The hypothesis that individuals try to maximize their life-satisfaction is
analyzed. The approach was to derive empirically testable predictions as to
the relationships between intentions, actions, importance weights, and sat
isfaction levels that would be consistent with the hypothesis, and to test
these predictions on a Russian and a German panel data set. The respondents
investigated were more likely to intend to change those areas they are uns
atisfied with in this period, were more likely to actually have changed tho
se areas they were unsatisfied with in the last period, and tended to find
the areas of their lives they were dissatisfied with less important. The re
lationships were not very strong though and were more reliable for the Germ
an data set than for the Russian data set. The findings therefore give only
limited support to the hypothesis examined. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.
All rights reserved. PsycINFO classification: 2340; 3120 JEL classificatio
n: D00; D63; 130.