Objective condition	vs.	Subjective condition
QOL is a condition external to its possessors' understandings and assessment. QOL is measured and evaluated using evidence independent of subjective perceptions. Examples: social indicators, social work.		QOL is a meaningful self-assessment of its possessors. QOL is measured and evaluated using subjective perceptions. Examples: life satisfaction, therapy.

 

 

Individual attribution	vs.	Collective attribution
QOL "belongs" to an individual. Aggregating QOL: "collective" QOL is an analytical construct that merely sums up of individual QOLs. Examples: psychology, survey research, utilitarianism.		QOL "belongs" to a group: household, community, society, etc. "More than the sum of its parts": collective QOL has systemic properties or dynamics that cannot be understood at an individual level of analysis. Examples: ecology, urban planning, communitarianism.

 

 

Production of QOL	vs.	Distribution of QOL
QOL is understood and observed as the development of a potential. Focuses on the necessary (but often insufficient) causes and mechanisms of QOL. Examples: Technological innovations, productivity, income (compared to consumption), the value of "civilization."		QOL is understood and observed as the realization of an impact. Focuses on the (often unequal) allocation and realization of QOL. Examples: Income (compared to GDP), inequality, the value of "justice."

 

 

Universal understanding	vs.	Relativistic understanding
Indicators of QOL can be validly compared across cultural, historical. Emphasizes commonalities of QOL experience. Example: Historical-comparative analysis.		Indicators of QOL cannot be validly compared across cultural, historical, and personal contexts. Emphasizes idiosyncratic adaptations to QOL circumstances. Example: ethnography, economics.

Source: Leonard Nevarez, Quality of Life (New York: Routledge, forthcoming).

 

 

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