View source for Happiness

{{Short description|Positive emotional state}}
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[[File:My Grandfather Photo from January 17.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|A 93-year-old man from [[Pichilemu]], Chile; his [[smile]] and [[facial expression]] may indicate happiness]]
{{Emotion}}

'''Happiness''' is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, or engaging in enjoyable activities. However, happiness can also arise spontaneously, without any apparent external cause.

Happiness is closely linked to well-being and overall life satisfaction. Studies have shown that individuals who experience higher levels of happiness tend to have better physical and mental health, stronger social relationships, and greater resilience in the face of adversity.

The pursuit of happiness has been a central theme in philosophy and psychology for centuries. While there is no single, universally accepted definition of happiness, it is generally understood to be a state of mind characterized by positive emotions, a sense of purpose, and a feeling of fulfillment.

== Definitions ==
"Happiness" is subject to debate on usage and meaning,<ref name="stanford">{{Cite book|chapter-url = https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/happiness/#DouAboValHap|title = The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|chapter = Happiness|year = 2020|publisher = Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University|access-date = 5 February 2021|archive-date = 9 May 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190509063031/https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/happiness/#DouAboValHap|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199571178.001.0001 |title=What is This Thing Called Happiness? |year=2010 |last1=Feldman |first1=Fred |isbn=978-0-19-957117-8}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Haybron |first=Dan |title=Happiness |date=2020 |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2020/entries/happiness/ |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |access-date=7 July 2023 |edition=Summer 2020 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |archive-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325002345/https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2020/entries/happiness/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://philpapers.org/rec/HAYTPP | title=Two Philosophical Problems in the Study of Happiness | access-date=13 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014091327/https://philpapers.org/rec/HAYTPP | archive-date=14 October 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Richard |title=The Long Slide to Happiness |journal=Journal of Philosophy of Education |date=August 2008 |volume=42 |issue=3–4 |pages=559–573 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9752.2008.00650.x  |issn = 0309-8249 |url=https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1527184 }}</ref> and on possible differences in understanding by culture.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=How Universal is Happiness |first=Ruut |last=Veenhoven |editor-first1=Ed |editor-last1=Diener |editor-first2=John F. |editor-last2=Helliwell |editor-first3=Daniel |editor-last3=Kahneman |title=International Differences in Well-Being |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-973273-9}}</ref><ref name="Veenhoven">{{Cite web |url=https://personal.eur.nl/veenhoven/Pub2010s/2012k-full.pdf |title=Does Happiness Differ Across Cultures? |last=Veenhoven |first=R. |access-date=10 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809140901/https://personal.eur.nl/veenhoven/Pub2010s/2012k-full.pdf |archive-date=9 August 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The word is mostly used in relation to two factors:<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Wolff-Mann |first=Ethan |date=13 October 2015 |title=What the New Nobel Prize Winner Has to Say About Money and Happiness |url=https://money.com/angus-deaton-nobel-winner-money-happiness/ |url-status=live |magazine=Money.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429200846/https://money.com/angus-deaton-nobel-winner-money-happiness/ |archive-date=29 April 2022 |access-date=9 October 2018}}</ref>
* the current experience of the [[feeling]] of an [[affect (psychology)|emotion (affect)]] such as [[pleasure]] or [[joy]],<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=happiness |url=http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=happiness&a=*C.happiness-_*Word- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718075432/http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=happiness&a=*C.happiness-_*Word- |archive-date=18 July 2011 |access-date=24 February 2011 |publisher=Wolfram Alpha}}</ref> or of a more general sense of 'emotional condition as a whole'.{{efn|Dan Haybron<ref>{{citation |title=Dan Haybron |url=https://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/philos/site/people/faculty/Haybron/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830115908/https://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/philos/site/people/faculty/Haybron/ |archive-date=30 August 2019 |publisher=Saint Louis University }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.happinessandwellbeing.org/project-team/ |title=Project Team |website=Happiness & Well-Being |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012094438/http://www.happinessandwellbeing.org/project-team/ |archive-date=12 October 2018 }})</ref> states "I would suggest that when we talk about happiness, we are actually referring, much of the time, to a complex emotional phenomenon. Call it emotional well-being. Happiness as emotional well-being concerns your emotions and moods, more broadly your emotional condition as a whole. To be happy is to inhabit a favorable emotional state.... On this view, we can think of happiness, loosely, as the opposite of anxiety and depression. Being in good spirits, quick to laugh and slow to anger, at peace and untroubled, confident and comfortable in your own skin, engaged, energetic and full of life."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/13/happiness-and-its-discontents/ |title=Happiness and Its Discontents |last=Haybron |first=Daniel M. |work=The New York Times |date=13 April 2014 |access-date=29 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012094415/https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/13/happiness-and-its-discontents/ |archive-date=12 October 2018}}</ref> Haybron has also used the term thymic, by which he means 'overall mood state' in this context;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://philpapers.org/rec/HAYHAE |title=Happiness and Ethical Inquiry: An Essay in the Psychology of Well-Being |website=Philpapers.org |last=Haybron |first=Daniel Mclean |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018003005/https://philpapers.org/rec/HAYHAE |archive-date=18 October 2018}}</ref> Xavier Landes<ref name="landesbio">{{Cite web |url=https://www.sseriga.edu/landes-xavier |title=Landes Xavier &#124; Stockholm School of Economics in Riga |access-date=30 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830115908/https://www.sseriga.edu/landes-xavier |archive-date=30 August 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> has described a similar concept of [[Mood (psychology)|mood]].<ref name="landes">{{cite web |url=https://www.satori.lv/article/kas-ir-laime |title=Kas ir laime? |last=Landes |first=Xavier |website=Satori |date=9 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513122332/https://www.satori.lv/article/kas-ir-laime |archive-date=13 May 2019 }}</ref>}} For instance [[Daniel Kahneman]] has defined happiness as "''what I experience here and now''".<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |title=Why Nobel Prize Winner Daniel Kahneman Gave Up on Happiness |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2018-10-07/ty-article-magazine/.premium/why-nobel-prize-winner-daniel-kahneman-gave-up-on-happiness/0000017f-e650-df5f-a17f-ffde36ed0000 |access-date=7 July 2023 |archive-date=20 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120102744/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2018-10-07/ty-article-magazine/.premium/why-nobel-prize-winner-daniel-kahneman-gave-up-on-happiness/0000017f-e650-df5f-a17f-ffde36ed0000 |url-status=live }}</ref> This usage is prevalent in dictionary definitions of happiness.<ref>{{cite dictionary | url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/happy | title=Happy |dictionary=Oxford Dictionaries | access-date=9 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009172148/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/happy | archive-date=9 October 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite dictionary | url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/happiness | title=Happiness |dictionary=Cambridge English Dictionary | access-date=9 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009211209/https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/happiness | archive-date=9 October 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite dictionary | url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/happy | title=The definition of happy |dictionary=Dictionary.com | access-date=9 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009172141/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/happy | archive-date=9 October 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref>
* appraisal of [[life satisfaction]], such as of [[quality of life]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Graham|first1=Michael C.|title=Facts of Life: ten issues of contentment|date=2014|publisher=Outskirts Press|isbn=978-1-4787-2259-5|pages=6–10}}</ref> For instance [[Ruut Veenhoven]] has defined happiness as "overall appreciation of one's life as-a-whole."<ref name="Veenhoven" />{{rp|2}} "'Happiness' is often used, in ordinary life, to refer to a short-lived state of a person, frequently a feeling of contentment: 'You look happy today'; 'I'm very happy for you'. Philosophically, its scope is more often wider, encompassing a whole life. And in philosophy it is possible to speak of the happiness of a person's life, or of their happy life, even if that person was in fact usually pretty miserable. The point is that some good things in their life made it a happy one, even though they lacked contentment. But this usage is uncommon, and may cause confusion.'<ref name="stanford"/> Kahneman has said that this is more important to people than current experience.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-why-nobel-prize-winner-daniel-kahneman-gave-up-on-happiness-1.6528513|title=Why Nobel Prize Winner Daniel Kahneman Gave Up on Happiness|first=Amir|last=Mandel|date=7 October 2018|newspaper=Haaretz|access-date=8 October 2018|archive-date=8 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008135016/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-why-nobel-prize-winner-daniel-kahneman-gave-up-on-happiness-1.6528513|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://qz.com/1503207/a-nobel-prize-winning-psychologist-defines-happiness-versus-satisfaction/|title=A Nobel Prize-winning psychologist says most people don't really want to be happy|first=Ephrat|last=Livni|website=Quartz|date=21 December 2018|access-date=20 November 2021|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417094658/https://qz.com/1503207/a-nobel-prize-winning-psychologist-defines-happiness-versus-satisfaction/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some usages can include both of these factors. [[Subjective well-being]] (swb){{efn|e.g. 'Can Happiness be Measured', [[Action for Happiness]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.actionforhappiness.org/why-happiness |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018181844/http://www.actionforhappiness.org/why-happiness |publisher=Action for Happiness |title=About Us |archive-date=18 October 2018 }}</ref>}} includes measures of current experience (emotions, [[Mood (psychology)|moods]], and feelings) and of [[life satisfaction]].{{efn|See [[Subjective well-being#Components of SWB]]}} For instance [[Sonja Lyubomirsky]] has described happiness as "''the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one's life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.''"<ref>The How of Happiness, Lyubomirsky, 2007</ref> [[Eudaimonia]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kashdan |first1=Todd B. |last2=Biswas-Diener |first2=Robert |last3=King |first3=Laura A. |title=Reconsidering happiness: the costs of distinguishing between hedonics and eudaimonia |journal=The Journal of Positive Psychology |date=October 2008 |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=219–233 |doi=10.1080/17439760802303044 |s2cid=17056199 }}</ref> is a Greek term variously translated as happiness, welfare, [[flourishing]], and blessedness. Xavier Landes<ref name="landesbio"/> has proposed that happiness include measures of subjective well-being, [[mood (psychology)|mood]] and eudaimonia.<ref name="landes"/>

