The Concept of Happiness:

The Bridge between Western and Eastern

Thought, and Empirical Evidence of

Bangkokian's Happiness Determinants

By Kanokporn NitnitiphrutPublic Policy Development Office

(PPDO)

“Happiness depends upon ourselves.”-Aristotle

"Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have”

– Anon “Happiness is not in our circumstance but in

ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire.

Happiness is something we are.” - John B. Sheerin

(Cited in “Happiness Quotes and Proverbs”)

HAPPINESS CONCEPT

Psychological Mechanisms Producing Happiness

• Aspiration, or satisfaction treadmill

• Adaptation, or hedonic treadmill

• Social Comparison, or relative theory

Conceptual Framework of Happiness

• Happiness Definition• Theoretical Framework for

Happiness Study– There are two constraints.

• To Answer “How to Measure happiness?”• and “What is suitable happiness pattern for

Thai people?”

• To test this framework by pilot study.

Happiness Definition

“Happiness is cognition of life satisfaction”

Implication Implication

• Happiness is considered as different cognition and experience for individuals. • It means that given everything equal, differences in an individual’s cognition and experience can lead to difference in self-reported life satisfaction.

Theoretical Framework

• There are two main theories in this study– Experienced Utility by

Daniel Kahneman (1997)– Buddhist Economics by

Apichai Puntasen (2001)

To answer “How to measure?”

Source: The experienced utility concept from “Back to Bentham? Explorations of Experienced Utility” by Kahneman, Wakker and Sarin (1997)

Why Experienced Utility can be usedin condition of Thai Society?

Why both theories can use together?• The 1st question:

– “Instant utility” definition is the hedonic value of a moment of experience which is immediately reported or recorded under respondents’ transformation function.

– As those respondents are Thai people; therefore, their transformation function is built from the eastern culture.

• The 2nd question:– Both theories is shown their aspect on

happiness as cognition alike.

Source: Prayukvong (2005), p.1175.

Happiness Analysis for This study framework

• There are two interpretative process: Micro & MacroMicro & Macro levels.• Micro interpretation uses “Psychological Mechanisms” under

concept of Experienced Utility.• Macro analysis uses “Three Balance Concepts” or ecosystem

relationships in Buddhist Economics, – human-nature – human-human– body-mind

• Then there are three dimensions:– Man Dimension– Mind Dimension– Environmental Dimension

(consisting of social and natural environment)

Source: This framework is based on Puntasen (2006)

Methodology for Happiness Analysis

• Man Dimension is called “Happiness Model” or “Global Satisfaction” Ordered Logit & Ordered Probit Model– Global Satisfaction = f (age, gender, Bangkok settlement, marital status,

education, health status, religion, political criticism, unemployment, personal income, moderation, reasonableness, self-immunity)

• Mind Dimension Chi-Square test– (1) “Good deeds beget good results, while bad deeds beget bad results.”

is a proxy of right understanding (sammā-dihi) . It implies that belief in results of doing good is right understand.

– (2) “You may step over a fallen tree; don’t step over a fallen man.” is a proxy of right thought (sammā-saṅkappa) in only good will concept or thought free from cruelty (avihimsaa-sankappa).

– (3) “To apply gold leaf to the back of a Buddha image.” is proxy of right effort (sammā-vāyāma) . It refers to the process of attempting to root out such an ill wish and replace it with a good wish, or sincerity of good actions is right belief.

– (4) “Better to die than to lie” is a proxy of right speech (sammā-vācā). It implies belief in trustworthy is right.

• Environmental Dimension (only natural environment) Living Planet report (2006) for explaining the present natural status in Thailand.

A Pilot study to test the happiness framework

• “Random Sampling”

• Bangkok population is 5,645,125 persons, only over 15 years old from Migration Survey 2005 (Round 4: Oct - Dec), National Statistical Office

• Sampling after cutting error observations is 348 observations

age Yamane’s formula

Sampling without

gray zone15-24 70.68 112

25-59 286 209

Over 60

43.32 26

Total 400 348

Results & Implications• Man Dimension (Happiness Model)

– It is statistically significant at 90% confidence interval. – Age, education, earner and self-immunity are significant

factors influencing happiness. • Age’s result implies non-linearity function at 33-34 years old.

Before the age of 33-34 years old, age increase has positive probability to happiness increase, whereas after that period, age increase does attribute to probability in an opposite direction.

• People with over 12 years of education tend to be happier in their life. • earner status implies both employment status and family responsibility.

The implication is that importance of family burdens outweighs feeling self-esteem in employment.

• People with self-immunity tend to have a high rate of happiness at highest, 99% statistically confident interval. The priority given to life security in the economy, or, in other words, the concern toward financial status is on a relative term rather than absolute term.

Results & Implications• Mind Dimension

– Only age change at 90% statistically confident interval affects difference of people’s belief in demerit and merit, and karma rule.

– People who differ in age, marriage status or job, given everything equal, do differ in the truth belief.

– Dissimilarity in age, marriage status, education and job, given everything equal, leads to difference in sincerity of making merit.

– If individuals differ in age and marriage status, this belief in kindness and mercy, and gives a chance to others can be different

• In summary, chi-square test can exam only whether two factors are related, but can not explain how they are related.

Results & Implications

• Natural Environment (data from Living Planet Report (2006))– Thailand’s footprint index defines that per capita

ecological footprint (gha/persons) is lower than biocapacity (gha/person), and may imply ecological deficit in Thailand.

– In a period of 1975-2003, footprint change per person in Thailand is more than biocapability change per person.

• It means that nature is used more than their restoration.

– Moreover, water withdrawal as an ecological index explains that freshwater decrease is in moderate stress.

Discussion in Three Balance concept• Human-Nature

– Natural environment is an important element to support and enrich human’s physicality and mentality.

– It means that humans destruct natural resources such as soil, water, air and forest at a rate faster than the rate of natural restoration. This leads to impacts such as waste water, air pollution, toxic soil, among others. These problems humans affect in terms of poor health in both physicality and mentality.

• Human-Human– Humans as a social animal concern themselves with social environments

such as family, community and society. – In terms of family, frequencies of family participation in this study have an

influence and affect report of family satisfaction to a high level. – Besides, pertaining to married status in happiness model, its sign on

satisfaction level is positive. It means that married people have probability to be happier than the other statuses because they have partner in their life.

Discussion in Three Balance concept

• Body-Mind– Mind and body relationship, according to Buddhist

Economics, has its base in consumption moderation. Balance in mind and body is so important to consumption decisions.

– Conceptually, if he/she can balance his/her life under the right understanding, he/she can have good well-being and does not incur externality in society and environment.

– On mentality side, the belief on moral and merit can have an influence in many happiness factors such as age, marital status, educational level and job type.

– Besides, from happiness model, frequencies of illness, which functions as a factor on the physical side, can have negative effect on human happiness.

Limitations & Suggestions• A limitation of this study is the sample size of observations,

and cross-section data which can not test the vary of significant determinants in the long-run. – Therefore, further studies should test this framework with larger

sampling, and use panel data as possible.• An essential aspect for researches, academics and people being

interested in this topic is for them to keep in mind that happiness is not the answer for alleviating poverty problem and enhancing social welfare.

• With careful attention in applying GNH, we should be cautious because social, cultural and economic structures of Thailand and Bhutan are significantly different.

• For NESDB’s Green and Happiness Index (2007), this pattern should adjust in every period on suitability of social, cultural and economic conditions because social and cultural conditions are likely to change.

The EndThanks you so much

BE HAPPY

The EndThanks you so much

BE HAPPY