Happiness Flashcards
DEFINING HAPPINESS: ARISTOTLE
happiness was attainted by living a virtuous life and being a good person
DEFINING HAPPINESS: JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU
happiness is achieved by satisfaction of one’s desires + the hedonistic pursuit of pleasure
MEASURING HAPPINESS
1) a judgement that life is satisfying
2) the predominance of positive compared with negative emotions
POSITIVE ILLUSION
an inflated view of one’s own characteristics as a good, able, and desirable person
A PARADOX
having a positive illusion will make you happy
A POSITIVE ILLUSION CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY:
- lowering one’s aspiration
- making downward comparisons
HAPPY PEOPLE ARE
- less abusive/hostile
- less self-focused
- report fewer instances of disease
- more helpful + cooperative
- more likely to spend money on others
- more social skills
- more creative + energetic
- more forgiving + trusting
HAPPINESS COORELATES WITH POSITIVE OUTCOMES OF LIFE:
- marriage
- longevity
- self-esteem
- job satisfaction
AGE AND HAPPINESS
variation in happiness across different age groups (but range of change is small)
some studies show level of happiness is constant across different age groups
HAPPINESS: SEX
Empirical studies find that men and women are equally happy
IS THERE A RELATION BETWEEN INCOME AND HAPPINESS (USA)
yes and no
depending on whether the individual has made enough money to support the basic needs of life
THRESHOLD OF INCOME
seems to be a threshold of income:
positive correlation between income + happiness when this threshold is not met
when threshold is met, happiness does not increase with income
WINNING THE LOTTERY
winners of lottery reported feeling happier than before right after winning
six months later, their moods returned to the previous level
the moods of the winners were not different than those in the control group six months after winning
TESTED HIV-POSITIVE
people predicted that they would be profoundly distressed if they tested HIV-positive
only five weeks after discovering they were HIV-positive, people were considerably less distressed than they expected to be
CONCLUSION
People’s moods are usually maintained at a constant level
Overall constant level of happiness isn’t affected by a sudden fortune or misfortune
People gradually return to their previous state of happiness
Overall constant level of happiness is affected by personality
PERSONALITY AND WELL-BEING
Gender, age, ethnicity, income account for 10-15% of the variation in happiness
Personality accounts for 3x as much of the variance (age, income, gender, education, ethnicity, & religion altogether)
TWO PERSONALITY TRAITS ARE CLOSELY RELATED TO WELL-BEING
Extraversion
Neuroticism
EXTRAVERSION
- loves variety and excitement
- positive outlook on life
- life of the party
- energetic/enthusiastic
- seeks novelty + external stimuli
- experience positive emotions
- friendly + talkative
- highly adaptable
NEUROTICISM
Similar terms: emotional instability, anxiety-proneness, negative affectivity
- moody
- touchy
- irritable
- anxious
- unstable
- pessimistic
- complaining
FACTORS AFFECTING PEOPLE’S SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING:
- personality
- life satisfaction
- social support
- socioeconomic status
WHY ARE SOME PEOPLE HAPPIER THAN OTHERS
- ratio of one’s accomplishments to one’s aspirations
- married people tend to be happier than unmarried people
- people with many friends tend to be happier than people with few friends
- people who can support their basic needs are happier than people who can’t
DOWNWARD COMPARISON
a positive reappraisal strategy that involves comparing oneself to those worse off