These differing uses can give different results.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Joshanloo |first1=Mohsen |title=Lay Conceptions of Happiness: Associations With Reported Well-Being, Personality Traits, and Materialism |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |date=18 October 2019 |volume=10 |article-number=2377 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02377 |pmid=31681129 |pmc=6813919 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Whereas Nordic countries often score highest on [[World Happiness Report#2019 World Happiness Report|swb surveys]], South American countries score higher on affect-based surveys of current positive life experiencing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/182843/happiest-people-world-swiss-latin-americans.aspx|title=Who Are the Happiest People in the World? The Swiss or Latin Americans?|first=Jon|last=Clifton|date=24 April 2015|website=Gallup |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231206115150/https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/182843/happiest-people-world-swiss-latin-americans.aspx |archive-date= 6 December 2023 }}</ref>

The implied meaning of the word may vary depending on context,<ref>{{cite report |last1=Helliwell |first1=John |last2=Yang |first2=Shun |author1-link=John Helliwell | title="World Happiness Report 2012" | year=2012 |url=http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2012/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160718204801/http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2012/ |archive-date=18 July 2016 |page=11 |quote=How does happiness come into this classification? For better or worse, it enters in three ways. It is sometimes used as a current emotional report – "How happy are you now?," sometimes as a remembered emotion, as in "How happy were you yesterday?," and very often as a form of life evaluation, as in "How happy are you with your life as a whole these days?" People answer these three types of happiness question differently, so it is important to keep track of what is being asked. The good news is that the answers differ in ways that suggest that people understand what they are being asked, and answer appropriately}}</ref> qualifying happiness as a [[Polysemy|polyseme]] and a [[fuzzy concept]].

A further issue is when measurement is made; appraisal of a level of happiness at the time of the experience may be different from appraisal via memory at a later date.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chernoff |first1=Naina N. |title=Memory Vs. Experience: Happiness is Relative |url=https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/memory-vs-experience-happiness-is-relative#:~:text=The%20contrast%20between%20remembered%20and,gets%20to%20keep%20the%20memories |access-date=10 November 2021 |work=Observer |publisher=Association for Psychological Science |date=6 May 2002 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414040808/https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/memory-vs-experience-happiness-is-relative#:~:text=The%20contrast%20between%20remembered%20and,gets%20to%20keep%20the%20memories |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Inge | first=W.R. | title=Lay Thoughts of a Dean | publisher=Creative Media Partners, LLC | year=1926 | isbn=((978-1379053095)) | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e-50twEACAAJ | quote=Looking back, I think I can separate the years when I was happy and those when I was unhappy. But perhaps at the time I should have judged differently. | access-date=17 November 2021 | archive-date=5 August 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805022647/https://books.google.com/books?id=e-50twEACAAJ | url-status=live }}</ref>

Some users accept these issues, but continue to use the word because of its convening power.<ref>{{cite report |last1=Helliwell |first1=John |author1-link=John F. Helliwell | title=World Happiness Report 2015 |display-authors=et al | quote=Some have argued that it is misleading to use 'happiness' as a generic term to cover subjective well-being more generally. While 'subjective well-being' is more precise, it simply does not have the convening power of 'happiness'. The main linguistic argument for using happiness in a broader generic role is that happiness plays two important roles within the science of well-being, appearing once as a prototypical positive emotion and again as part of a cognitive life evaluation question. This double use has sometimes been used to argue that there is no coherent structure to happiness responses. The converse argument made in the World Happiness Reports is that this double usage helps to justify using happiness in a generic role, as long as the alternative meanings are clearly understood and credibly related. Evidence from a growing number of large scale surveys shows that the answers to questions asking about the emotion of happiness differ from answers to judgmental questions asking about a person's happiness with life as a whole in exactly the ways that theory would suggest. Answers to questions about the emotion of happiness relate well to what is happening at the moment. Evaluative answers, in response to questions about life as a whole, are supported by positive emotions, as noted above, but also driven much more, than are answers to questions about emotions, by a variety of life circumstances, including income, health and social trust.}} quoted in {{cite journal | last=Helliwell | first=John F. | title=What's Special About Happiness as a Social Indicator? | journal=Social Indicators Research | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=135 | issue=3 | date=25 February 2017 | issn=0303-8300 | doi=10.1007/s11205-017-1549-9 | pages=965–968| s2cid=151828351 }}</ref>

===Happiness vs joy===
German philosophy professor Michela Summa says that the distinction between joy and happiness is that "joy accompanies the process through and through, whereas happiness seems to be more strictly tied to the moment of achievement of the process... joy is not only a direct emotional response to an event that is embedded in our life-concerns but is also tightly bound to the present moment, whereas happiness presupposes an evaluative stance concerning one period of one's life or one's own life as a whole."<ref>{{Citation |last=Summa |first=Michela |title=Joy and happiness |date=2020 |work=The Routledge Handbook of Phenomenology of Emotion |pages=416–426 |editor-last=Szanto |editor-first=Thomas |editor-last2=Landweer |editor-first2=Hilge |series=Routledge handbooks in philosophy |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315180786-40 |isbn=978-1-315-18078-6 |s2cid=219100174 }}</ref>

==Measurement==
[[File:World map of countries by World Happiness Report score (2023).svg|thumb|upright=2|Worldwide levels of happiness as measured by the [[World Happiness Report]] (2023)]]
People have been trying to measure happiness for centuries. In 1780, the English utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham proposed that as happiness was the primary goal of humans, it should be measured as a way of determining how well the government was performing.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tokumitsu|first=Miya|date=June 2017|title=Did the Fun Work?|url=https://thebaffler.com/salvos/did-fun-work-tokumitsu|journal=The Baffler|volume=35|access-date=3 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725124256/https://thebaffler.com/salvos/did-fun-work-tokumitsu|archive-date=25 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Today, happiness is typically measured using self-report surveys. Self-reporting is prone to [[cognitive bias]]es and other sources of errors, such as [[peak–end rule]]. Studies show that [[Emotion and memory#Memory of felt emotion|memories of felt emotions]] can be inaccurate.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1521/soco.22.5.530.50767| title=Emotion and Memory Research: A Grumpy Overview| journal=Social Cognition| volume=22| issue=5| pages=530–554| year=2004| last1=Levine| first1=Linda J.| last2=Pizarro| first2=David A.| s2cid=144482564}}</ref> [[Affective forecasting]] research shows that people are poor predictors of their future emotions, including how happy they will be.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hoerger|first=Michael|author2=Stuart W. Quirk|author3=Richard E. Lucas|author4=Thomas H. Carr|title=Cognitive determinants of affective forecasting errors|journal=Judgment and Decision Making|date=August 2010|volume=5|issue=5|pages=365–373|doi=10.1017/S1930297500002163 |pmid=21912580|pmc=3170528}}</ref>

[[Happiness economics|Happiness economists]] are not overly concerned with philosophical and methodological issues and continue to use questionaries to measure average happiness of populations.

