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Classic Evidence: Myers & Diener (1995) - Coggle Diagram
Classic Evidence: Myers & Diener (1995)
Methodology
The article is a literature review of research on the topic of happiness
In the 1980s early 1990s there was a flood of research exploring people's sense of well being
Procedures
Interview & Questionnaires
Subjective Well Being (SWB) - is a way to assess and consider a person's sense of their own happiness/wellbeing
This is done by interviewing people using a simple closed question
Alternatively a multi-item scale questionnaire is used which inc. a number of questions related to happiness
In both cases a quantitative measure is produced to represent happiness
Observation
A way to discover what people are doing is asking them too report what they are doing at certain times
Researchers use beepers to remind pps to send a message to say what they doing/thinking -> this is a way to sample peoples behaviour
Correlations
Consider what factors co-vary with happiness
Some of these factors may contribute to making a person happy whereas other factors are consequence of being happy -> it is not always clear which is cause & which is effect
Reviews
This study is a review of other research & some of the research referred to is also based on multiple studies
Some are reviews & others are meta-analysis
Findings
The Myths of Happiness
Is happiness related to age?
A survey of almost 170000 people of all ages in 16 different countries found no differences -> people of all ages were equally happy -> mean score was 80% satisfaction with life (Inglehart 1990)
But at different ages different factors contribute to happiness e.g. social relations & health become more important with age (Herzog et al 1982)
People experience crises but these are not restricted to a particular age (McCrae & Costa 1990)
Is happiness related to race/culture?
African-Americans report nearly 2x as much happiness as European-Americans (Diener et al 1993)
Portugal 10% of people reported that they were happy compared with 40% in Netherlands (Inglehart 1990)
People in individualistic cultures report greater SWB than in collectivist cultures -> IC people are more concerned with their individual needs -> CC people focus on the needs of a group -> IC people are more happy
Is happiness related to gender?
Inglehart's survey of people in 16 different countries found 80% of men & 80% of women said they were fairly satisfied with life
Another study: calc that a person's gender accounted for 1% of global well being (Haring et al 1984)
But research also found that women are twice as vulnerable as men to depression (Robins & Regier 1991)
Is happiness related to money?
Survey in 1993 found 75% of American college students selected 'being financially well of' as an essential life goal compared with 39% in 1970 (Astin et al 1987) -> Not everyone agrees money buys happiness but most agree having more money would make them happier
Correlation between income & happiness is only modest. Diener et al (1993) found a correlation of +12 between income & happiness
Those who are rich do not report greater happiness - survey of people on Forbes Rich List found 37% were less happy than the average American (Diener et al 1985)
People who win the lottery only report brief increases in happiness (Argyle 1986)
Once a certain level of comfort is reached increased wealth makes little difference
Happy People
Traits of Happy People
Unknown traits make people happier/the traits develop because a person is happier:
High Self Esteem
Sense of Personal Control
Optimism
Extraversion
The relationships of happy people
For some relationships create more stress & unhappiness than happiness -> Jean-Paul Sartre (1973): 'Hell is other people'
Research shows people who can name several close friends are happier & healthier than people who can't name such friends (Burt 1986)
Married people are happier than non-married in a study the rates were 39% vs 24% (Lee et al 1996) -> in a meta-analysis of 93 studies, women & men reported similar levels of happiness for marriage & non-marriage (Wood et al 1989)
Work & the 'flow' of happy people
Work satisfaction affects happiness
People who are out of work are less happy than those in work -> work provides sense of personal identity & a sense that a person's life matters & community
Work can be unsatisfying & stressful therefore unhappy
Csikszentmihalyi introduces the idea of flow -> need complete conc. & a balance between skills
The faith of happy
In North America & Europe people who are religious report higher levels of happiness (Poloma & Pendleton 1990) -> people with a increased spiritual commitment were 2x as likely to say they were very happy (Gallup 1984)
Happiness is associated with strength of religious affiliation & frequency of worship attendance (Witter et al 1985)
Conclusions
Importance of Adaption:
The effects of +&- events fade over time -> e.g. winning the lottery increases happiness for a short time -> e.g. those who go through traumatic events recover their hope & happiness eventually
A longitudinal study found it is only events in the last three months that influence SWB -> all due to the human capacity to adapt to life circumstances
Cultural World View:
Cultural attitudes predispose people to interpret life differently
Some cultures construe the world as benevolent & controllable where as others emphasise negative emotions e.g. anxiety/anger/guilt
Values & Goals:
People with a higher SWB have goals -> all other factors e,g, money/intelligence only matter if they help you achieve your goals
The Future:
A person's happiness is not predicted from their age, gender or affluence
It appears to be associated more with race/culture
Those who are happy possess certain traits, tend to have close relationships, enjoy their work & are religious
Evaluation: Methodology & Procedures
Self Report
The data collected about SWB is subjective -> when someone reports they are happy there is no way of confirming it/challenging it
On questionnaires people often provide socially desirable answers -> research has found socially desirability scores -> when friends are asked to rate the happiness of the same people, their ratings also correlate with the target individual's social desirability scores -> confirms the validity of the original answers
People may think they are happy but they are actually repressing their true feelings of unhappiness -> but those who report happiness & satisfaction with life are reported the same way by friends & family
Correlations
Cannot assume that a particular factor is the cause of happiness -> there may be important intervening variables e.g. link between marriage & rather than just the relationship
Do not know the direction of the relationship -> happy people are more appealing as marriage partners (Mastekaasa 1992) -> could be happiness makes marriage more likely
The Samples
A lot of the data is based on western samples as American researchers would have conducted their research in the USA -> roots of happiness may be different in other cultures -> there is a hint of this when comparing individualist & collectivist cultures -> Individualistic cultures report higher levels of happiness compares to collectivist as their pleasure comes from the success of the group rather than the individual
Evaluation: Alternative Evidence
Some researchers believe your happiness set point (idea that happiness stays at a fairly steady level through life with some high/lows) could be partly linked to genetics -> the 5-HTT gene has been linked to happiness as it controls levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin -> some people have a form of this gene & report higher instances of life satisfaction (Schinka et al 2004)
Not all psychologists agree with this e.g. Sonja Lyubomirsky (2013) argue happiness is 50% due to genetics & 10% due to circumstances & 40% caused by self-control -> review of studies that asked people about their happiness (genetic factors: twins and families) (those with 'easy' & 'difficult' lives: circumstantial factors)
Ethical Issues & Social Implications
Psychological Harm
Very little risk of harm to pps as behaviour is not manipulated
People who are unhappy may not be welcome being asked about their happiness & in fact may feel more depressed after being asked about their sense of wellbeing -> therefore researchers must be sensitive to pps needs 7 debrief them appropriately
Ethical Guidelines advise psychologists to practice within the boundaries of their competence -> means they should not try to help someone who might e.g. star to discuss their depression during a debrief -> the psychologist would recommend a good source of professional help
Socially Sensitive Research
Might make us more likely to feel +/- about a certain group of people in a particular way
M&D's research draws conclusions about the happiness of particular cultural groups i.e. Inglehart's (1990) findings about Portugal & The Netherlands -> may lead people to assume all Portuguese people they meet will be unhappy & you are more likely to meet a happy Dutch person -> the sample may not have been a fair representative of all Dutch & Portuguese populations