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1Science of Happiness
Week 1 2
Lecture 1: 2
Reading 1: expanding the social science of happiness 7
Reading 2: Reevaluating the Strengths and Weaknesses of Self-Report Measures of
Subjective Well-Being 8
Reading 3: is the study of happiness a worthy scientific pursuit? 8
Reading 4: Well-Being Concepts and Components 9
Week 2 9
Reading 1: Diener; Beyond the hedonic treadmill: Revising the adaptation theory of
well-being. 9
Reading 2: Diener Very happy people 10
Reading 3: Eudaimonia 10
Reading 4: affective forecasting 11
Lecture 2: theories of well-being 12
Week 3 18
Lecture 3: how happy are we? 18
Reading 1: Easy as (Happiness) Pie? A Critical Evaluation of a Popular Model of the
Determinants of Well‑Being 25
Reading 2: A systematic review of the strength of evidence for the most commonly
recommended happiness strategies in mainstream media. 26
Reading 3: Can Seeking Happiness Make People Happy? Paradoxical Effects of
Valuing Happiness 26
Reading 4: Revisiting the Sustainable Happiness Model and Pie Chart: Can
Happiness Be Successfully Pursued? 27
Week 4 28
Reading 1: Affect and emotions as drivers of climate change perception and action: A
review. 28
Reading 2: Proenvironmental behaviors and well-being in everyday life. 28
Lecture: Does saving the planet make you happy? 28
Week 5 36
Reading 1: Assessing the impact of the size and scope of government on human
well-being 36
Reading 2: Subjective well-being and public policy 36
Lecture: 5 is improving happiness a task of the government 38
Week 6 39
Reading 1: Scientific answers to the timeless philosophical question of happiness 39
Reading 2: From the Paleolithic to the present: Three revolutions in the global history
of happiness. 40
Reading 3: Kagan, S. Normative Ethics 41
Lecture 6: the philosophy of happiness 42
Week 7 47
Reading 1: Healthy social bonds: A necessary condition for well-being 47
Reading 2: Experiment in social connectedness 47
, 2
Lecture 7: Social Connectedness 48
Week 8 53
Lecture 8: Can money buy happiness? 53
Week 1
Why happiness deserves scientific interest
Lecture 1:
Bad is stronger than good: negativity bias
Negative events have a bigger impact than positive events:
People are more distressed by the loss of $50 than they are made happy by finding $50
Negative information receives more attention and is processed more thoroughly than
positive information
Evolutionary explanation
Humans are attuned to preventing bad things more than toward maximizing good things:
A person who ignores danger may not live to see the next day.
“Evolution doesn’t want you to be happy or satisfied. We’re
supposed to survive and reproduce”
“A huge happiness and positive thinking industry has helped to create the fantasy that
happiness is a realistic goal. Chasing the happiness dream is a very American concept,
exported to the rest of the world through popular culture. Unfortunately, this has helped to
create an expectation that real life stubbornly refuses to deliver.”
But still> we want to be happy!
GOVERNMENT WANTS US TO BE HAPPY
Benefits of a happy population:
Happier people.…
….are more productive
….are healthier and live longer
….contribute more to society (e.g., civic participation)
….have better social relationships (e.g., fewer divorces)
World Happiness Reports
Published annually since 2012 by the UN Sustainable Development
Solutions Network, based on data from the Gallup World Poll
In 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 65/309 Happiness:
Towards a Holistic Definition of Development Inviting member countries
to use data on the population’s well-being to guide public policy
, 3
In 2012, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/281,
proclaiming 20 March as International Day of Happiness to highlight the
importance of well-being as an aspiration for people all around the world
“Our success as countries should be judged by the happiness of our people. This means
that national happiness can now become an operational objective for governments”
Does happiness deserve scientific interest?
“Happiness research is a great example of why psychology isn’t a science.
How exactly should ‘happiness’ be defined?
The meaning of that word differs from person to person and
especially between cultures.
How does one measure happiness?
Psychologists can’t use a ruler or a microscope, so they invent
an arbitrary scale.“
Science of happiness is a recent phenomenon
1945-1921 dr. happiness
Seligman: 2000 about positive psychology
Science of happiness focuses on the subjective experience of happiness, its
antecedents and consequences.
Scientific questions relating to happiness
Do circumstances and living conditions matter? (are you poor etc)
For Diogenes (404-323 BC), living in a jar, they didn’t. But how about us?
Do material conditions have an influence?
Is happiness your own responsibility?
Can you increase your level of happiness?
Should the government create conditions that make you happy (in their own interest)?
Definitions of happiness
A scientific approach requires a definition: What is happiness?
“a state of well-being and contentment” (Merriam-Webster, 2018)
“the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being,
combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and
worthwhile” (Lyubomirsky ,2008)
“Good mental states, including all of the various evaluations, positive and negative, that
people make of their lives and the affective reactions of people to their experiences” (OECD,
2013)
inner harmony rather than satisfaction or positive affect; this is what some people say
Is happiness an elusive concept?
JINGLE (Thorndike, 1904)
The very same term refers to different underlying conceptions:
, 4
happiness refers to life satisfaction, positive affect, well-being
JANGLE (Kelley, 1927)
Different terms are used to describe the very same underlying conceptions: happiness, life
satisfaction, meaning in life, well-being ≈ ‘happiness’
first understanding: Hedonic/subjective well-being as a composite of 3 related but
distinct facets (tripartite model)
Life Satisfaction (‘cognitive evaluation) – a reflective assessment on a person’s life or some
specific aspect of it: general satisfaction with life or domain-specific satisfaction with
marriage, work, friendship, leisure, the weather …
Positive Affect – a person’s feelings or emotional states, measured with reference to a
particular point in time
(momentary): e.g., excited, interested, enthusiastic
Negative Affect – a person’s feelings or emotional states, measured with reference to a
particular point in time
(momentary): e.g., nervous, afraid, irritable
General but untested idea: affect drives life satisfaction (rather than the other way around)
second understanding: Eudaimonic well-being ; finding your true self;having a
purpose
Eudaimonia – a sense of meaning and purpose in life, or good psychological functioning
Eudaimonic = actualisation of one’s potential by fulfilling one’s daimon (true self) ≈
flourishing
Also referred to as ‘authentic happiness’ (Seligman, 2002)
As different from:
Hedonic/subjective well-being = with a focus on affect (Maximization of pleasure &
Minimization of pain) and cognition.
A bit of consensus and (quite) a bit of controversy
(see chapters Lucas and Tov)
Consensus: two main approaches
Hedonic/subjective well-being = a pleasant life (Satisfaction with Life / Presence of
momentary positive affect / Absence of negative affect)
Eudaimonic: Purpose and Meaning in Life
Controversy
What is the best indicator of ‘happiness’: hedonic or eudaimonic
measures? But note that in policy making focus lies on hedonic/subjective well-being
If and how do people account for their living conditions (financial and
immaterial) when reporting on happiness?
Measurement of happiness
How do we know someone is happy?
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