Several scales have been developed to measure happiness:
* The Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) is a four-item scale, measuring global subjective happiness from 1999. The scale requires participants to use absolute ratings to characterize themselves as happy or unhappy individuals, as well as it asks to what extent they identify themselves with descriptions of happy and unhappy individuals.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lyubomirsky |first1=Sonja |url=http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/subjectivehappinessscale.pdf |title=Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) |access-date=1 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522230648/http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/subjectivehappinessscale.pdf |archive-date=22 May 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lyubomirsky |first1=Sonja |last2=Lepper |first2=Heidi S. |date=February 1999 |title=A Measure of Subjective Happiness: Preliminary Reliability and Construct Validation |journal=Social Indicators Research |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=137–155 |jstor=27522363 |doi=10.1023/A:1006824100041 |s2cid=28334702 }}</ref>
* The [[Affect measures#PANAS|Positive and Negative Affect Schedule]] (PANAS) from 1988 is a 20-item questionnaire, using a five-point [[Likert scale]] (1 = very slightly or not at all, 5 = extremely) to assess the relation between personality traits and positive or negative affects at "this moment, today, the past few days, the past week, the past few weeks, the past year, and in general".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Watson |first1=David |last2=Clark |first2=Lee A. |last3=Tellegen |first3=Auke |title=Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=54 |issue=6 |pages=1063–1070 |year=1988 |pmid=3397865 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063 |s2cid=7679194 }}</ref> A longer version with additional affect scales was published 1994.<ref>{{citation | last1=Watson | first1=David | last2=Clark | first2=Lee Anna | title=The PANAS-X: Manual for the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule – Expanded Form | publisher=The University of Iowa | year=1994 | doi=10.17077/48vt-m4t2 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) is a global cognitive assessment of [[life satisfaction]] developed by [[Ed Diener]]. A seven-point Likert scale is used to agree or disagree with five statements about one's life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tbims.org/combi/swls/swlsrat.html|title=SWLS Rating Form|work=tbims.org|access-date=1 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416031915/http://www.tbims.org/combi/swls/swlsrat.html|archive-date=16 April 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Diener |first1=Ed |last2=Emmons |first2=Robert A. |last3=Larsen |first3=Randy J. |last4=Griffin |first4=Sharon |title=The Satisfaction With Life Scale |journal=Journal of Personality Assessment |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=71–75 |year=1985 |pmid=16367493 |doi=10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13 |s2cid=27546553 }}</ref>
* The Cantril ladder method<ref name="autogenerated1047">{{cite journal |last1=Levin |first1=K. A. |last2=Currie |first2=C. |title=Reliability and Validity of an Adapted Version of the Cantril Ladder for Use with Adolescent Samples |journal=Social Indicators Research |date=November 2014 |volume=119 |issue=2 |pages=1047–1063 |doi=10.1007/s11205-013-0507-4 |s2cid=144584204 }}</ref> has been used in the [[World Happiness Report]]. Respondents are asked to think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a 10, and the worst possible life being a 0. They are then asked to rate their own current lives on that 0 to 10 scale.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://worldhappiness.report/faq/ |website=The World Happiness Report | title=FAQ | access-date=27 January 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231184939/http://worldhappiness.report/faq/ | archive-date=31 December 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1047"/>
* Positive Experience; the survey by [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] asks if, the day before, people experienced enjoyment, laughing or smiling a lot, feeling well-rested, being treated with respect, learning or doing something interesting. 9 of the top 10 countries in 2018 were [[South American]], led by [[Paraguay]] and [[Panama]]. Country scores range from 85 to 43.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gallup.com/analytics/248906/gallup-global-emotions-report-2019.aspx|title=Gallup 2019 Global Emotions Report |website=Gallup |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118192252/https://www.gallup.com/analytics/248906/gallup-global-emotions-report-2019.aspx |archive-date=18 January 2024 }}</ref>
*The Oxford Happiness Inventory is a comprehensive assessment tool consisting of 29 items, in which the person has to choose one of four options. It is user-friendly and easy to administer. This questionnaire shows the amount of well-being of a person. Providing quality insights of the happiness of one person.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=hills |first1=Peter |last2=Argyle |first2=Michael |date=November 2002 |title=The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire: a compact scale for the measurement of psychological well-being |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886901002136 |journal=Personality and Individual Differences |volume=33 |issue=7 |pages=1073–1082 |doi=10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00213-6 |access-date=5 August 2024 |archive-date=27 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827064012/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886901002136 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Since 2012, a [[World Happiness Report]] has been published. Happiness is evaluated, as in "How happy are you with your life as a whole?", and in emotional reports, as in "How happy are you now?," and people seem able to use happiness as appropriate in these verbal contexts. Using these measures, the report identifies the countries with the highest levels of happiness. In subjective well-being measures, the primary distinction is between cognitive life evaluations and emotional reports.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first=John |editor1-last=Helliwell |editor2-first=Richard |editor2-last=Layard |editor3-first=Jeffrey |editor3-last=Sachs |year=2012 |title=World Happiness Report |publisher=Earth Institute, Columbia University |isbn=978-0-9968513-0-5 |url=http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2012/ |access-date=5 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160718204801/http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2012/ |archive-date=18 July 2016 |url-status=live }}{{page needed|date=August 2016}}</ref>

The UK began to measure national well-being in 2012,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/first-annual-report-on-measuring-national-well-being/art-measuring-national-well-being-annual-report.html |title=Measuring National Well-being: Life in the UK, 2012 |publisher=Ons.gov.uk |date=20 November 2012 |access-date=26 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326144130/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/first-annual-report-on-measuring-national-well-being/art-measuring-national-well-being-annual-report.html |archive-date=26 March 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> following [[Bhutan]], which had already been measuring [[gross national happiness]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan|url=http://www.nationalcouncil.bt/assets/uploads/files/Constitution%20%20of%20Bhutan%20English.pdf|website=National Council|publisher=Royal Government of Bhutan|access-date=1 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516192917/http://www.nationalcouncil.bt/assets/uploads/files/Constitution%20%20of%20Bhutan%20English.pdf|archive-date=16 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/01/bhutan-wealth-happiness-counts|title=Gross national happiness in Bhutan: the big idea from a tiny state that could change the world|first=Annie|last=Kelly|date=1 December 2012|website=The Guardian|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405024423/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/01/bhutan-wealth-happiness-counts|archive-date=5 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Academic economists and international economic organizations are arguing for and developing multi-dimensional dashboards which combine subjective and objective indicators to provide a more direct and explicit assessment of human wellbeing. There are many different contributors to adult wellbeing, such as the point that happiness judgements partly reflect the presence of salient constraints, and that fairness, autonomy, community and engagement are key aspects of happiness and wellbeing throughout the life course.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Anand |first1=Paul |last2=Krishnakumar |first2=Jaya |last3=Tran |first3=Ngoc Bich |title=Measuring welfare: Latent variable models for happiness and capabilities in the presence of unobservable heterogeneity |journal=Journal of Public Economics |date=April 2011 |volume=95 |issue=3–4 |pages=205–215 |doi=10.1016/j.jpubeco.2010.11.007 |s2cid=53679226 |url=https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:41667 |access-date=13 July 2021 |archive-date=2 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202063747/https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:41667 |url-status=live }}</ref> Although these factors play a role in happiness, they do not all need to improve simultaneously to help one achieve an increase in happiness.

Happiness has been found to be quite stable over time.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Baumeister|first1=Roy F.|last2=Vohs|first2=Kathleen D.|last3=Aaker|first3=Jennifer L.|last4=Garbinsky|first4=Emily N.|title=Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life|journal=The Journal of Positive Psychology|date=November 2013|volume=8|issue=6|pages=505–516|doi=10.1080/17439760.2013.830764|s2cid=11271686}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Costa|first1=Paul T.|last2=McCrae|first2=Robert R.|last3=Zonderman|first3=Alan B.|title=Environmental and dispositional influences on well-being: Longitudinal follow-up of an American national sample|journal=British Journal of Psychology|date=August 1987|volume=78|issue=3|pages=299–306|doi=10.1111/j.2044-8295.1987.tb02248.x|pmid=3620790}}</ref>

==Genetics and heritability==

{{as of|2016}}, no evidence of happiness causing improved physical health has been found; the topic is being researched at the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at the [[Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health]].<ref name="harvardmaggudrais">{{cite news|last1=Gudrais|first1=Elizabeth|title=Can Happiness Make You Healthier?|url=https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2016/11/can-happiness-make-you-healthier|access-date=15 October 2017|work=Harvard Magazine|date=November–December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016013700/https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2016/11/can-happiness-make-you-healthier|archive-date=16 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
A positive relationship has been suggested between the volume of the brain's gray matter in the right [[precuneus]] area and one's subjective happiness score.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The structural neural substrate of subjective happiness |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=5 |article-number=16891 |doi=10.1038/srep16891 |pmid=26586449 |pmc=4653620 |date=20 November 2015 |last1=Toichi |first1=Motomi |last2=Yoshimura |first2=Sayaka |last3=Sawada |first3=Reiko |last4=Kubota |first4=Yasutaka |last5=Uono |first5=Shota |last6=Kochiyama |first6=Takanori |last7=Sato |first7=Wataru |bibcode=2015NatSR...516891S }}</ref>

