward limitation, emotional comfort orientation (M = 2.9, SD = 1.0) and ecology orientation (M = 2.9, SD = 0.9).

According to the correlation matrix (Table 4), all basic orientations are positively correlated with the degree to which individuals achieve the corresponding way of life. The correlation is strongest between ecology orientation and leading a sustainable life (r = 0.60, p < 0.001); medium strong between experience orientation and leading an exciting life (r = 0.46, p < 0.001); and moderate between emotional comfort orientation and leading a cozy life (r = 0.30, p < 0.001), as well as between status orientation and leading a prosperous life (r = 0.25, p < 0.001). While these correlations indicate a certain goal attainment (or, alternatively, an adaptation of goals to actual life), there remains a sometimes smaller, sometimes larger realization gap, for which unfavorable opportunity structures or a value-behavior gap (Bojanowska et al., 2022) may be accountable.

Table 4 Correlations of life satisfaction, life orientations, and realized ways of life (N = 3,972)
Full size table

Life satisfaction is positively correlated with all four realized ways of life. The bivariate correlations are more or less equally strong for leading a prosperous life (r = 0.25, p < 0.001), an exciting life (r = 0.27, p < 0.001), and a cozy life (r = 0.27, p < 0.001), but considerably weaker for leading a sustainable life (r = 0.06, p < 0.001). In contrast, among the corresponding basic orientations, only status orientation is weakly and negatively correlated with life satisfaction (r = −0.03, p < 0.05). There are no associations with life satisfaction for the other three orientations.

4.2 Regression Findings: Explaining Life Satisfaction

Table 5 presents the results of the linear regression analyses examining the relationship between life satisfaction and individuals’ achievement of life conceptions, along with their personal importance. We begin by exploring the association between life satisfaction and the realized ways of life in Model 1. This is followed by an analysis of the relationship between life satisfaction and life orientations in Model 2, and finally, an examination of life satisfaction in conjunction with both realized ways of life and life orientations in Model 3. All models incorporate the full set of control variables as detailed in the Data and Methods section (for complete regression tables, see Table 7 in the appendix).

Table 5 Regression of life satisfaction on realized ways of life and life orientations (N = 3,972)
Full size table

As shown in Model 1, the extent to which three out of the four life concepts are realized is positively correlated with life satisfaction. In particular, leading a cozy life and an exciting life are linked to higher levels of life satisfaction. Leading a prosperous life also has a positive relationship with life satisfaction, although this association is weaker.Footnote 1 Only leading a sustainable life shows no association with life satisfaction.

Model 2 indicates that individuals’ basic orientations—the extent to which people personally value a particular life concept—have little, if any, relationship with their overall life satisfaction. Weak associations are observed for the two ‘more is better’ orientations: status orientation is negatively related to life satisfaction, whereas experience orientation is positively related.

Model 3 demonstrates that the positive associations of leading an exciting, cozy, or prosperous life with life satisfaction remain robust even when individuals’ basic orientations are considered (likewise, leading a sustainable life shows no association). In comparison, the net relationships of basic orientations with life satisfaction are slightly weaker and, if statistically significant at all, tend to be negative: striving for more experiences and emotional comfort than one currently achieves is related to lower life satisfaction.

To summarize, the results from the correlational analysis and the regression results support the hypothesis that leading an exciting and a cozy life is more substantially linked to life satisfaction than leading a prosperous and, in particular, a sustainable life (largely supporting H1).

4.3 Level of Importance: Recipes for Life Satisfaction

To explore how the life satisfaction of the German population and various sub-populations is actually composed, we utilized Achen’s (1982) level of importance method. Figure 2 presents the results, first for the German population as a whole (labeled “full sample”), and then for selected sub-populations that reflect significant horizontal and vertical divisions.

Fig. 2
figure 2

Level importance: predicting life satisfaction

Full size image

For the full sample, three realized ways of life (represented by the color-filled bars) make a positive contribution to life satisfaction. On a 0–4 scale, the average realization of an exciting life corresponds to 0.52 points of life satisfaction, that of a cozy life corresponds to 0.42 points, and that of a prosperous life corresponds to 0.25 points. Consequently, the color-filled bars in Fig. 2 are positioned to the right of the zero line. In contrast, the average realization of a sustainable life corresponds to a slight reduction in life satisfaction, which is why the green bar is situated to the left of the zero line. Similarly, individuals’ basic orientations (represented by hollowed color bars), particularly a focus on seeking experiences and emotional comfort, correspond to a marginally reduced life satisfaction on average; hence, these bars are also located to the left of the zero line.

A brief look at the sub-populations shows that the extent to which people lead an exciting life makes the biggest contribution to the current level of life satisfaction in almost all groups. This is particularly the case with the high-income group and the younger age group (18–39 years old). Only for the oldest age group (65 +) does the current extent of leading a cozy life make the strongest contribution (otherwise the second strongest, except for the lowest income group). Leading a sustainable life adds little, if anything, to how satisfied the various sub-populations are; for women, young people, and the less educated, it even takes away a tiny bit of life satisfaction.

