Happiness:Unlocking the Mysteries of

Psychological Wealth

Ed DienerSmiley Distinguished Professor of PsychologyUniversity of Illinois

4th European Conference on Positive Psychology July 1- 4, 2008 Rijeka, Croatia

“The most authoritativeand informative bookabout happiness ever ^written”

Unique Aspects of the Book:• We present the research on the benefits of

happiness – to health, work, and relationships

• We also show the need for “negative emotions,” and that you don’t necessarily need to be happier

• We show the danger of averages when applied to individuals, like for religion or marriage

• We present self-scoring measures for 7 variables

• We expose myths such as the “Set-point”

• We have a lot of fun stories

• Part l: Understanding true wealth– Psychological Wealth: The Balanced Portfolio– Two Principles of Psychological Wealth

• Part 2: Happy people function better– Health and Happiness– Happiness and Social Relationships – You Can’t Do Without Them– Happiness at Work: It Pays to be Happy

• Part 3: Causes of happiness and genuine wealth– Can Money Buy Happiness?– Religion, Spirituality, and Happiness– The Happiest Places on Earth: Culture and Well-Being– Nature and Nurture – Is There a Happiness Set-Point, and Can You Change It?– Our Crystal Balls: Happiness Forecasting– Taking AIM: Attention, Interpretation, and Memory

• Part 4: Putting it all together– Yes, You Can Be Too Happy– Living Happily Ever After– Measuring Your Psychological Wealth

Pie Chart of True Wealth

Understanding true wealth–Two Principles of Happiness

• Part 2: Happy people function better• Part 3: Causes of happiness and genuine wealth• Part 4: Putting it all together

1. Happiness is a Process, Not a Place

• Ongoing new challenges• How one “travels”• Winning an award• Climbing Mt. Denali

2. Happiness Is Desirable

Flaubert’s Error

To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.

Gustave Flaubert

Dalai Lama

“StupidHappiness”

Why Beneficial Happiness?• Broaden and build (Fredrickson)

• Creativity (Isen)

• Challenges look easier when happy (Proffitt)

Benefits of SWBLyubomirsky, King, & Diener

Social relationshipsWork and incomeHealth & longevitySocietal benefits

• Causal direction?– Longitudinal, lab experiments,

quasi-experiments

Social BenefitsHappy people more likely to have:

Self-confidence, leadershipWarmth, sociability

More friends

Work SuccessA. Higher supervisor ratings

B. Organizational citizenship Example: Helping others on the job

C. Higher income

College Entry Cheerfulness, and Income 19 years later

Diener, Nickerson, Lucas, & Sandvik (2002)

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

Mean

Not CheerfulMost Cheerful

Health & Longevity The Nun Study

Dr. Snowdon with Sisters Agnes and Gertrude

Longevity in The Nun Study

Survival Rate at Age: 85 93

Most Cheerful Quartile 79% 52%

Least Cheerful 54% 18%

Danner, Snowdon, & Friesen

Smoking (pack/day) Exercise Light drinking

Smoking (pack/day) Exercise Light drinking Heavy drinking

Hey, Doc, what about:

Smoking (pack/day)ExerciseLight drinking Heavy drinkingHey, Doc, what about:

Becoming a Nun?

Smoking (pack/day)

Exercise

Light drinking

Heavy drinking

Hey, Doc, what about:

How happy are you?

Very Happy vs. Less Happy + 10.7 years

Why happy are healthier? • Stronger immune systems• Better cardiovascular health• Health behaviors (e.g., seatbelts)• Fewer lifestyle diseases (e.g. alcoholism)• Younger genes (telomeres)

Societal Benefits of Happiness

• Volunteering• Pro-peace attitudes• Cooperative attitudes

Part 3: Influences on Happiness

1. Supportive social relationships2. Temperament & adaptation3. Money4. Society & culture5. Cognition: Positive attitudes

1. Strong Social

Relationships

Every single one of the happiest people we studied have good social relationships

GIVING social support: People who help others live longer and are

happier!