[[Sonja Lyubomirsky]] has estimated that 50 percent of a given human's happiness level could be genetically determined, 10 percent is affected by life circumstances and situation, and a remaining 40 percent of happiness is subject to self-control.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Okbay |first1=Aysu |last2=Baselmans |first2=Bart M L |last3=De Neve |first3=Jan-Emmanuel |last4=Turley |first4=Patrick |last5=Nivard |first5=Michel G |last6=Fontana |first6=Mark Alan |last7=Meddens |first7=S Fleur W |last8=Linnér |first8=Richard Karlsson |last9=Rietveld |first9=Cornelius A |last10=Derringer |first10=Jaime |last11=Gratten |first11=Jacob |last12=Lee |first12=James J |last13=Liu |first13=Jimmy Z |last14=de Vlaming |first14=Ronald |last15=Ahluwalia |first15=Tarunveer S |last16=Buchwald |first16=Jadwiga |last17=Cavadino |first17=Alana |last18=Frazier-Wood |first18=Alexis C |last19=Furlotte |first19=Nicholas A |last20=Garfield |first20=Victoria |last21=Geisel |first21=Marie Henrike |last22=Gonzalez |first22=Juan R |last23=Haitjema |first23=Saskia |last24=Karlsson |first24=Robert |last25=van der Laan |first25=Sander W |last26=Ladwig |first26=Karl-Heinz |last27=Lahti |first27=Jari |last28=van der Lee |first28=Sven J |last29=Lind |first29=Penelope A |last30=Liu |first30=Tian |last31=Matteson |first31=Lindsay |last32=Mihailov |first32=Evelin |last33=Miller |first33=Michael B |last34=Minica |first34=Camelia C |last35=Nolte |first35=Ilja M |last36=Mook-Kanamori |first36=Dennis |last37=van der Most |first37=Peter J |last38=Oldmeadow |first38=Christopher |last39=Qian |first39=Yong |last40=Raitakari |first40=Olli |last41=Rawal |first41=Rajesh |last42=Realo |first42=Anu |last43=Rueedi |first43=Rico |last44=Schmidt |first44=Börge |last45=Smith |first45=Albert V |last46=Stergiakouli |first46=Evie |last47=Tanaka |first47=Toshiko |last48=Taylor |first48=Kent |last49=Thorleifsson |first49=Gudmar |last50=Wedenoja |first50=Juho |last51=Wellmann |first51=Juergen |last52=Westra |first52=Harm-Jan |last53=Willems |first53=Sara M |last54=Zhao |first54=Wei |last55=Amin |first55=Najaf |last56=Bakshi |first56=Andrew |last57=Bergmann |first57=Sven |last58=Bjornsdottir |first58=Gyda |last59=Boyle |first59=Patricia A |last60=Cherney |first60=Samantha |last61=Cox |first61=Simon R |last62=Davies |first62=Gail |last63=Davis |first63=Oliver S P |last64=Ding |first64=Jun |last65=Direk |first65=Nese |last66=Eibich |first66=Peter |last67=Emeny |first67=Rebecca T |last68=Fatemifar |first68=Ghazaleh |last69=Faul |first69=Jessica D |last70=Ferrucci |first70=Luigi |last71=Forstner |first71=Andreas J |last72=Gieger |first72=Christian |last73=Gupta |first73=Richa |last74=Harris |first74=Tamara B |last75=Harris |first75=Juliette M |last76=Holliday |first76=Elizabeth G |last77=Hottenga |first77=Jouke-Jan |last78=De Jager |first78=Philip L |last79=Kaakinen |first79=Marika A |last80=Kajantie |first80=Eero |last81=Karhunen |first81=Ville |last82=Kolcic |first82=Ivana |last83=Kumari |first83=Meena |last84=Launer |first84=Lenore J |last85=Franke |first85=Lude |last86=Li-Gao |first86=Ruifang |last87=Liewald |first87=David C |last88=Koini |first88=Marisa |last89=Loukola |first89=Anu |last90=Marques-Vidal |first90=Pedro |last91=Montgomery |first91=Grant W |last92=Mosing |first92=Miriam A |last93=Paternoster |first93=Lavinia |last94=Pattie |first94=Alison |last95=Petrovic |first95=Katja E |last96=Pulkki-Råback |first96=Laura |last97=Quaye |first97=Lydia |last98=Räikkönen |first98=Katri |last99=Rudan |first99=Igor |display-authors=1 |last100=Scott |first100=Rodney J |last101=Smith |first101=Jennifer A |last102=Sutin |first102=Angelina R |last103=Trzaskowski |first103=Maciej |last104=Vinkhuyzen |first104=Anna E |last105=Yu |first105=Lei |last106=Zabaneh |first106=Delilah |last107=Attia |first107=John R |last108=Bennett |first108=David A |last109=Berger |first109=Klaus |last110=Bertram |first110=Lars |last111=Boomsma |first111=Dorret I |last112=Snieder |first112=Harold |last113=Chang |first113=Shun-Chiao |last114=Cucca |first114=Francesco |last115=Deary |first115=Ian J |last116=van Duijn |first116=Cornelia M |last117=Eriksson |first117=Johan G |last118=Bültmann |first118=Ute |last119=de Geus |first119=Eco J C |last120=Groenen |first120=Patrick J F |last121=Gudnason |first121=Vilmundur |last122=Hansen |first122=Torben |last123=Hartman |first123=Catharine A |last124=Haworth |first124=Claire M A |last125=Hayward |first125=Caroline |last126=Heath |first126=Andrew C |last127=Hinds |first127=David A |last128=Hyppönen |first128=Elina |last129=Iacono |first129=William G |last130=Järvelin |first130=Marjo-Riitta |last131=Jöckel |first131=Karl-Heinz |last132=Kaprio |first132=Jaakko |last133=Kardia |first133=Sharon L R |last134=Keltikangas-Järvinen |first134=Liisa |last135=Kraft |first135=Peter |last136=Kubzansky |first136=Laura D |last137=Lehtimäki |first137=Terho |last138=Magnusson |first138=Patrik K E |last139=Martin |first139=Nicholas G |last140=McGue |first140=Matt |last141=Metspalu |first141=Andres |last142=Mills |first142=Melinda |last143=de Mutsert |first143=Renée |last144=Oldehinkel |first144=Albertine J |last145=Pasterkamp |first145=Gerard |last146=Pedersen |first146=Nancy L |last147=Plomin |first147=Robert |last148=Polasek |first148=Ozren |last149=Power |first149=Christine |last150=Rich |first150=Stephen S |last151=Rosendaal |first151=Frits R |last152=den Ruijter |first152=Hester M |last153=Schlessinger |first153=David |last154=Schmidt |first154=Helena |last155=Svento |first155=Rauli |last156=Schmidt |first156=Reinhold |last157=Alizadeh |first157=Behrooz Z |last158=Sørensen |first158=Thorkild I A |last159=Spector |first159=Tim D |last160=Starr |first160=John M |last161=Stefansson |first161=Kari |last162=Steptoe |first162=Andrew |last163=Terracciano |first163=Antonio |last164=Thorsteinsdottir |first164=Unnur |last165=Thurik |first165=A Roy |last166=Timpson |first166=Nicholas J |last167=Tiemeier |first167=Henning |last168=Uitterlinden |first168=André G |last169=Vollenweider |first169=Peter |last170=Wagner |first170=Gert G |last171=Weir |first171=David R |last172=Yang |first172=Jian |last173=Conley |first173=Dalton C |last174=Smith |first174=George Davey |last175=Hofman |first175=Albert |last176=Johannesson |first176=Magnus |last177=Laibson |first177=David I |last178=Medland |first178=Sarah E |last179=Meyer |first179=Michelle N |last180=Pickrell |first180=Joseph K |last181=Esko |first181=Tõnu |last182=Krueger |first182=Robert F |last183=Beauchamp |first183=Jonathan P |last184=Koellinger |first184=Philipp D |last185=Benjamin |first185=Daniel J |last186=Bartels |first186=Meike |last187=Cesarini |first187=David |last188=Cesarini |first188=D |title=Genetic variants associated with subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, and neuroticism identified through genome-wide analyses |journal=Nature Genetics |date=June 2016 |volume=48 |issue=6 |pages=624–633 |doi=10.1038/ng.3552 |pmid=27089181 |pmc=4884152 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bartels |first1=Meike |title=Genetics of Wellbeing and Its Components Satisfaction with Life, Happiness, and Quality of Life: A Review and Meta-analysis of Heritability Studies |journal=Behavior Genetics |date=March 2015 |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=137–156 |doi=10.1007/s10519-015-9713-y |pmid=25715755 |pmc=4346667 }}</ref>

When discussing genetics and their effects on individuals it is important to first understand that genetics do not predict behavior. It is possible for genes to increase the likelihood of individuals being happier compared to others, but they do not 100 percent predict behavior.

