Science of Happiness – Articles Summary
Week 1
Diener, E., Lucas, R.E., & Napa Scollon, C. (2006). Beyond the hedonic treadmill: Revising
the adaptation theory of well-being. American Psychologist, 61, 305-314.
According to the hedonic treadmill model, good and bad events temporarily affect happiness, but
people quickly adapt back to hedonic neutrality. The theory, which has gained widespread
acceptance in recent years, implies that individual and societal efforts to increase happiness are
doomed to failure. The recent empirical work outlined in this article indicates that 5 important
revisions to the treadmill model are needed. So, this article offers 5 important revisions to the
‘Hedonic treadmill model’ that offer hope for psychologists and policymakers who aim to
decrease human misery and increase happiness:
1. Nonneutral set points: The original treadmill theory suggested that people return to a
neutral set point after an emotionally significant event. However, decades of research
show that this part of the hedonic treadmill theory is wrong. Instead, most people are
happy most of the time. So, individuals’ set points are not hedonically neutral, because
most people are above neutral in well-being.
2. Individual set points: In reality, people have different set points, which are partly
dependent on their temperaments/personality factors. So, individual differences are
(partly) due to inborn, personality-based influences, which may predispose individuals to
experience different levels of well-being.
3. Multiple set points: The idea of a happiness set point implies that well-being is a single
entity with a single baseline. However, research indicates that the global category of
happiness is composed of separable well-being variables. It is important to note that these
variables sometimes move in different directions over time. Thus, the idea of a unitary set
point is not tenable, because positive and negative emotions might both decline in
tandem, or life satisfaction might move upward while positive emotions decrease.
4. Happiness can change: Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the original treadmill
theory is the idea that people cannot do much to change their long-term levels of
happiness and life satisfaction, while well-being set points can change under some
conditions.
5. Individual differences in adaptation: An implicit assumption of the hedonic treadmill
theory is that adaptation to circumstances occurs in similar ways for all individuals. In
reality however, individuals differ in their adaptation to events, with some individuals
changing their set point and others not changing in reaction to some external event.
Lucas, R. E. (2018). Reevaluating the strengths and weaknesses of self-report measures of
subjective well-being. In E. Diener, S. Oishi, & L. Tay (Eds.), Handbook of well-being.
Subjective well-being (SWB) is a construct that represents “"a person's subjective evaluation of
the quality of life as a whole". The subjective nature of the construct makes self-report a natural
method for measuring SWB. But unfortunately, self-reports have known limitations which can
lead to concerns about the psychometric properties of existing self-report well-being measures.
Therefore, this article reviews the evidence for the reliability and validity of SWB self-report
,measures, along with the critiques of these measures and the alternatives that have been
proposed.
The domain of SWB, by definition, focuses on people's subjective evaluations of their lives.
Thus, there is a strong emphasis within SWB research on self-reports of the construct, as such
subjective evaluations may best be assessed by asking the subject themselves. However, the
subjective nature of the construct SWB does not mean that self-reports are faultless source of
information about the construct. As with all measures, the psychometric properties of these
instruments must be assessed. Fortunately, existing research suggests that SWB measures
typically have desirable psychometric properties, including relatively high levels of reliability,
convergent, discriminant, and construct validity. To be sure, these measures, like all self-report
measures, are not perfect. Thus, research on the properties of self-report measures can not only
strengthen conclusions from research that uses those methods, but can also help clarify what
SWB is and how people go about evaluating their lives. So, although specific questions remain
about the processes underlying SWB judgments and certain limitations exist, research shows that
the psychometric properties of these measures are generally quite good.
Norrish, J.M., & Vella-Brodrick, D.A. (2008). Is the study of happiness a worthy scientific
pursuit? Social Indicators Research, 87, 393-407.
This article evaluates whether the increased investigation of positive aspects is a worthy,
scientific pursuit. This is because there is an insinuation that the investigation of happiness and
other positive emotions is not as worthy or valid as the investigation of pathology and
psychological dysfunction.
