Steven Woods
October 25, 2015
Annotated Bibliography 4
Easterlin, R. A. "Explaining Happiness." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100.19 (2003): 11176-1183. Print.
Reflection
Choosing another scientific article trying to present as much reliable information as possible. This wasn’t too hard of a read having a basic understanding of happiness as an obtainable goal. Everyone wants the opportunity to be happy, but realizing that how does it affect the choices we make? Does wanting happiness force us to make the choice in life that is deemed right by moral standards or wrong?
What do social survey data tell us about the determinants of happiness? First, that the psychologists' model is questionable. Life events in the nonpecuniary
domain, such as marriage, divorce, and serious disability, have a lasting effect on happiness, and do not simply deflect the average person temporarily above or below a set point given by genetics and personality. An increase in income, and thus in the goods at one's disposal, does not bring with it a lasting increase in happiness because of the negative effect on utility of hedonic adaptation(the observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes) and social comparison. A better theory of happiness builds on the evidence that adaptation and social comparison affect utility less in the nonpecuniary than pecuniary domains, also seen as money or profit obsessed goals. This causes individuals fail to anticipate the extent to which adaptation and social comparison undermine expected utility in the pecuniary domain, they allocate an excessive amount of time to profitable goals, and shortchange ends such as family life and health, reducing their happiness. The terms happiness, utility, well-being, life satisfaction, and welfare seem to be interchangeable and measured by the answer to a question such as that asked since 1972 in the United States General Social Survey: "Taken all together, how you would say things are these days-would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?" A literature has developed on the reliability, validity, and comparability of the answers to such questions. I’m focusing here on the determinants of happiness and how that can be applied to the choices one makes. Some key points to keep in mind that referring to this: • The correlation between health and happiness. • The basis for happiness as specific goal. • Mental process for assuring happiness in one’s life and how to incorporate it.
In the essay Why Happiness, Why Now? Sara Ahmed talks about how one’s goal in life is to find happiness. Ahmed begins her essay with skepticism and her disbeliefs in happiness. She shows her interest in how happiness is linked to a person’s life choices. Ahmed also tries to dig deeper, and instead of asking an unanswerable question, “what is Happiness?” she asks questions about the role of happiness in one’s life.
Stephen M. Schuller and Acacia C. Parks research shows that circumstantial factors do not adequately explain different level of happiness. Positive reactions will contribute to everyone’s happiness just as well as negative reactions do. I agree with Schuller and Parks when it comes down to where your happiness comes from. I believe your happiness comes from how you react to every situation in your life and how you let it affect your happiness. Therefore, I do not agree with Newman and Larsen due to him believing your happiness is out of your control. Newman and Larsen state that most of what influences your long-term happiness is not in your control. Most circumstances that happen in your
Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology and social psychology. In “How Happy Are You and Why?”, Lyubomirsky argues that happiness mainly comes from genetics and intentional activity, and is only slightly affected by circumstances (184). Lubomirsky also introduces her “Subjective Happiness Scale,” which asks a person to self-report their own happiness in four simple, closely-related questions (183). She says that genetics creates the happiness set point, while intentional activity can be changed in order to affect happiness level (Lyubomirsky 186-195). In contrast, Gilbert’s idea that happiness stems from interpretations of events matches the circumstances component of happiness that Lyubomirsky describes. Lyubomirsky also provides strong evidence for saying that happiness has a genetic component, when she presents the data from studies of twins. These studies revealed that “identical twins were extremely similar to each other in their happiness levels” (Lyubomirsky 187-190). This challenges Gilbert’s view that happiness comes solely from our interpretations of the situations we are in, because the evidence from twin studies shows that a significant part of a person’s happiness level is genetic. This means that there is a component of happiness that cannot be changed, which contrasts with Gilbert’s view that simply seeing the more positive side brings about happiness. Both views are from the psychological
In The Twilight Zone’s “Number 12 Looks Just Like You” and Aldous Huxley's “Brave New World” it is apparent that happiness comes from stability and the ability to get what one wants with little effort, however, the price for this happiness is a loss of individuality and strong emotions, making ignorance truly bliss.