At this point in scientific research, it has been hard to find a lot of evidence to support this idea that happiness is affected in some way by genetics. In a 2016 study, Michael Minkov and Michael Harris Bond found that a gene by the name of SLC6A4 was not a good predictor of happiness level in humans.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Minkov |first1=Michael |last2=Bond |first2=Michael Harris |title=A Genetic Component to National Differences in Happiness |journal=Journal of Happiness Studies |date=April 2017 |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=321–340 |doi=10.1007/s10902-015-9712-y |s2cid=54717193 }}</ref>

On the other hand, there have been many studies that have found genetics to be a key part in predicting and understanding happiness in humans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bartels, Boomsma |first=Meike, Dorret I. |date=3 September 2009 |title=Born to be Happy? The Etiology of Subjective Well-Being |journal=Behavior Genetics |volume=39 |issue=6 |pages=605–615 |doi=10.1007/s10519-009-9294-8 |pmid=19728071 |pmc=2780680 }}</ref> In a review article discussing many studies on genetics and happiness, they discussed the common findings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bang Nes, Røysamb |first=Ragnhild, Espen |date=28 July 2016 |title=Happiness in Behaviour Genetics: An Update on Heritability and Changeability |journal=Journal of Happiness Studies |volume=18 |issue=5 |pages=1533–1552 |doi=10.1007/s10902-016-9781-6 |s2cid=145034246 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-016-9781-6 |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318050646/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-016-9781-6 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The author found an important factor that has affected scientist findings this being how happiness is measured. For example, in certain studies when subjective wellbeing is measured as a trait heredity is found to be higher, about 70 to 90 percent. In another study, 11,500 unrelated genotypes were studied, and the conclusion was the heritability was only 12 to 18 percent. Overall, this article found the common percent of heredity was about 20 to 50 percent.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nes |first1=Ragnhild Bang |last2=Røysamb |first2=Espen |title=Happiness in Behaviour Genetics: An Update on Heritability and Changeability |journal=Journal of Happiness Studies |date=October 2017 |volume=18 |issue=5 |pages=1533–1552 |doi=10.1007/s10902-016-9781-6 |s2cid=145034246 }}</ref>

== Causes and achievement methods ==
{{Main|Well-being contributing factors}}
Theories on how to achieve happiness include "encountering unexpected positive events",<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cosmides|first1=Leda|last2=Tooby|first2=John|editor1-last=Lewis|editor1-first=Michael|editor2-last=Haviland-Jones|editor2-first=Jeannette M.|title=Handbook of emotions|date=2000|publisher=Guilford Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-57230-529-8|edition=2|chapter-url=http://www.cep.ucsb.edu/emotion.html|chapter=Evolutionary Psychology and the Emotions|access-date=2 April 2017|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofemotio0000unse}}</ref> "seeing a significant other",<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lewis|first1=Michael|author-link1=Michael Lewis (psychologist)|editor1-last=Barrett|editor1-first=Lisa Feldman|editor2-last=Lewis|editor2-first=Michael|editor3-last=Haviland-Jones|editor3-first=Jeannette M.|title=Handbook of Emotions|publisher=Guilford Publications|isbn=978-1-4625-2536-2|page=793|edition=Fourth|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cbKhDAAAQBAJ&q=Michael+Lewis+says+%22happiness+can+be+elicited+by+seeing+a+significant+other&pg=PA793|access-date=1 April 2017|language=en|chapter=Self-Conscious emotions|date=12 July 2016|archive-date=5 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805022732/https://books.google.com/books?id=cbKhDAAAQBAJ&q=Michael+Lewis+says+%22happiness+can+be+elicited+by+seeing+a+significant+other&pg=PA793#v=snippet&q=Michael%20Lewis%20says%20%22happiness%20can%20be%20elicited%20by%20seeing%20a%20significant%20other&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> and "basking in the acceptance and praise of others".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Marano|first1=Hara Estroff|title=At Last – a Rejection Detector!|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199511/last-rejection-detector?collection=10024|access-date=1 April 2017|work=Psychology Today|date=1 November 1995|language=en}}</ref>
Some others believe that happiness is not solely derived from external, momentary pleasures.<ref name=Selig>{{cite journal |last1=Seligman |first1=Martin E. P. |title=Can happiness be taught? |journal=Daedalus |date=April 2004 |volume=133 |issue=2 |pages=80–87 |doi=10.1162/001152604323049424 |s2cid=57570511 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Research on positive psychology, well-being, eudaimonia and happiness, and the theories of Diener, Ryff, Keyes, and Seligmann covers a broad range of levels and topics, including "the biological, personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and global dimensions of life."{{sfn|Seligman|Csikszentmihalyi|2000}} The psychiatrist [[George Eman Vaillant|George Vaillant]] and the director of longitudinal [[Grant Study|Study of Adult Development]] at [[Harvard University]] [[Robert J. Waldinger]] found that those who were happiest and healthier reported strong interpersonal relationships.<ref>{{Cite news|author=The Washington Post|date=17 April 2017|title=All you need is love – and funding: 79-year-old Harvard study of human happiness may lose grant money|url=https://nationalpost.com/health/researchers-say-there-is-more-to-learn-about-happiness|access-date=3 December 2020|work=The National Post|archive-date=5 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805022640/https://nationalpost.com/health/researchers-say-there-is-more-to-learn-about-happiness|url-status=live}}</ref> Research showed that adequate sleep contributes to well-being.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=American Psychological Association |date=2014 |title=More Sleep Would Make Us Happier, Healthier and Safer|url=https://www.apa.org/topics/sleep/deprivation-consequences |access-date=29 December 2023}}</ref> Good [[mental health]] and good relationships contribute more to happiness than income does.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38285223 |title=Mental health and relationships 'key to happiness' |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316084200/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38285223 |archive-date=16 March 2018 |work=[[BBC News]] |url-status=live |date=12 December 2016 |access-date=29 December 2023}}</ref> In 2018, [[Laurie R. Santos]] course titled "''Psychology and the Good Life"'' became the most popular course in the history of [[Yale University]] and was made available for free online to non-Yale students.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Mara |last=Leighton|date=4 April 2019|title=Yale's most popular class ever is now available for free online – and the topic is how to be happier in your daily life|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/coursera-yale-science-of-wellbeing-free-course-review-overview|access-date=28 November 2020|website=Business Insider}}</ref>

Some commentators focus on the difference between the hedonistic tradition of seeking pleasant and avoiding unpleasant experiences, and the eudaimonic tradition of living life in a full and deeply satisfying way.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal |last1=Deci |first1=Edward L. |last2=Ryan |first2=Richard M. |title=Hedonia, eudaimonia, and well-being: an introduction |journal=Journal of Happiness Studies |volume=9 |issue=1 |year=2006 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1007/s10902-006-9018-1 |s2cid=145367475 }}</ref> Kahneman has said that ""When you look at what people want for themselves, how they pursue their goals, they seem more driven by the search for satisfaction than the search for happiness."<ref>{{cite web |work=[[The Times]] |date=16 January 2022 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/daniel-kahneman-on-the-power-of-slow-thinking-lc8xmp00l |title=Daniel Kahneman on the power of slow thinking |access-date=29 December 2023 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=11 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111170233/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/daniel-kahneman-on-the-power-of-slow-thinking-lc8xmp00l |url-status=live }}</ref>

Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist and prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps during World War II, noticed that those who lost hope soon died, while those who held to meaning and purpose tended to live on. Frankl observed that joy and misery had more to do with a person's perspective and choice than with their surroundings. Three key sources of meaning that he highlights in his writings include the following:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frankl |first=Viktor E. |title=Man's Search for Meaning |publisher=Beacon Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8070-1427-1 |location=Boston, Massachusetts}}</ref>

# Creation of an important work, or doing a deed. 
# Love, as manifest in thoroughly encountering another person or experience. 
# Finding meaning in unavoidable suffering, such as seeing it as a sacrifice or learning opportunity.

Psychologist Robert Emmons has identified the centrality of goals in pursuing happiness. He found that when humans pursue meaningful projects and activities without primarily focusing on happiness, happiness often results as a by-product. Indicators of meaningfulness predict positive effects on life, while lack of meaning predicts negative states such as psychological distress. Emmons summarizes the four categories of meaning which have appeared throughout various studies. He proposes to call them WIST, or work, intimacy, spirituality, and transcendence.<ref>{{Citation |last=Emmons |first=Robert A. |title=Personal goals, life meaning, and virtue: Wellsprings of a positive life. |date=2003 |url=http://content.apa.org/books/10594-005 |work=Flourishing: Positive psychology and the life well-lived. |pages=105–128 |editor-last=Keyes |editor-first=Corey L. M. |access-date=7 November 2023 |place=Washington |publisher=American Psychological Association |language=en |doi=10.1037/10594-005 |isbn=978-1-55798-930-7 |editor2-last=Haidt |editor2-first=Jonathan|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Throughout life, one's views of happiness and what brings happiness can evolve. In early and emerging adulthood many people focus on seeking happiness through friends, objects, and money. Middle aged-adults generally transition from searching for object-based happiness to looking for happiness in money and relationships. In older adulthood, people tend to focus more on personal peace and lasting relationships (ex. children, spouse, grandchildren).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mogilner |first=Cassie |date=23 August 2010 |title=The Pursuit of Happiness |journal=Psychological Science |volume=21 |issue=9 |pages=1348–1354 |doi=10.1177/0956797610380696 |pmid=20732902 |s2cid=32967787 |issn=0956-7976 }}</ref>  Antti Kauppinen, a Swedish philosopher and phenomenological researcher, posited that the perception of time affects the change in focus throughout life. In early adulthood, most view life optimistically, looking to the future and seeing an entire life ahead of them. Those that fall into the middle life, see that life has passed behind them as well as seeing more life ahead. Those in older adulthood often see their lives as behind them. This shift in perspective causes a shift in the pursuit of happiness from more tactile, object based happiness, to social and relational based happiness.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kauppinen |first=Antti |date=2013 |title=Meaning and Happiness |journal=Philosophical Topics |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=161–185 |doi=10.5840/philtopics20134118 |s2cid=143256544 |issn=0276-2080 }}</ref>

