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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TL;DR: For example, this paper showed that despite massive increases in purchasing power, people in the West are no happier than they were fifty years ago, despite the fact that they have higher levels of income.
Abstract: The theory behind public economics needs radical reform. It fails to explain the recent history of human welfare and it ignores some of the key findings of modern psychology. Indeed these two failings are intimately linked: it is because the theory ignores psychology that it is unable to explain the facts. The fact is that, despite massive increases in purchasing power, people in the West are no happier than they were fifty years ago. We know this from population surveys and other supporting evidence which I shall review. The most obvious explanations come from three standard findings of the new psychology of happiness. 1 First, a person’s happiness is negatively affected by the incomes of others (a negative externality). Second, a person’s happiness adapts quite rapidly to higher levels of income (a phenomenon of addiction). And third, our tastes are not given ‐ the happiness we get from what we have is largely culturally determined. These findings provide a challenge to the theory and conclusions of public economics, as set out for example in Atkinson and Stiglitz (1980). The challenge to public economics is to incorporate the findings of modern psychology while retaining the rigour of the cost‐benefit framework which is the strength and glory of our subject. 2 In what follows I shall first review the measurement of happiness. Then I shall take the three findings that I discussed one by one, and pursue the policy implications of each of them. I shall end with some overall reflections.
404 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: The authors examines how deal makers become the real agents of major social change and illuminates the evolution of leadership structures, and how leaders interact with society, and thus how they shape the course of society.
Abstract: This work looks at how leaders interact with society, and thus how they shape the course of society. It examines how deal makers become the real agents of major social change and illuminates the evolution of leadership structures.
404 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe five sets of recent findings on subjective well-being: (a) the multidimensionality of SWB, (b) circumstances that influence long-term SWB; (c) cultural differences in SWB and (d) the beneficial effects of SWBs on health and social relationships; and (e) interventions to increase SWBs.
Abstract: Recent decades have seen rapid growth in the science of subjective well-being (SWB), with 14,000 publications a year now broaching the topic. The insights of this growing scholarly literature can be helpful to psychologists working both in research and applied areas. The authors describe 5 sets of recent findings on SWB: (a) the multidimensionality of SWB; (b) circumstances that influence long-term SWB; (c) cultural differences in SWB; (d) the beneficial effects of SWB on health and social relationships; and (e) interventions to increase SWB. In addition, they outline the implications of these findings for the helping professions, organizational psychology, and for researchers. Finally, they describe current developments in national accounts of well-being, which capture the quality of life in societies beyond economic indicators and point toward policies that can enhance societal well-being. Nous avons assisté lors des dernières décennies à une forte croissance de la science du bien-être subjectif, les publications se chiffrant actuellement à environ 14 000 par année. Les constats dont cette littérature savante grandissante font état peuvent être utiles aux psychologues œuvrant dans les domaines de la psychologie appliquée et de la recherche. Les auteurs y décrivent cinq ensembles de récents constats au sujet du bien-être subjectif : (a) la multidimensionnalité du bien-être subjectif; (b) les circonstances qui influencent le bien-être subjectif; (c) l’impact des différences culturelles sur le bien-être subjectif; (d) les effets bénéfiques du bien-être subjectif sur la santé et les relations sociales; et (e) les interventions visant à augmenter le bien-être subjectif. On y précise également les implications de ces constats pour les professions d’aide, la psychologie organisationnelle et les chercheurs. Finalement, les auteurs y décrivent les développements actuels des témoignages de bien-être, lesquels rendent compte de la qualité de vie dans les sociétés, au-delà des indicateurs économiques, et nous guident vers des politiques visant à augmenter le bien-être de la société.
403 citations
TL;DR: Culatively, these lines of research suggest that although happiness is often highly beneficial, it may not be beneficial at every level, in every context, for every reason, and in every variety.
Abstract: Happiness is generally considered a source of good outcomes. Research has highlighted the ways in which happiness facilitates the pursuit of important goals, contributes to vital social bonds, broadens people’s scope of attention, and increases well-being and psychological health. However, is happiness always a good thing? This review suggests that the pursuit and experience of happiness might sometimes lead to negative outcomes. We focus on four questions regarding this purported ‘‘dark side’’ of happiness. First, is there a wrong degree of happiness? Second, is there a wrong time for happiness? Third, are there wrong ways to pursue happiness? Fourth, are there wrong types of happiness? Cumulatively, these lines of research suggest that although happiness is often highly beneficial, it may not be beneficial at every level, in every context, for every reason, and in every variety.
400 citations
TL;DR: It is proposed that parents are unhappy to the extent that they encounter relatively greater negative emotions, magnified financial problems, more sleep disturbance, and troubled marriages, when parents experience greater meaning in life, satisfaction of their basic needs, greater positive emotions, and enhanced social roles, they are met with happiness and joy.
Abstract: The relationship between parenthood and well-being has become a hot topic among scholars, media, and general public alike. The research, however, has been mixed-some studies indicate that parents are happier than nonparents, whereas others suggest the reverse. We suggest that the question of whether parents are more or less happy than their childless peers is not the most meaningful one. To reconcile the conflicting literature and expand understanding of the emotional experience of parenthood, we present a model of parents' well-being that describes why and how parents experience more or less happiness than nonparents (i.e., mediators of the link between parenthood and well-being). We then apply this model to explain when parents are more likely to experience more or less happiness (i.e., moderators of parents' well-being, such as parent age or child temperament). Supporting our model, we review 3 primary methodological approaches: studies comparing parents and nonparents, studies examining changes in well-being across the transition to parenthood, and studies comparing parents' experiences while with their children to their other daily activities. Our review suggests that the relationship between parenthood and well-being is highly complex. We propose that parents are unhappy to the extent that they encounter relatively greater negative emotions, magnified financial problems, more sleep disturbance, and troubled marriages. By contrast, when parents experience greater meaning in life, satisfaction of their basic needs, greater positive emotions, and enhanced social roles, they are met with happiness and joy.
400 citations