Such sociological approaches as the one demonstrated in this dissertation would indeed lend themselves to further empirical applications in SWB research. For instance, studies could investigate the association between income (or unemployment, or marital status, etc.) and SWB from a life course perspective, across gender lines, etc. Sociology can in turn benefit from SWB research as a test for the aforementioned theories in a new context: For instance, happiness research can be an innovative method of studying the suitability of the homo sociologicus vs. economicus model in different settings.