=== Self-fulfilment theories ===
[[File:Sweet Baby Kisses Family Love.jpg|thumb|Woman kissing a baby on the cheek]]

[[Maslow's hierarchy of needs]] is a pyramid depicting the levels of human needs, psychological, and physical. When a human being ascends the steps of the pyramid, [[self-actualization]] is reached.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vinney |first=Cynthia |date=2018 |title=Understanding Maslow's Theory of Self-Actualization |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/maslow-theory-self-actualization-4169662 |website=thoughtco. |access-date=23 March 2022 |archive-date=23 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323194539/https://www.thoughtco.com/maslow-theory-self-actualization-4169662 |url-status=live }}</ref> Beyond the routine of needs fulfillment, Maslow envisioned moments of extraordinary experience, known as [[peak experiences]], profound moments of love, understanding, happiness, or rapture, during which a person feels more whole, alive, self-sufficient, and yet a part of the world. This is similar to the [[Flow (psychology)|flow]] concept of [[Mihály Csíkszentmihályi]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Alexander |first1=Rebecca |last2=Aragón |first2=Oriana R. |last3=Bookwala |first3=Jamila |last4=Cherbuin |first4=Nicolas |last5=Gatt |first5=Justine M. |last6=Kahrilas |first6=Ian J. |last7=Kästner |first7=Niklas |last8=Lawrence |first8=Alistair |last9=Lowe |first9=Leroy |last10=Morrison |first10=Robert G. |last11=Mueller |first11=Sven C. |last12=Nusslock |first12=Robin |last13=Papadelis |first13=Christos |last14=Polnaszek |first14=Kelly L. |last15=Helene Richter |first15=S. |last16=Silton |first16=Rebecca L. |last17=Styliadis |first17=Charis |title=The neuroscience of positive emotions and affect: Implications for cultivating happiness and wellbeing |journal=Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews |date=February 2021 |volume=121 |pages=220–249 |doi=10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.12.002 |pmid=33307046 |doi-access=free |hdl=1959.4/unsworks_83400 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The concept of flow is the idea that after our basic needs are met we can achieve greater happiness by altering our consciousness by becoming so engaged in a task that we lose our sense of time. Our intense focus causes us to forget any other issues, which in return promotes positive emotions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Flow and Happiness {{!}} Psychology Today |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/one-among-many/201502/flow-and-happiness |access-date=23 March 2022 |website=www.psychologytoday.com |language=en |archive-date=5 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805023141/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/one-among-many/201502/flow-and-happiness |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Erich Fromm]] said "Happiness is the indication that man has found the answer to the problem of human existence: the productive realization of his potentialities and thus, simultaneously, being one with the world and preserving the integrity of his self. In spending his energy productively he increases his powers, he 'burns without being consumed.'"<ref>(Ex 3:2) ― (1947a: ''Man for Himself. An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics'', New York (Rinehart and Co.) 1947, p. 189.)</ref>

[[File:Girl of Vietnam.jpg|thumb|Smiling woman from Vietnam]]
[[Self-determination theory]] relates [[intrinsic motivation]] to three needs: [[Competence (human resources)|competence]], [[autonomy]], and [[Social relation|relatedness]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ryan |first1=R. M. |title=Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. |last2=Deci |first2=E. L. |publisher=Guilford Publishing |year=2017 |location=New York}}</ref> Competence refers to an individual's ability to be effective in their interactions with the environment, autonomy refers to a person's flexibility in choice and decision making, and relatedness is the need to establish warm, close personal relationships.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reeve |first=Johnmarshall |title=Understanding Emotion and Motivation |publisher=John Wiles and Sons, Inc. |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-119-36761-1 |location=Hoboken, NJ}}</ref>

[[Ronald Inglehart]] has traced cross-national differences in the level of happiness based on data from the [[World Values Survey]].<ref name="Inglehart2008">{{cite journal |last1=Inglehart |first1=Ronald |last2=Foa |first2=Roberto |last3=Peterson |first3=Christopher |last4=Welzel |first4=Christian |title=Development, Freedom, and Rising Happiness: A Global Perspective (1981–2007) |journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science |date=July 2008 |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=264–285 |doi=10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00078.x|pmid=26158947 |s2cid=10046821 }}</ref> He finds that the extent to which a society allows free choice has a major impact on happiness. When [[basic needs]] are satisfied, the degree of happiness depends on economic and cultural factors that enable free choice in how people live their lives. Happiness also depends on religion in countries where free choice is constrained.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Inglehart |first1=Ronald F. |title=Cultural Evolution: People's Motivations Are Changing, and Reshaping the World |date=2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781108613880 |isbn=978-1-108-61388-0}}</ref>

[[Sigmund Freud#Happiness|Sigmund Freud]] said that all humans strive after happiness, but that the possibilities of achieving it are restricted because we "are so made that we can derive intense enjoyment only from a contrast and very little from the [[Status quo|state of things]]."<ref>Freud, S. ''Civilization and its discontents''. Translated and edited by James Strachey, Chapter II. New York: W. W. Norton. [Originally published in 1930].{{page needed|date=November 2020}}</ref>

The idea of [[Hedonism|motivational hedonism]] is the theory that pleasure is the aim for human life.<ref>{{Citation|last=Moore|first=Andrew|title=Hedonism|date=2019|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2019/entries/hedonism/|encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|editor-last=Zalta|editor-first=Edward N.|edition=Winter 2019|publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University|access-date=20 November 2021|archive-date=5 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805023141/https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2019/entries/hedonism/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Positive psychology===
Since 2000 the field of [[positive psychology]], which focuses on the study of happiness and human flourishing rather than maladjusted behavior or illness, expanded drastically in terms of scientific publications. It was introduced by psychologist Martin Seligman in 1998 who argued that psychology had long focused on mental illness and bringing people from "minus five to zero," but that it should also study the conditions that allow individuals to thrive and move from "zero to plus five."<ref name="NYSciHap" /> It has produced many different views on causes of happiness, and on factors that correlate with happiness, such as positive social interactions with family and friends.<ref name=NYSciHap>{{cite magazine|last=Wallis |first=Claudia |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1015902-1,00.html |title=Science of Happiness: New Research on Mood, Satisfaction |magazine=TIME |date=9 January 2005 |access-date=7 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115020515/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C1015902-1%2C00.html |archive-date=15 November 2010 }}</ref>

These factors include six key virtues:

1. Wisdom and knowledge, which includes creativity, curiosity, love of learning and open-mindedness.

2. Courage, which includes bravery, persistence, integrity, and vitality.

3. Humanity, which includes love, kindness, and social intelligence.

4. Justice, which includes leadership, fairness, and loyalty.

5. Temperance, which includes self-regulation, prudence, forgiveness, humility, patience <ref>Perison, Abel Lawrence (1830). Address on Temperance, Delivered in the South Meeting House, Salem, 14 January 1830. Boston: Perkins & Marvin. p. 31</ref> and modesty.

6. Transcendence, which includes religious/spirituality, hope, gratitude, appreciation of beauty and excellence, and humor.

Seligman later formalized positive psychology with the PERMA model (Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment), introduced in 2011.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Seligman |first=Martin |date=2018-07-04 |title=PERMA and the building blocks of well-being |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2018.1437466 |journal=The Journal of Positive Psychology |language=en |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=333–335 |doi=10.1080/17439760.2018.1437466 |issn=1743-9760|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The model has since been widely used in positive psychology research as a framework for understanding well-being.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Donaldson |first1=Stewart I. |last2=van Zyl |first2=Llewellyn Ellardus |last3=Donaldson |first3=Scott I. |date=2021 |title=PERMA+4: A Framework for Work-Related Wellbeing, Performance and Positive Organizational Psychology 2.0 |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=12 |article-number=817244 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.817244 |doi-access=free |issn=1664-1078 |pmc=8819083 |pmid=35140667}}</ref>

In order for a virtue to be considered a key strength in the field of positive psychology it must meet the demands of 12 criteria, namely ubiquity (cross-cultural), fulfilling, morally valued, does not diminish others, be a nonfelicitous opposite (have a clear antonym that is negative), traitlike, measurable, distinct, have paragons (distinctly show up in individuals' behaviors), have prodigies (show up in youth), be selectively absent (distinctly does not show up in some individuals), and is supported by some institutions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Watkins |first=Philip C. |title=Positive Psychology 101 |publisher=Springer Publishing Company |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-8261-2697-9 |location=New York, NY}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lopez |first1=Shane J. |title=The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology |last2=Snyder |first2=C. R. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19-518724-3 |edition=2nd |location=New York, NY |pages=27–28}}</ref>

