happiness Flashcards
what are the two types of happiness
hedonic: feeling pleasure, feeling good, enjoyment and fun, maximizing positive emotions/minimizing negative emotions
eudaimonic: feeling fulfilling, meaning in life, engagement, realizing full potential
individuals tend to gravitate more towards one type than the other - balance between the two depends on the person
what are the three factors that contribute to happiness
- genes
- intentional activities
- circumstances
set point theory
happiness levels fluctuate around a genetically determined set point
this set point tends to be positive, not neutral
different people have different set points
evidence for set point theory
- happiness tends to be stable over time, despite life events (lottery winners study: a year after winning lottery, lottery winners are not any happier than control)
-we adapt to sad and difficult events
- happiness levels of identical twins are strongly positively correlated but happiness levels of fraternal twins show no relationship
- extroversion and neuroticism are strong predictors of happiness (these traits have a strong genetic basis)
hedonic treadmill
we quickly adapt to life circumstances and want more
desire, strive, obtain, enjoy, adapt, desire
third group of lottery winners study
patients with spinal cord injury - least happy
differential impact of life events study
longitudinal study of 13000 australians
reported on 18 common events (9 positive, 9 negative)
reported on:
- hedonic happiness
- eudaionic happiness
individual differences in adaptation
although happiness is largely stable, about 25% of people show significant change to their chronic happiness level
individual differences in happiness ranges
different people can have the same average happiness point but show different levels of variation around this set point
circumstances
the things that happen in a person’s life
demographics, like age, gender, or ethnicity
life status variables, like marital status, health, income
national, geographical, cultural region
does money buy happiness?
hedonic increases and then plateaus at 75 000 u\USD
Eudaimonic happiness continues to increase past 75 000 USD
revised set point theory
genetics determine possible happiness range
non genetic factors influence where someone falls within the range
intentional activities
- actions or practices in which people can choose to engage in
behavioural or cognitive
require effort
advantages of intentional activities
happiness boost from intentional activities are longer lasting than the effect of circumstances
- more controllable on a day to day basis
- allow for more variety and diverse experiences
if you want to be happier, this is the factor to focus on
perma model
positive emotions
engagement
positive relationships
meaning
accomplishment
