Is Happiness Achievable to All? Flashcards
What is wellbeing and happiness?
Positive psychologists emphasised the use of scientific methods to study wellbeing and positive adaptation
(e.g., Strack et al., 1991; Kahneman et al., 1999)
—-> referring to life evaluation, not the emotion of happiness (joy)
Positive psychology movement
Studies what people do right and how they are able to do this (Seligman, 2002; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000)
Defined in terms of optimal human functioning (Sheldon et al., 2000); or flourishing (a state where people experience positive emotions, positive psychological functioning and positive social functioning, most of the time) (Fredrickson, 2005)
Early notions of positive psychology
Maslow, 1954 - creativity and self-actualisation
Seligman, 1998 – became president of the APA
Redress balance in psychology away from disease model and focus on negativity (emotions, conditions)
Focus on strengths and on how to fulfil lives of healthy people
But absence of NA —> Low happiness
Second wave of PP (including negativity in positivity)
Against views that selfishness and hedonism are main human motivations (Social Darwinism: social behaviour - drive for wealth and power; Honderich, 1995)
—> peaceful social interactions are evolutionarily adaptive
not individual pursuit, wellbeing as social
The 3 main areas of positive psychology
positive subjective states or emotions (e.g., happiness, life satisfaction and love)
2) positive individual traits = character strengths (e.g., courage and honesty)
3) maintaining positive institutions (e.g., families, communities and workplaces)
Seligman (2011)
believes it flourishes at all levels
And then Authentic happiness
Why do people/societies care about happiness?
According to Gallup World data, world is unhappier than ever
Before Brexit, the number of happy people in the UK showed a dramatic decline
Why not to focus on GDP (only)
Wellbeing can’t be measured by money or traded in markets. It’s about the beauty of our surroundings, the quality of our culture and, above all, the strength of our relationships.
Improving our society’s sense of wellbeing is, I believe, the central political challenge of our times.“
David Cameron said the above
Living standards framework– New Zealand
Considers 12 domains that are understood to contribute to wellbeing/ happiness
Gross national happiness index (GNH; Bhutan)
Similar to the idea of GDP (Gross Domestic Product; country’s production in goods and services), as used by Economists
Moving the focus from producing more money to producing more wellbeing/happiness, on a national level
Includes 9 areas: Psych. WB, Health, Education, Time Use, Cultural diversity and resilience, Good governance, Community vitality, Ecological diversity and resilience, Living standards (33 indicators; holistic view of wellbeing)
International initiatives for measuring wellbeing
Problem - nearly as wide a range of concepts in use and substantial blind spots in many countries.
The number of questions is limited to avoid excessive costs and enable widespread use
Problem with focusing on just GDP
Only a small impact on wellbeing, via living standards
Main perspectives on wellbeing
- Hedonic (seeking pleasure vs avoiding pain)
- Eudaimonic (self-realisation, fulfilling a sense of purpose)
- Evaluative (satisfaction with life or life domains)
- Also, psychological (different aspects of psychological functioning) vs. subjective (life sat + PA + NA); high balance of PA/NA seen as happiness
Theories of happiness (USA)
- Construal theory of happiness (Lyubomirsky, 2001)
¡ It is how people construe and interpret experiences that influences happiness - Evaluation theory (Diener & Lucas, 2000)
¡ People evaluate self-relevant information and this determines happiness - Onion theory of happiness (Czapinski, 1989, p.8):
o “PWB is not a unitary construct but a complex structure consisting of several levels, relatively separated from each other.
How can even the poor be happy?
Maasai tribe (Kenya)
Inuit
Amish
People from slums of Calcutta
If basic needs met, for food etc.
If not desiring more
If have other rewards such as relationships