2. Temperament & Adaptation

“Identical” (Monozygotic) Twins

Ed’s Daughters: Clinical Psychologist and Developmental Psychologist

Inborn Temperament

• Identical twins reared apart are much more similar in happiness than fraternal twins reared together

• Heritability – 20 to 50 percent of individual differences in happiness

Adaptation

• Temperament has substantial effect in long-run because people adapt to their conditions to some degree

They react strongly, but then adapt back to their baseline

Daily moods of a 20-year old

Unemployment

5.8

6

6.2

6.4

6.6

6.8

7

7.2

Past Prior Yr. Fired 1 Yr. 3 Yrs.

Slow Adaptation to Widowhood

5.8

6

6.2

6.4

6.6

6.8

7

7.2

All isFine

Widow 4 Yrs.

All isFineHusbandfailingWidow

2 Yrs.

4 Yrs.

6 Yrs.

But what of Brickman et al.?• Lottery winners

• Paraplegics

Life Satisfaction and 100 Percent Disability (Lucas)

5.8

6

6.2

6.4

6.6

6.8

7

7.2

-2 Yrs. -1 Yr. 0 +1 Yr. +3 Yrs. +5 Yrs.

-2 Yrs.-1 Yr.0+1 Yr.+3 Yrs.+5 Yrs.

Conclusion

The “Set-point” is really more like a “Set-range”

Temperament is important, but circumstances matter too

3. MoneyDespite popular myths,

money is correlated with happiness, although not always strongly

But Warnings About Money!

• Toxicity of materialism• Don’t sacrifice too much of

other components of wealth, such as relationships

• Declining marginal utility

Even the poor can be happy• Maasai • Inuit• Amish• Slums of Calcutta

A. If basic needs met, for food etc.B. If not desiring moreC. Have other rewards such as relationships

4. Society Influences Happiness

The individualism bias in positive psychology – happiness is within you only

But what of positive institutions?

Life Evaluation LadderIdeal to Worst (10 to 0)

Denmark 8.0Finland 7.7Switzerland 7.5 Netherlands 7.5Spain 7.2Ireland 7.1

Togo 3.2Cambodia 3.6

Sierra Leone 3.6Georgia 3.7Zimbabwe 3.8West Bank 4.7

Culture Influences Levels of Well-being

Pleasant Emotions—Enjoyment etc. High LowHonduras PakistanPanama BangladeshCosta Rica Palestine Puerto Rico Tajikistan

5. “Cognition:”Positive Mental Outlook

• The habit of seeing the glass half-full• Seeing opportunities, not

threats• Generally trusting and liking

oneself and others

Cognition: AIM Model

•Attention• Interpretation•Memory

Cognition: AIM Model• Attention

– Seeing beauty and good in the world• Interpretation

– Interpreting many things as positive• Memory

– Savoring rather than ruminating

COGNITIVE HABITS PEOPLE GET INTO!

“Spirituality”: Experiencing Broadening Positive Emotions– which make life larger than just our

own self-interests:

GratitudeLoveAweTranscendance

• Part l: Understanding true wealth• Part 2: Happy people function better• Part 3: Causes of happiness and genuine wealth

• Part 4: Putting it all together– Yes, You Can Be Too Happy– Living Happily Ever After– Measuring Your Psychological Wealth

Being too happy?• No negative emotions

– They can be appropriate– They sometimes help functioning

• Searching for constant euphoria & ecstasy– Expectations too high

• In some instances “8’s” do better than “10’s”

National Accounts of Well-BeingRobert Kennedy, 1968

• Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross Nation Product . . . counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage…. Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.

National Accounts of SWBMeasuring well-being for policy

Information beyond wealthGDP, employment, etc.

These will help the positive behavioral sciences!

Self-Scoring Scales in the book:

• Life satisfaction• Positive affect• Negative affect• Positive thinking• Negative thinking• Strong social relationships• Psychological well-being

Suggestions to Increase Well-Being:

• Have important values and goals• Develop strong relationships• Cultivate spiritual emotions• Intelligent happiness forecasting• AIM your mind• Live as though happiness is a process

• Thanks very much

Questions?Discussion?