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Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) Test

Get a quick snapshot of how satisfied and happy someone feels right now in about 1 minute. Four brief items deliver a clear well-being score you can track over time or compare across groups.

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Questions: 41 minute

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

19,862 views

1,901 completion

1,538 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

20/28

Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS)

Assesses a person's overall subjective sense of happiness and life satisfaction at the present time.

Low happiness

Moderate happiness

High happiness

4 – 12: Low happiness | 13 – 23: Moderate happiness | 24 – 28: High happiness

A score of 20 falls in the Moderate happiness range, suggesting an average-to-above-average sense of well-being with room for greater positive mood and satisfaction.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Self-check on mood

41%OF USERS

People who want a quick snapshot of how happy and satisfied they feel with life right now take it to understand their current emotional state.

Therapy and coaching clients

34%OF USERS

Clients in counseling or coaching use it to track changes in well-being over time and discuss what may be influencing their happiness.

Researchers and students

25%OF USERS

Researchers and psychology students include it in surveys to compare subjective happiness across groups or before and after an intervention.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS)

Average

12.1

Normal range

8.6 — 15.6

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- 1 (not a very happy person)
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7 (a very happy person)
- 1 (less happy)
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7 (more happy)
- 1 (not at all)
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7 (to a great extent)

These are 3 of the 4 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) Test - Symptoms and Signs

well-being

positive psychology

happiness

This brief self-report measure provides a snapshot of an individual’s perceived well-being and overall sense of happiness. The Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) is designed for rapid administration and is often used in clinical screening or research contexts where a global indicator of subjective happiness is needed.

It consists of 4 items and typically takes about 1 minutes to complete. Developed by Sonja Lyubomirsky and Heidi S. Lepper, the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) yields a concise index of perceived happiness that can be used to monitor change over time or to compare groups when interpreted within the appropriate assessment context.

Author: Heidi S. Lepper, Sonja Lyubomirsky

Literature: Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S. A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research. 1999.