Numerous short-term self-help interventions have been developed and demonstrated to improve happiness.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bolier|first1=Linda|last2=Haverman|first2=Merel|last3=Westerhof|first3=Gerben J|last4=Riper|first4=Heleen|last5=Smit|first5=Filip|last6=Bohlmeijer|first6=Ernst|title=Positive psychology interventions: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies|journal=BMC Public Health|date=8 February 2013|volume=13|issue=1|page=119|doi=10.1186/1471-2458-13-119|pmid=23390882|pmc=3599475 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.psysci.co/40-scientifically-proven-ways-happier/ |title=40 Scientifically Proven Ways To Be Happier |access-date=12 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311190556/http://www.psysci.co/40-scientifically-proven-ways-happier/ |archive-date=11 March 2016 |url-status=live |date=19 February 2015 }}</ref>

[[Yale University|Yale]] researcher Emma Seppälä has emphasized the importance of compassion for others, balanced with self-compassion.  Compassion for others may involve service and volunteering, or simply reaching out to connect, show gratitude, or draw others together.<ref name="d813">{{cite web |last=Burns |first=Holly |date=2024-12-26 |title=Why Your New Year's Resolutions Should Involve Your Interpersonal Relationships |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/style/new-years-resolutions-relationships-loved-ones.html |access-date=2025-01-05 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>

=== Spillover ===
A person's level of subjective well-being is determined by many different factors and social influences prove to be a strong one. Results from the famous [[Framingham Heart Study]] indicate that friends three [[degrees of separation]] away (that is, friends of friends of friends) can affect a person's happiness. From abstract: "A friend who lives within a mile (about 1.6 km) and who becomes happy increases the probability that a person is happy by 25%."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fowler |first=J. H |author2=Christakis, N. A |date=4 December 2008 |title=Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study |journal=BMJ |volume=337 |issue=dec04 2 |article-number=a2338 |doi=10.1136/bmj.a2338 |pmc=2600606 |pmid=19056788}}</ref>

===Indirect approaches===
Various writers, including [[Camus]] and [[Eckhart Tolle|Tolle]], have written that the act of searching or seeking for happiness is incompatible with being happy.<ref>"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life." Albert Camus, in "Intuitions" (October 1932), published in Youthful Writings (1976)</ref><ref>"Don't Seek Happiness. If you seek it, you won't find it, because seeking is the antithesis of happiness" Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose</ref><ref>"Wealth, like happiness, is never attained when sought after directly. It comes as a by-product of providing a useful service." Henry Ford</ref><ref>Frank Crane wrote that "nobody who pursued happiness ever found it" (Adventures in Common Sense, 1920, [https://archive.org/details/adventuresincom00crangoog/page/n52/mode/2up?q=happiness p49])</ref>

[[John Stuart Mill]] believed that for the great majority of people happiness is best achieved en passant, rather than striving for it directly. This meant no self-consciousness, scrutiny, self-interrogation, dwelling on, thinking about, imagining or questioning on one's happiness. Then, if otherwise fortunately circumstanced, one would "inhale happiness with the air you breathe."{{efn|"The enjoyments of life (such was now my theory) are sufficient to make it a pleasant thing, when they are taken en passant, without being made a principal object. Once make them so, and they are immediately felt to be insufficient. They will not bear a scrutinizing examination. Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so. The only chance is to treat, not happiness, but some end external to it, as the purpose of life. Let your self-consciousness, your scrutiny, your self-interrogation, exhaust themselves on that; and if otherwise fortunately circumstanced you will inhale happiness with the air you breathe, without dwelling on it or thinking about it, without either forestalling it in imagination, or putting it to flight by fatal questioning. This theory now became the basis of my philosophy of life. And I still hold to it as the best theory for all those who have but a moderate degree of sensibility and of capacity for enjoyment; that is, for the great majority of mankind.<ref>{{cite book |title=Autobiography |chapter=Crisis in My Mental History, One Stage Onward |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10378/10378-h/10378-h.htm#link2H_NOTE |last=Mill |first=John Stuart |author-link=John Stuart Mill |via=Project Gutenberg |access-date=29 September 2020 |archive-date=30 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530133823/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10378/10378-h/10378-h.htm#link2H_NOTE |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.laits.utexas.edu/poltheory/mill/auto/auto.c05.html |title=Autobiography |chapter=Crisis in My Mental History, One Stage Onward |last=Mill |first=John Stuart |author-link=John Stuart Mill |via=University of Texas |access-date=29 September 2020 |archive-date=29 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329140937/https://www.laits.utexas.edu/poltheory/mill/auto/auto.c05.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

[[William Inge (priest, born 1860)|William Inge]] said that "on the whole, the happiest people seem to be those who have no particular cause for being happy except the fact that they are so."<ref>Essay entitled 'Happy People', dated 1921, included in {{cite book | last=Inge | first=W.R. | title=Lay Thoughts of a Dean | publisher=Garden City Publishing Company | year=1926 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hpw8KEtO7NkC | page=211 | access-date=17 November 2021 | archive-date=5 August 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805023250/https://books.google.com/books?id=Hpw8KEtO7NkC | url-status=live }}</ref> [[Orison Swett Marden]] said that "some people are born happy."{{efn|"Some people are born happy. No matter what their circumstances are they are joyous, content and satisfied with everything. They carry a perpetual holiday in their eye and see joy and beauty everywhere. When we meet them they impress us as just having met with some good luck, or that they have some good news to tell you. Like the bees that extract honey from every flower, they have a happy alchemy which transmutes even gloom into sunshine."<ref>{{cite book |title=How To Succeed or Stepping-Stones to Fame and Fortune. |date=1896 |last=Marden |first=Orison Swett |publisher=The Christian Herald |location=New York |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/20513/20513-h/20513-h.htm |via=Project Gutenberg |access-date=14 December 2020 |archive-date=28 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028194942/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/20513/20513-h/20513-h.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

=== Cognitive behavioral therapy ===
[[Cognitive behavioral therapy]] is a popular therapeutic method used to change habits by changing thoughts and problematic behaviors. It focuses on emotional regulation and uses a lot of positive psychology practices. It is often used for people with depression, anxiety, or addictions and works towards how to lead a happier life.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Simple Ways To Increase Happiness And Emotional Health |url=https://thinkaplus.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-simple-ways-to-increase-happiness-and-emotional-health/ |access-date=18 April 2022 |website=thinkaplus.com |archive-date=25 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625074027/https://thinkaplus.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-simple-ways-to-increase-happiness-and-emotional-health/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Common processes in cognitive behavioral therapy are reframing thoughts from problematic thinking patterns by replacing them with beneficial or supportive ones, roleplaying, finding beneficial coping skills, and choosing new activities that support desired behaviors and avoid negative behaviors.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hauswirth |first=Katherine |date=2022 |title=Cognitive-behavioral therapy for addictions and substance abuse. |journal=Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health}}</ref>

=== Synthetic happiness ===
Coined by Harvard professor of psychology and author of "Stumbling on Happiness", [[Daniel Gilbert (psychologist)|Daniel Gilbert]], synthetic happiness is the happiness we make for ourselves. In his TedTalk titled, the surprising science of happiness, Gilbert explains that everyone possesses a "psychological immune system" that helps to regulate our emotional reactions.<ref>{{Citation |last=Gilbert |first=Dan |title=The surprising science of happiness |date=26 September 2006 |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_the_surprising_science_of_happiness |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202231022/https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_the_surprising_science_of_happiness |url-status=live }}</ref> Through research that he studied and held, he and his team found that personal happiness is largely based on personal perception. Synthetic happiness as an idea has become more popular as people attempt to define happiness as a journey instead of a destination.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

==Effects==
Happiness research understands "happiness" as "life satisfaction" or "well-being". Since it has proved difficult to find a definition of happiness, individual people are instead asked how happy they feel.<ref>{{citation|author=Bruno S. Frey, Claudia Frey Marti|date=July 2010|doi=10.1007/s10273-010-1097-2|issn=0043-6275|issue=7|pages=458–463|periodical=Wirtschaftsdienst|title=Glück — Die Sicht der Ökonomie|volume=90|hdl=10419/66469 |s2cid=155022706 }}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> Numerous surveys are then summarized and analyzed using static methods. Although some researchers believe that the scales are fundamentally unsuitable for estimating happiness,<ref>{{citation|author=Timothy Bond, Kevin Lang|date=March 2014|doi=10.3386/w19950|location=Cambridge, MA|article-number=w19950|publisher=National Bureau of Economic Research|title=The Sad Truth About Happiness Scales|doi-access=free}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> other researchers argue that the happiness indices formed on the basis of the survey have a high statistical correspondence with characteristics that are generally understood to indicate a happy person. For example, individuals who report high happiness on scales smile more often, exhibit more social behavior, are more helpful, and are less likely to commit suicide. For this reason, happiness indices determined on the basis of the survey are considered reliable by happiness researchers.<ref>{{cite news |access-date=20 September 2020 |title=Interview Bruno Frey: Dieser Mann weiß, was uns glücklich macht |newspaper=Die Zeit |date=21 June 2019 |url=https://www.zeit.de/zeit-magazin/leben/2019-06/bruno-frey-gluecksforschung-oekonomie-interview |last1=Faigle |first1=Philip |archive-date=26 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626230429/https://www.zeit.de/zeit-magazin/leben/2019-06/bruno-frey-gluecksforschung-oekonomie-interview |url-status=live }}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