Regarding the—predominantly negative—net contribution of the basic orientations, two groups stand out: younger people and the highly educated. In both sub-populations, the comparatively strong orientation towards status, experiences, emotional comfort, and ecology reduces life satisfaction more than usual. Young people lose a cumulative 1.04 scale points of life satisfaction on the five-point scale in this way, while the highly educated lose 0.62 scale points. High earners lose some of their life satisfaction due to the importance they attach to emotional comfort, which suggests that a high-paying job may be difficult to reconcile with the desire for relaxation and mindfulness. In conclusion, the level importance analysis largely supports H2: The “satisfaction recipe” is quite similar across various socio-demographic sub-populations, with deviations from the general pattern occurring most likely by age.

4.4 Moderation Analysis: Do Orientations Moderate the Effects of Realizations?

According to Desire-Fulfillment Theory, higher life satisfaction is expected when an individual’s desires align with their reality (Heathwood, 2015). Conversely, a discrepancy between a desired life conception and its realization may be associated with dissatisfaction, particularly if the conception is highly valued by the individual. To explore this possibility, we estimated four additional regression models that include an interaction term between an achieved way of life and the corresponding basic orientation. The results are illustrated in the margin plots in Fig. 3 (for complete regression tables, see Table 7 in the appendix).

Fig. 3
figure 3

Interaction effects on life satisfaction between realized ways of life and life orientations

Full size image

Figure 3 primarily illustrates the positive association between realizing a prosperous, exciting, or cozy life and life satisfaction (see also Table 5). For these three life concepts, the dashed lines, representing high and medium realization, are positioned above the solid line, which represents low realization. This indicates that greater realization of these life concepts corresponds to higher predicted life satisfaction. The exception is the sustainable life, where all lines overlap. Interestingly, the extent to which individuals value experiences, emotional comfort, and ecology does not moderate the relationship between their realization and life satisfaction for three of the four life concepts. The only statistically significant interaction effect is depicted in the upper left panel, where individuals who place a high value on status report lower satisfaction when not leading a prosperous life. Thus, with respect to H3, which proposed that individuals’ basic life orientations moderate the relationship between achieved ways of life and life satisfaction, we find only very limited empirical support.

5 Discussion and Conclusion

Departing from the Theory of Life Conceptions (TLC), this study examined which way of life actually makes people the most satisfied. This theory considers four mutually non-exclusive life concepts that also feature prominently in public and academic discourse: the prosperous life, the exciting life, the cozy life, and the sustainable life. We empirically explored the significance of both realizing these lives and valuing them for life satisfaction within a Western postmodern society: Germany.

Our analyses yield several important insights. Firstly, life satisfaction is more strongly correlated with the actual realization of these ways of life, rather than with the extent to which individuals value these life concepts (the basic orientations). This finding lends support to general need theory (Allardt, 1993), which posit that the quality of life primarily consists in the degree of need satisfaction—thus, on how life is rather than what one aspires to in life. Moreover, we identified an interaction effect between realization and aspiration only for the prosperous life, but not for the other life concepts; this finding aligns more closely with Goal Contents Theory (Bradshaw, 2023; Deci & Ryan, 2000; Kasser & Ryan, 1993) rather than with Desire-Fulfillment Theory (Heathwood, 2015) or the concept of “perceived good life coherence” (Thomas et al., 2022).

Second, a particularly high satisfaction dividend is promised by a life aligned with the two inward-oriented life concepts: the experience-oriented exciting life and the cozy life that is oriented to emotional comfort. Due to their psychophysical focus (Delhey & Schneickert, 2022; Schulze, 1992) and their proximity to human flourishing (Lomas et al., 2025), these life concepts evidently offer a more direct path to evaluative well-being. This is in contrast to the two externally-oriented concepts, which focus on economic success (as with the prosperous life) and ecological concerns (as in the sustainable life). The prominence of leading an exciting life stands in stark contrast to the occasionally harsh critiques of hedonistic living by philosophers and social scientists (e.g., Skidelsky & Skidelsky, 2013; see also Veenhoven’s discussion, 2003). Our findings suggest that (German) postmodern society continues to exhibit traits of an “experience society” (Delhey & Schneickert, 2022; Schneickert et al., 2024; Schulze, 1992). At the same time, maintaining a mindful inner balance amid the pressures of rapid acceleration (Rosa, 2003) is almost similarly important for well-being in today’s context.

Third, one of the most intriguing findings is the lack of association between leading a sustainable life and life satisfaction. This stands in contrast to previous research on sustainable behavior (Jacob et al., 2009) and environmental sensitivity (Mayer & Frantz, 2004). A possible explanation might be that the benefits of an ecologically sustainable lifestyle, such as the “warm glow” effect (van der Linden, 2018), are counterbalanced by the drawbacks, including the sense of renunciation. Alternatively, any satisfaction benefits may be negated by factors such as eco-anxiety stemming from high environmental awareness (Stanley et al., 2021), perceived ineffectiveness in making an impact (Venhoeven et al., 2013), or frustration with others’ environmentally irresponsible behaviors. In any case, our finding calls into question the popular narrative promoted by the post-growth movement, which suggests that sustainable living not only benefits the planet but also personal happiness (Jackson, 2009; New Economic Foundation, 2010).