Myers, David G. "The funds, friends, and faith of happy people." American psychologist 55.1 (2000): 56.
Utilizing a pie chart, she illustrates the crux of her research; 10% of our happiness is increased or decreased by our circumstances. 50% of our happiness is increased or decreased by genetic predisposition, 40% is within our ability to control. We have “opportunities to increase or decrease our happiness levels through what we do and how we think” (22). She provides 12 specific happiness enhancing activities. She implores us to commit time, resources and energy to this “intentional activity”. Promoting these changes in our lives to accommodate being happier, which will benefit everyone in the end.
The studies given as examples and discussion focuses on teenagers and young adults, but includes anyone is struggling to find happiness. Evidence to Support Thesis: Point 1: The level of well-being is emphasized as more people continue to lose track of what makes them happy. Shawn Anchor is reminding people to capture the essence of simple contentment and asking his audience to think about what they value. Anchor’s book provides seven principles that involve having an open mind to becoming happier. Anchor includes other research studies as evidence to his claims throughout the book.
Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard psychology professor, delivered the TED Talk, The Surprising Science of Happiness, in February of 2004. In this, he proposed that synthetic happiness is of the same quality as natural happiness. The human brain has evolved in that the brain has grown to be three times larger than it was previously, states Gilbert. The brain has developed new structures such as the prefrontal lobe, which acts as an experience stimulator.
Most people can read an article over and over again and hear the same facts just stated like a list. But when they are getting a visual or hearing it from an actual person they can feel the emotion in the words. Dan Gilbert; psychologist at Harvard University, was on a TedTalk and he discussed the science behind happiness. This relates to my overarching concept of happiness because it expands your understanding on what happiness is. There are two types of happiness. Synthetic and Natural. Gilbert states in his Talk that, “Natural happiness is the feeling you get when you get what you want.” This feeling is natural to human nature because every person wants the feeling of relief or “living without problems.” The other type of happiness is Synthetic
The movie Pursuit of Happyness shows how a person became a homeless then eventually how he survived from being a homeless. Then, to being a multi millionaire. Even though he experienced how hard life can be he still pursued to reach his goals in his life for his son. This movie shows how a homeless person stand up and pursue to be successful.
Early Modern Europe experienced several tragedies in which the citizens sensed that there must be a better way to live where happiness was more familiar. Alterations for what truly defines absolute happiness in a society during these times of catastrophe were expressed through utopian literature. Thomas More’s Utopia, Tomasso Campanella’s City of the Sun, and Caron De Beaumarchais’ The Marriage of Figaro together attempt to answer what truly creates a happy civilization during different periods of crisis within Europe. Each of these utopian literature’s suggest a different origin that happiness derives from, soundly signifying that change in Europe would be beneficial. The revolutionary ideas of change in Europe proposed by Utopia, City of the Sun, and The Marriage of Figaro through their individual utopias, demonstrated their beliefs that such change of social classes, the expression of pleasures morally, and a more unified government would lead to a happier, less corrupt society.
Haller, Max and Hadler, Markus. "How Social Relations and Structures Can Produce Happiness and Unhappiness: An International Comparative Analysis" Social Indicators Research, Vol. 75, No. 2 (Jan., 2006), pp. 169-216. J Store.Web.06 Nov 2013.
Throughout history, philosophers and scientists of various kinds have been trying to define happiness, identify its causes and the obstacles to reaching it. According to Jon Gertner, psychologist Gilbert and economist Loewenstein have succeeded in pointing out several reasons why people are unhappy (pp: 444-6). It is important to note that according to Gilbert, it is not that people cannot g...
Gilbert, Dan." The surprising science of happiness." Ted Talks. Ted. Ted Talks, Monterey. 1 Feb. 2004. Lecture.
I believe that happiness is the key to living a good and prosperous life. Through all of the sadness and hate in the world, happiness gives me hope. It gives not only me, but others hope and joy. Happiness gives us something to hold onto, therefore we cherish it as much as we can.