Summary Science of Happiness (Course 201900028 - 2021/2022)
Utrecht University
Lecture slides & notes
Lecture 1: The Science of Happiness (16/11/21)
Negativity bias:
↳ Bad is stronger than good
↳ Negative events have a bigger impact than positive events
↳ E. People are more distressed by the loss of 50 eu than they are made by
finding 50 eu
↳ Negative information receives more attention and is processed more thoroughly
than positive information
↳ Evolutionary explanation: Humans attuned to preventing bad things
thrive more than those oriented toward maximizing good things
↳ E. A person who ignores the danger of fire 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’.
Happiness + Well-being
↳ More positive affect (emotion)
↳ Less negative affect (emotion)
↳ Life satisfaction (cognitive)
↳ Purpose in life (eudaimonic)
Why do we want to study happiness?
↳ We want to be happy and learn how to achieve this
↳ Government wants us to be happy: well-being budget & focus on happiness of the
coming generations
↳ Benefits of happier populations
↳ Happier people are:
↳ More productive
↳ Healthier and live longer
↳ Contribute more to society
↳ Have better relationships
Beyond happiness as the ultimate goal: focus on the consequences of happiness is a recent phenomenon
↳ Happier people are healthier but being happy does not protect you from
cancer or corona by magic
↳ Just being happy does not influence the health
↳ Be aware of the nuance: this is not a causal effect
But are we happy?
,↳ “Most people are pretty happy” > a natural state gifted to us by evolution (not the same as evolutionary
explanation)
↳ But they are not ecstatic all the time
↳ Happiness = predominance of pleasant emotions that facilitates broadening and building of resources, because
these emotions are associated with activity and energy
What characterizes very happy people?
↳ Strong social relationships
↳ Treated with respect
↳ No shortage in basic needs (food, shelter)
↳ Have learned something new, can choose how to spend their time
↳ Few health issues, lower stress
↳ Live in society with high average well-being → have more happy people around
them
Hedonic treadmill
↳ Adaptation always occurs after a while
↳ People tend to return (quite quickly) to their baseline level of
happiness, both positive/ negative events
↳ Happiness levels may change after a major life event, depending on individual
differences in adaptation and prior levels of happiness
What determines happiness?
↳ Genetic setpoint (50%)
↳ Intentional activity (40%)
↳ Circumstances (10%)
* Not applicable on an individual level!
Happiness pie formula = S + C + V
S = (genetic) set point, personality features
C = individual’s circumstances
V = voluntarily factors that are under the individual’s control
V = Intentional activities: A meaningful life
,↳ A happy life results from engaging in intentional activities that one is passionate about and that contribute to the
greater good (e. serving the community)
↳ People return to baseline happiness levels more rapidly after changes in life
circumstances than after changes in intentional activities
↳ Positive psychology acknowledges the importance of set point and life
circumstances but emphasizes that happiness can be actively pursued by
addressing the factors that are under one’s control
Myths about happiness
↳ The happier the better
↳ No greater good than happiness
Can you be too happy?
↳ Moderate levels of positive emotions engender more creativity but high levels
do not
↳ People with extremely high positive-to-negative emotion ratios (e. 5:1)
exhibit more rigid behavioral repertoires
↳ Very high degrees of positive emotion lead to riskier behaviors (e. alcohol
consumption, binge eating, drug use)
↳ Moderate levels of happiness predict better achievement outcomes
↳ Moderate levels of happiness allow for unpleasant emotions that help to learn
from these experiences
Obsessed with happiness
↳ Happiness Zeitgeist dictates that people should strive for happiness whenever and however possible
↳ The pursuit of happiness does not always appear to lead to desired outcomes:
the more you want it, the less you seem to be able to get it
↳ High happiness standards lead to disappointment when failing short
↳ Social pressure to seek positive emotions and avoid negative emotions
increases rumination in response to failure and avoid negative emotions
increases rumination in response to failure and eventually lower well-being
Why you should NOT strive for happiness
↳ People who valued happiness more reported lower levels of happiness, greater
loneliness, more sadness, higher level of depression - less accepting of
negative events
↳ People who were made to value happiness more were less happy after watching a
positive movie clip
So what should we do?
↳ Not necessarily what we think we should do
↳ People are bad predictors of what will make them happy
↳ Try to find out during this course
↳ No quick fixes to make you happy
, Lecture summary:
↳ We tend to focus more on the negative than on the positive
↳ Science of happiness is a recent phenomenon
↳ Happiness = well-being and consists of several components
↳ Happiness is important for individuals and society
↳ Happiness bears important consequences for individuals and society
↳ Studying the effect of circumstances on happiness is challenging
↳ Beware of being obsessed with happiness
↳ Many myths about what makes you happy
Lecture 2: Defining and measuring happiness (23/11/21)
W hat is happiness?
↳ ‘a state of well-being and contentment’
↳ ‘the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being combined with a
sense that one’s life is good, meaningful and worthwhile’
↳ ‘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’
↳ ‘happiness is a feeling of pleasure and positivity’
Lay definition of happiness : inner harmony rather than satisfaction or positive affect
Is happiness an elusive concept?
↳ Jingle: common terms refer to different underlying conceptions: happiness refers to life satisfaction,
positive affect and well-being
↳ Jangle: different terms are used to describe common underlying conceptions: happiness, life satisfaction,
meaning in life and well-being
Tripartite model of happiness
↳ Cognitive life 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 etc.
↳ Positive affect - a person’s feelings or emotional states, typically measured with reference to particular
point in time (momentarily): e.g., excited, interested, enthusiastic
↳ Negative affect - a person’s feelings or emotional states, typically measured with reference to a particular
point in time (momentarily) e.g. nervous, afraid, irritable
Or a quadripartite?
↳ 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
↳ As different from
↳ Hedonic-Affective: maximization of pleasure and minimization of pain
