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 According
to Sonia Lyubomirsky
(2001):
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inborn genetic set-point for
happiness accounts for 50% of our
happiness
10% is due to circumstances
40% is something that can be
influenced by each individual.
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Happiness may be culturally
constructed.
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
defined happiness as the sum of
positive emotions minus the sum
of negative emotions.
Modern happiness research is
based on the assumption that it is
possible to measure people’s
individual experience of
happiness.

Although people in the western world
become richer, they are not happier.
1.
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Social Comparison Theory is based on the
idea that people learn about and assess
themselves by comparison with others.
(Leon Festinger)
People like happiness to reaching certain
goals, but they tend to set higher goals
once they have achieved the first ones.
Therefore they end up never feeling happy.
Level of Aspiration Theory is where
people examine what they gain and how
likely it is that they will achieve it before
making decisions about what to do.
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General expectancy – people formulate
general ideas about what to expect in
different situations.
Myers and Dieners (1995) study shows that
there is a discrepancy between wealth and
happiness. Despite the buying power of the
average American has tripled since 1950, the
proportion of Americans who describe
themselves as “very happy” remained the
same at 1/3. Meaning there is no direct link
between wealth and happiness.
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Hagerty (2003) studied the relationship
between happiness and the distribution
of wealth. He compared data from the US
and seven other countries, and found
that happiness was positively
correlated with equality of distribution
of wealth in the country.
Upward comparison – comparing yourself
to those who are more fortunate leads to
dissatisfaction.
 If
I only had_____________, I would be
happy.
 Psychological research found that it is
normal for people to believe they will be
happier in the future than they are right
now.
 Is the media to blame?
 Does advertising have an impact on our
happiness?

Johnson and Kruger (2006) found that:
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many people believe there is a relationship
between happiness and money, it is the
satisfaction with one’s salary that brings
happiness.
The actual size of the salary does not
matter, as long as the person is satisfied with
it, and it is enough to provide for his/her
family.
People become less satisfied with their
salary if they compare themselves to
others.
 Once
people have established
beliefs, no matter how they
acquired them, it is very difficult
to change them.
 If their beliefs are challenged by
evidence they are likely to
disregard it, and look for
information that confirms their
beliefs.
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Conjoined twins Lori and George
Schappel have been joined at the
skull for 49 years. They share a blood
supply , part of the skull and some
brain tissue.
The sisters say they are very happy
and optimistic, they do not want to be
separated. Likely both would die. If
one does die they want the other to
perform the surgery so the other can
go on living.
Do Lori and George really know what
happiness is?
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Gross national happiness – a measure of
growth in happiness – as a contrast to the
western gross national product (GNP).
British social psychologist Adrian White,
created the first Map of World Happiness,
based on data published by UNESCO, the
CIA, the New Economics Foundation, the
World Health Organization, and other
official sources from around the world.
 Map
of World Happiness is based on a metaanalysis of responses from 80,000 people who
answered questions about happiness and
satisfaction with life.
 meta-analysis (a study that uses data from a
number of studies).
Happiest Countries

1.
2.
Other Happy Countries
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Austria, Iceland, the Bahamas, Finland, and Sweden.
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Denmark
Switzerland
Other countries
23. US
41. UK
61. France
82. China
90. Japan
125. India
167. Russia

Least Happy Countries
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Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, and Burundi
 US
psychologist Martin Seligman coined the
term positive psychology, meaning to
conduct research that promotes human
happiness and well-being.
 Seligman demonstrated that people can learn
to think positively and smile, in spite of life’s
problems.
 Habituation
– humans become used to the
way things are.
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Set-point – innate baseline of happiness
which is an aspect of our personality.
Happiness Twin Study – compared
happiness scores among sets of identical
and fraternal twins who grew up together or
were reared apart. (Minnesota Twin Study)
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Identical twins very similar in their happiness
scores, while fraternal twins are no more
similar than other siblings.

Lyubomirsky’s typical characteristics of happy
people.
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They devote a lot of time to family and friends
They can easily express gratitude for what they
have
They are often the to offer a helping hand to
people who need it.
They have an optimistic outlook on the future
They enjoy the pleasures of life and live in the
present
They are committed to lifelong goals and ambitions
They spend time doing physical exercise
They cope well in time of crisis