WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

Happiness is thought of as the good life, freedom from suffering, flourishing, well-being, joy, prosperity, and pleasure. Its pursuit is enshrined as a fundamental right in the United States and occupies most of us. But what do we really know about happiness? Can we study it? Are we born with it? Can we make ourselves happier? Whos happy and whos not, and why? What makes us happy? Researchers are learning more and more about the answers to these questions.

Defining happiness
Defining happiness can seem as elusive as achieving it. We want to be happy, and we can say whether we are or not, but can it really be defined, studied and measured? And can we use this learning to become happier? Psychologists say yes, and that there are good reasons for doing so. Positive psychology is the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. These researchers work includes studying strengths, positive emotions, resilience, and happiness. Their argument is that only studying psychological disorders gives us just part of the picture of mental health. We will learn more about well-being by studying our strengths and what makes us happy. The hope is that by better understanding human strengths, we can learn new ways to recover from or prevent disorders, and may even learn to become happier. So how do these researchers define happiness? Psychologist Ed Diener, author of Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth, describes what psychologists call subjective wellbeing as a combination of life satisfaction and having more positive emotions than negative emotions. Martin Seligman, one of the leading researchers in positive psychology and author of Authentic Happiness, describes happiness as having three parts: pleasure, engagement, and meaning. Pleasure is the feel good part of happiness. Engagement refers to living a good life of work, family, friends, and hobbies. Meaning refers to using our strengths to contribute to a larger purpose. Seligman says that all three are important, but that of the three, engagement and meaning make the most difference to living a happy life. Moment-by-moment vs. long term Researchers also distinguish between the moment-by-moment feeling of happiness produced by positive emotions and how we describe our lives when we think about it. Regardless of whether you had a good day or not, do you describe your life as a happy one? Or describe yourself as a happy person? Psychologist Daniel Kahneman describes this difference as the experiencing self and the remembering self. Psychologists study both to better understand how daily experiences add up to a happy life. Scientifically measuring happiness Since happiness is so subjective, can it really be measured and studied scientifically? Researchers say yes. They believe that we can reliably and honestly self-report our state of happiness and increases and decreases in happiness. After all, isnt our own perception of happiness what matters?

And if we can report it, scientists can measure it. Psychologist Daniel Gilbert compares this to optometry: Optometry is another one of those sciences that is built entirely on people's reports of subjective experience. The one and only way for an optometrist to know what your visual experience is like is to ask you, Does it look clearer like this or (click click) like this?

Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson's research

The undo effect. Fredrickson demonstrated that positive emotions undo some of the physical effects of stress, such as increased heart rate. Study subjects who experienced a positive emotion returned to a normal resting heart rate more quickly after experiencing stress than subjects who had not experienced a positive emotion. Broaden and build. The broaden-and-build theory describes how positive emotions broaden our outlook on life and help us build skills for stressful times. Fredrickson points out that negative emotionsanger and fear, for instanceevolved to narrow our focus and help us get out of a threatening situation safely. Positive emotions, on the other hand like kindness, amusement, interest, and gratitudeput us in a frame of mind to explore the world around us and build a larger repertoire of actions that we can draw on in stressful times. Fredrickson sees a parallel in the animal kingdom. Think, for instance, of how a cat playing with a toy is practicing to catch prey. People playing and laughing over a game of softball may be strengthening social ties, increasing their physical health, sharpening reflexes, and increasing their confidence. Fueling resilience. Positive emotions are the fuel for resilience. They help people find meaning in ordinary and difficult events. Finding meaning in life events leads to more positive emotion, which in turn leads to a greater ability to find meaning and purpose. Fredrickson calls this an upward spiral of greater well-being.

Common misconceptions
There isnt much people can do to change how happy they are. Some people are just happier than others. Researchers have found that genetics and temperament form a baseline or set point for happiness. However, genetics only explains about half of our happiness level, and life circumstances beyond our control are only another 10% or so. That means 40%nearly halfof our happiness level is determined by our own choices and actions. Even people with a more melancholy temperament or difficult life circumstances can be happier with some effort. Happiness is subjective and cant be studied. Happiness is subjectiveeach of us has our own individual experience of happiness but it can be studied. Researchers accumulate data on happiness by asking people to report their levels of happiness. Since our memories are not always very accurate, scientists design studies to collect reports on happiness in the moment as well as asking people to reflect on their overall happiness levels. Studying happiness is like any other field where we have to rely on peoples own reports of their experience.

Happy people arent very bright. Theres a stereotype in our culture that happy people arent very bright, or theyre nave. This stereotype is not at all accurate. Theres no relationship between happiness and education or IQ. And happy people tend to be more successful at work; have a higher income; are viewed as more likable and attractive; have better relationships; get and stay married; are healthier; and live longer. Young people are happier than old people, and people get less happy over their lifetimes. Older people consistently report higher levels of happiness than young adults, and this research has held up over time, so its not a matter of some generations being happier than others. A big part of the difference seems to be that younger people experience more negative emotions like anger, anxiety and shame. Seniors tend to experience fewer negative emotions and with less intensity. Money makes people happy. Once people have enough money or income to meet their basic needs and stay out of poverty, wealth and income dont make as much of a difference to how happy people are as you might think. People with more money are slightly happier than people at lower income levels, but it doesnt seem to be the money so much as satisfaction in earning it and giving it away. And a windfall typically doesnt make people more happy than they were before. People who get a big raise or win the lottery tend to settle back to their previous level of happiness before long. Ill be happy when Its easy for people to think that theyll be happy once something they want happens. This is usually not the case, however. People are not very good at predicting how happy (or sad) an event will make them or for how long. We are very good at adapting to changing circumstances, so even though we may be happier for a short time, we often revert back to our prior levels of happiness. Happier people are ones who tend to enjoy the journey, cultivating relationships and positive emotions along the way. People who think about their own happiness are self-indulgent and selfish. The opposite may be true. It may be that the best thing you can do for other people is to be happy yourself. Research shows that happy people boost the happiness of others in a wide network through three degrees of acquaintance. The happiest people are the most engaged with others and the least wrapped up in their own problems. Happy people are more likely to express positive emotions like gratitude, altruism, and forgiveness.
Empty spaces, what are we living for? Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, On and on! Does anybody know what we are looking for? Another hero, another mindless crime. Behind the curtain, in the pantomime. Hold the line! Does anybody want to take it anymore? The Show must go on! The Show must go on! Inside my heart is breaking, My make-up may be flaking, But my smile, still, stays on! Whatever happens, I'll leave it all to chance. Another heartache, another failed romance. On and on... Does anybody know what we are living for? I guess I'm learning I must be warmer now... I'll soon be turning, round the corner now. Outside the dawn is breaking, But inside in the dark I'm aching to be free!