Matt Has Had a Wonderful Semester at College

Multiple Choice

Matt has had a wonderful semester at college. He has made A's or B's on most of his tests and assignments. He enjoys his part-time job and recently got a raise, and he has a steady girlfriend, whom he enjoys spending time with and who is also very supportive. However, Matt's mother called this morning to tell him that his grandfather, to whom he is very close, is very ill. According to the research, Matt's happiness or subjective well-being would be

A) low due to the overwhelmingly negative emotion Matt is feeling regarding his grandfather's illness.
B) neutral, since the intense negative emotion generated by his grandfather's illness cancels out the positive emotions generated by Matt's everyday college experiences.
C) high because Matt is experiencing frequent positive emotions and relatively few negative emotions.
D) unpredictable, since Matt is young, and his emotions tend to fluctuate daily.