A fourth noteworthy finding concerns the relatively limited role of people’s basic orientations for life satisfaction. Interestingly, seeking for experiences and emotional comfort, but not for seeking status and sustainability is negatively related to life satisfaction in the regression analyses when realizations are held constant. This might be explained by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943): Inward-oriented needs, such as the desire for experiences or emotional comfort, are generally more challenging to satisfy than outward-oriented needs. A strong desire for experiences or emotional comfort can therefore ultimately lead to dissatisfaction rather than satisfaction.

Fifth, while previous research has identified happiness ‘recipes’ for populations at large (Headey & Wagner, 2019; Headey et al., 2022), our study systematically compared sub-populations defined by gender, age, education, and income. We observed largely similar patterns across these groups, though with notable age-related variations. For individuals aged 18–39, leading an exciting life emerged as the most significant ingredient of life satisfaction. In contrast, for individuals aged 65 years and older, a cozy life was central (see similarly Mogilner et al., 2011). If these patterns reflect an age effect rather than a cohort effect—which remains to be established in future, longitudinal analyses—demographic shifts will increase the proportion of people for whom a cozy life is essential to subjective well-being. Young people, in particular, are noteworthy for their strong—and potentially satisfaction-reducing—desires for various goals: experiences, ecology, status, and emotional comfort. Further research is necessary to better understand the origins of this ‘everything, everywhere, all at once’ attitude, which may be influenced by factors such as social media use, peer pressure, or the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people’s lifestyles (e.g., Delhey et al., 2023; Elharake et al., 2023). By identifying these influences, researchers and policymakers can devise strategies to better support the—recently declining (Handa et al., 2023)—subjective well-being among young people specifically.

Our findings have several implications. For happiness research, the findings highlight the importance of focusing not only on what people value in life, but also on the ways of life they are able to realize. In this context, collecting data through summarizing self-assessments of achieved ways of life—as implemented in our survey module—has shown to be particularly useful and cost-effective. For policymakers, a key implication is the enhancement of livability in today’s societies, particularly aligned with inward-oriented life concepts. This can be achieved by creating environments that enable people to lead interesting and enjoyable lives, such as by ensuring accessible and affordable cultural offerings. Additionally, creating conditions for a stress-free life, such as promoting employee-friendly work-life balance policies, is crucial. For individuals, the most significant practical implication is to pursue a diversified approach that integrates different life concepts to create a well-balanced life (Sirgy & Wu, 2009). Particular compatible, both conceptually and empirically, are the exciting and prosperous life, as well as the exciting and cozy life. No matter what the specific combination looks like, the focus should be on the realization of the life concepts (following the motto: do more, want less).

Our study is not without limitations. First and foremost, its cross-sectional design relies on population survey data at one point in time. This methodology restricts our ability to draw conclusions about causal relationships between the variables. Following the well-established bottom-up approach to life satisfaction, we assume that life satisfaction is a summarizing evaluation of conditions in various life domains, reflecting individual expectations and priorities (Headey et al., 1991), but this does not preclude the possibility of reverse causality. The data used in this study are limited to Germany, which is representative of Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic (WEIRD) countries and has experienced significant post-materialistic value changes (Welzel, 2013). Thus, international comparisons are necessary to evaluate the generalizability of our findings to other countries and world regions. For instance, in Europe, research suggests that former socialist countries exhibit a higher proportion of status seekers (Schneickert et al., 2024). This could indicate a potentially greater satisfaction dividend from leading a prosperous life in these regions. Similarly, in East Asia, materialism is often perceived differently, not being seen as a barrier to relational well-being as it might be in the USA (Yoo et al., 2021). These differences underscore the importance of considering economic and cultural contexts when extrapolating our results beyond Germany.

The survey we used is the first to have fielded the four life concepts in its aspiration (basic orientations) and realization (ways of life), marking a pioneering step. Repeated measurements would be highly beneficial to assess the stability or volatility of the ‘recipes’ for well-being we identified throughout the life course and over time, and could also provide crucial insights into questions of causality. Another promising avenue for future research involves exploring a broader spectrum of well-being outcomes, including emotional well-being and eudaimonic well-being (flourishing). For instance, engaging in a sustainable lifestyle could enhance individuals’ sense of purpose, a key component of flourishing (Huppert & So, 2013; Noordzij et al., 2024). Expanding the list of life conceptions can offer a more comprehensive understanding of what contributes to life satisfaction across different cultures. In more religious countries than Germany, living a godly life, supported by a strong religious orientation, might represent a vital life concept with considerable benefits for well-being (Headey et al., 2022; Inglehart, 2010). Similarly, considering the meaningful life with its emphasis on purpose and coherence (Sabato & Bar-Ilan, 2023) could further enrich our understanding of what makes life fulfilling and satisfying.