Abstract
This study aims to provide the theoretical basis of the age profile of subjective well-being. To do this, this study employs a bio-evolutionary framework on the premise that dissatisfaction works as a behavioral trigger, and considers how dissatisfaction evolves over the life cycle. The hypotheses developed in the theoretical consideration are as follows. First and second, the level of dissatisfaction due to the lack of income or the lack of an appropriate partner peaks in the reproductive period in which the lack of either had a serious impact on lifetime reproductive success in our evolutionary past. Third, the baseline level of dissatisfaction peaks in the reproductive period, reflecting the importance of behaviors on lifetime reproductive success in the same period. The empirical results support all the hypotheses. Regression analyses using the British Household Panel Survey show that the impact of income or spouse/partner situation on overall life satisfaction is greatest around thirty years of age, and that the baseline level of overall life satisfaction is U-shaped in age, with the lowest point in midlife.
