Topic
Happiness
About: Happiness is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 22093 publications have been published within this topic receiving 728411 citations. The topic is also known as: joy & happy.
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Book•
01 Feb 2010
TL;DR: In this article, the reliability of research on happiness has been investigated and the importance of happiness research has been highlighted. But, the authors do not discuss the role of government in this research.
Abstract: Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 CHAPTER 1: What Investigators Have Discovered 9 CHAPTER 2: The Reliability of Research on Happiness 32 CHAPTER 3: Should Policy-Makers Use Happiness Research? 45 CHAPTER 4: The Question of Growth 63 CHAPTER 5: What to Do about Inequality 79 CHAPTER 6: The Threat of Financial Hardship 99 CHAPTER 7: Relieving Suffering 124 CHAPTER 8: Marriages and Families 139 CHAPTER 9: Education 156 CHAPTER 10: The Quality of Government 179 CHAPTER 11: The Significance of Happiness Research 204 Notes 213 Index 247
205 citations
TL;DR: This paper showed that children from 3 years understand that being "pleased" is a function of the match or mismatch between desire and reality, but this is not typically understood before children reach 4 years of age.
Abstract: This study looks at two emotions that are determined by whether a person's mental state matches or mismatches the state of the world. Results show that children from 3 years understand that being ‘pleased’ is a function of the match or mismatch between desire and reality. That is between what a person wants and what a person gets. A structurally similar problem is presented by the emotion ‘surprise’. ‘Surprise’ is a function of the match or mismatch between belief and reality. That is between what a person believes or expects to be the case and what actually is the case. It is shown that ‘surprise’ is not understood until children are 5 years old at the earliest. This developmental discrepancy can partly be explained by the fact that ‘surprise’ requires an understanding of belief as a misrepresentation. This is not typically understood before children reach 4 years of age. However, children younger than 4 years can understand ‘pleased’ as the result of reaching or not reaching a desired situation. Results also show that it is not until 5 years of age that children understand ‘happiness’ when ‘happiness’ is made dependent on belief about reality and not on reality itself. The fact that children understand ‘surprise’ and belief-based ‘happiness’ later than 4 years indicates a general lag between understanding belief and its role in determining emotion.
205 citations
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: The problem of death anxiety is defined as "a fear that can erupt into terror depriving an individual of happiness and fulfillment" as discussed by the authors, and the author of this article presents a brief introduction to the problem of human mortality as one of the givens of human existence.
Abstract: In this article, the author, an eminent psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and writer, presents a brief introduction to the problem of human mortality as one of the givens of human existence, locating the problem squarely in the domain of self- awareness or human consciousness. He names the problem as death anxiety, a fear that can erupt into terror depriving an individual of happiness and fulfillment. Having identified the problem of death anxiety, the author then goes on, through a personal memoir, to disclose his personal ideas about death, their autobiographical sources, and how they have affected his life, as well as his coming to terms with the necessity of his own death. Within this autobiographical essay, he touches on experiences of death and dying from his youth, adolescence, and adulthood as well as his experience of the death of three of his most prized mentors: Jerome Frank, John Whitehorn, and Rollo May.
204 citations
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this paper, a survey of studies on the relationship between income inequality and subjective well-being is presented, concluding that inequality correlates negatively with happiness in Western societies and that the evidence for non-western societies is more mixed and less reliable.
Abstract: In recent years there has been an accumulation of empirical evidence suggesting that individuals dislike inequality. The literature has built upon estimating the degree of this dislike as well as its causes. The use of self-reported measures of satisfaction or well-being as a proxy for utility has been one of the empirical strategies used to this end. In this survey, we review the papers that estimate or examine the relationship between inequality and self-reported happiness to conclude that inequality correlates negatively with happiness in Western societies. Some of the surveyed papers identify particular sources of heterogeneity on preferences over inequality. The evidence for non-Western societies is more mixed and less reliable. Notwithstanding that, trust in the institutions seems to play an important role in shaping the relationship between income inequality and subjective well-being. We conclude with suggestions for further research.
204 citations
Book•
20 May 2009
TL;DR: Penal laws, so considerable a part of every system of legislation, and of so great importance to the happiness, peace, and security of every member of society, are still so imperfect, and are attended with so many unnecessary circumstances of cruelty in all nations, that an attempt to reduce them to the standard of reason must be interesting to all mankind.
Abstract: Penal laws, so considerable a part of every system of legislation, and of so great importance to the happiness, peace, and security of every member of society, are still so imperfect, and are attended with so many unnecessary circumstances of cruelty in all nations, that an attempt to reduce them to the standard of reason must be interesting to all mankind. Its is not surprising, then, that this little book has engaged the attention of all ranks of people in every part of Europe.
204 citations