In the Western world, the arrival in the 20th century of the Welfare State meant that the basic needs of citizens in terms of health, hygiene and socio-economic considerations were met to a greater extent than ever before. It soon however became apparent that, as Maslow’s hierarchy of need predicts (Maslow, 1943), people continued to want more, they needed choices, and they sought opportunities to fulfil ambitions and goals. Affective well-being, or how we feel about our lives and situations, became the focus of empirical research and over the last 50 years a large body of work has explored.