The happiness set point and hedonic treadmill theories describe the complexity of increasing
happiness levels due to genetic limitations and adaptation. However, despite criticism that it is
not as worthy or useful as the investigation of negative aspects of human experience, the
scientific investigation of happiness has gained significant momentum leading to important
advances in knowledge. So, the significance of the contributions that the field has made to
science thus far, suggest that criticisms are misplaced. So, there is growing evidence to suggest
that with the use of appropriate measures and specific interventions aimed at fostering strengths
and virtues, happiness can be increased. Furthermore, the benefits of investigating methods for
increasing happiness include improvements in physical, psychological and social health and
well-being.
An essential point is that the investigation of happiness and positive aspects of human experience
is not an attempt to replace traditional psychology or to ignore the importance of the examination
of negative aspects of human experience but to arm psychology with additional tools and
knowledge. In conclusion, the study of happiness is useful in terms of the accumulation of
scientific knowledge, the welfare of individuals and the welfare of humankind. Therefore, the
study of happiness is a worthy, credible and valuable scientific goal.
So, this article concluded that approaching human needs from a top down or holistic standpoint
where individuals can use their strengths to overcome life’s challenges, is beneficial to health
and well-being. So, the study of happiness is a worthy scientific pursuit.
, Scollon, C. N. (2018). Non-traditional measures of subjective well-being and their validity:
A review. In E. Diener, S. Oishi, & L. Tay (Eds.), Handbook of well-being.
This article reviews a variety of methods for assessing subjective well-being beyond traditional
global self-reports. Traditionally, subjective well-being (SWB) has been measured with global
self-reports. There are good philosophical foundations for using self-reports of SWB. After all,
the construct refers to subjective, not objective well-being, and who is best to judge how
someone feels about her life other than the person herself? However, global self-reports of SWB
can be vulnerable to memory biases, social desirability, or focusing illusions. So, alternative
measures of SWB can complement traditional self-reports. Thus, indicators of SWB such as
brain activity, smiling, cognitions, memory, and momentary experience will be discussed:
- Brain activity
Neurological approaches to assessing SWB remain far from useful or practical.
- Smiling
Two detailed studies provide strong evidence that smiling in photographs is a valid
measure of SWB.
o It is found that individuals who expressed more positive emotionality in their
yearbook photos reported less negative emotionality, and this relation held over
time even when comparing self-reported emotionality 20 years after the
photographs were taken.
o It is found that smile intensity not only correlated with concurrent life satisfaction,
but it also predicted changes in life satisfaction. Individuals with greater and more
genuine smiles at Time 1 had greater increases in life satisfaction over a two-year
period than those with less intense or no smiles. Moreover, it was demonstrated
that the effect was not due to extraversion.
o It is found that smiling predicted longevity & teaching performance - results
which are consistent with a broader literature demonstrating the links between
positive emotionality and desirable life outcomes.
o Other research suggests a need for caution when making inferences about smiling:
whereas some people smile when they are happy (emotion expression theory),
others smile in an attempt to become happy (emotion regulation theory).
Experiments found that smiling made people with the emotion expression theory
feel happier (probably based on a facial feedback mechanism) whereas smiling
made people with the regulation theory feel worse. Due to this, smiling might be
less informative about the SWB of a person who holds the emotion regulation
theory, compared to people who hold the expression theory.
In short, smiling appears to be a valid indicator of SWB, but compared to other measures,
smiling is not widely used as a measure of SWB in research, but perhaps in the future!
- Experience Sampling Methodology
o Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM) involves participants answering
questions about their affect and activities in real-time several times a day over
several days. The advantage to using ESM is that respondents report on their
feelings and activities in real-time or close to real time.
o ESM reduces the memory biases that often plague reports of well-being, and this
allows scientists to investigate dynamic and within-person processes.