A [[meta analysis]] of 2023 evaluated evidence for common happiness-boosting strategies. The study aimed to shed light on the effectiveness of these strategies and their impact on subjective well-being. As a first step, the authors analyzed numerous media articles on happiness to identify the five most commonly recommended strategies, these were: expressing gratitude, enhancing sociability, exercising, practicing mindfulness/meditation, and increasing exposure to nature. Next, the  published scientific literature was searched but limited to the above-described high-quality criteria that tested the effects of these strategies on subjective well-being in everyday individuals. Only 10% of the initially retrieved studies met those rigorous criteria. The findings revealed that unlike so far suggested by scientific studies, there is currently still a lack of robust scientific evidence to support some of the most frequently suggested happiness strategies. Among the five most common happiness strategies, there was "reasonably solid evidence" of positive effects from a) Gratitude messages or lists, b) conversations with strangers or  Gratitude and sociability – that is, establishing and maintaining social relationships. In contrast, no convincing evidence could be found that c) sports, d) mindfulness training, or e) walks in the countryside make people happier.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Folk |first1=Dunigan |last2=Dunn |first2=Elizabeth |date=20 July 2023 |title=A systematic review of the strength of evidence for the most commonly recommended happiness strategies in mainstream media |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01651-4 |journal=Nature Human Behaviour |volume=7 |issue=10 |language=en |pages=1697–1707 |doi=10.1038/s41562-023-01651-4 |pmid=37474838 |s2cid=259993279 |issn=2397-3374 |access-date=20 July 2023 |archive-date=20 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230720200824/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01651-4 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Positive===
There is a wealth of cross-sectional studies on happiness and physical health that shows consistent positive relationships.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Veenhoven |first1=R. |title=World Database of Happiness, section Correlational findings on happiness and Physical Health |url=https://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/ |website=World Database of Happiness: Continuous register of scientific research on subjective appreciation of life. |publisher=Erasmus University Rotterdam}}</ref> Follow-up studies appear to show that happiness does not predict longevity in sick populations, but that it does predict longevity among healthy populations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=R. Veenhoven |title=Healthy happiness: effects of happiness on physical health and the consequences for preventive health care |journal=Journal of Happiness Studies |year=2008 |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=449–469 |doi=10.1007/s10902-006-9042-1 |s2cid=9854467 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Other positive effects of happiness and being in a good mood, that have been studied and confirmed, are that happier people tend to be more helpful, attentive, and generous to others,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Isen |first=Alice M. |date=August 1970 |title=Success, failure, attention, and reaction to others: The warm glow of success. |url=http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/h0029610 |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |language=en |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=294–301 |doi=10.1037/h0029610 |issn=1939-1315|url-access=subscription }}</ref> as well as to themselves.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mischel |first1=Walter |last2=Coates |first2=Brian |last3=Raskoff |first3=Antonette |date=December 1968 |title=Effects of success and failure on self-gratification. |url=http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/h0026800 |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |language=en |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=381–390 |doi=10.1037/h0026800 |issn=1939-1315 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=5 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805023145/https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/h0026800 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Happy people also have been shown to act more cooperatively and less aggressively,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Carnevale |first1=Peter J.D |last2=Isen |first2=Alice M |date=February 1986 |title=The influence of positive affect and visual access on the discovery of integrative solutions in bilateral negotiation |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0749597886900415 |journal=Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes |language=en |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=1–13 |doi=10.1016/0749-5978(86)90041-5 |hdl=2027.42/26263 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=8 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208074714/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0749597886900415 |url-status=live |hdl-access=free }}</ref> and be more likely to help others in need.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Isen |first1=Alice M. |last2=Levin |first2=Paula F. |date=March 1972 |title=Effect of feeling good on helping: Cookies and kindness. |url=http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/h0032317 |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |language=en |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=384–388 |doi=10.1037/h0032317 |pmid=5060754 |issn=1939-1315 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=5 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805023257/https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/h0032317 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> They were also found to be more sociable and communicative.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cunningham |first=Michael R. |date=June 1988 |title=Does Happiness Mean Friendliness?: Induced Mood and Heterosexual Self-Disclosure |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167288142007 |journal=Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin |language=en |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=283–297 |doi=10.1177/0146167288142007 |pmid=30045476 |s2cid=51720219 |issn=0146-1672 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816181616/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167288142007 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

More positive effects that happiness seems to evoke are creative problem solving,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Isen |first1=Alice M. |last2=Daubman |first2=Kimberly A. |last3=Nowicki |first3=Gary P. |date=1987 |title=Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving. |url=http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/0022-3514.52.6.1122 |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |language=en |volume=52 |issue=6 |pages=1122–1131 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.52.6.1122 |pmid=3598858 |issn=1939-1315 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=5 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805023257/https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/0022-3514.52.6.1122 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> persisting through challenges,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hill |first1=Patrick L. |last2=Burrow |first2=Anthony L. |last3=Bronk |first3=Kendall Cotton |date=February 2016 |title=Persevering with Positivity and Purpose: An Examination of Purpose Commitment and Positive Affect as Predictors of Grit |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-014-9593-5 |journal=Journal of Happiness Studies |language=en |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=257–269 |doi=10.1007/s10902-014-9593-5 |s2cid=254691445 |issn=1389-4978|url-access=subscription }}</ref> more intrinsic motivation for work related or responsible tasks,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Isen |first1=Alice M. |last2=Reeve |first2=Johnmarshall |date=December 2005 |title=The Influence of Positive Affect on Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: Facilitating Enjoyment of Play, Responsible Work Behavior, and Self-Control |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11031-006-9019-8 |journal=Motivation and Emotion |language=en |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=295–323 |doi=10.1007/s11031-006-9019-8 |s2cid=13324078 |issn=0146-7239 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=5 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805023750/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-006-9019-8 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and being more effective at using efficient decision-making strategies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Isen |first1=Alice M. |last2=Means |first2=Barbara |date=March 1983 |title=The Influence of Positive Affect on Decision-Making Strategy |url=http://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/soco.1983.2.1.18 |journal=Social Cognition |language=en |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=18–31 |doi=10.1521/soco.1983.2.1.18 |issn=0278-016X |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=3 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803092536/https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/soco.1983.2.1.18 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

While some believe that success breeds happiness, Lyubomirsky, King and Diener found that happiness precedes success in income, relationships, marriages, work performance, and health.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lyubomirsky |first1=Sonja |last2=King |first2=Laura |last3=Diener |first3=Ed |date=November 2005 |title=The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success? |url=http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803 |journal=Psychological Bulletin |language=en |volume=131 |issue=6 |pages=803–855 |doi=10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803 |pmid=16351326 |s2cid=684129 |issn=1939-1455 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=5 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805023715/https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[Depression (mood)|Low mood]] is correlated with many negative life outcomes such as suicide, poor health, substance abuse, and low life expectancy. By extension, happiness protects from those negative outcomes.

===Negative===
[[June Gruber]] argued that happiness may trigger a person to be more sensitive, more gullible, less successful, and more likely to undertake high risk behaviours.<ref>{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=|title=Too much Happiness Can Make You Unhappy|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/too-much-happiness-can-make-you-unhappy-studies-show/2012/04/02/gIQACELLrS_story.html|newspaper=Washington Post|archive-date=13 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013162631/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/too-much-happiness-can-make-you-unhappy-studies-show/2012/04/02/gIQACELLrS_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Isen |first1=Alice M. |last2=Patrick |first2=Robert |date=April 1983 |title=The effect of positive feelings on risk taking: When the chips are down |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0030507383901204 |journal=Organizational Behavior and Human Performance |language=en |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=194–202 |doi=10.1016/0030-5073(83)90120-4 |access-date=24 June 2023 |archive-date=19 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119171329/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0030507383901204 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> She also conducted studies suggesting that seeking happiness can have negative effects, such as failure to meet over-high expectations.<ref name="gruberpeplab.com">{{cite web | url=http://gruberpeplab.com/research.php | title=Positive Emotion and Psychopathology Lab – Director Dr. June Gruber | access-date=12 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010182826/http://www.gruberpeplab.com/research.php | archive-date=10 October 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jan/04/trying-to-be-happy-could-make-you-miserable-study-finds|title=Trying to be happy could make you miserable, study finds|date=4 January 2020|website=The Guardian|access-date=25 September 2020|archive-date=5 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805023713/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jan/04/trying-to-be-happy-could-make-you-miserable-study-finds|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Can Seeking Happiness Make People H">{{cite journal |last1=Mauss |first1=Iris B. |last2=Tamir |first2=Maya |last3=Anderson |first3=Craig L. |last4=Savino |first4=Nicole S. |title=Can Seeking Happiness Make People Happy? Paradoxical Effects of Valuing Happiness |journal=Emotion |date=2011 |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=807–815 |doi=10.1037/a0022010 |pmid=21517168 |pmc=3160511 }}</ref> [[Iris Mauss]] has shown that the more people strive for happiness, the more likely they will set up too high of standards and feel disappointed.<ref name=":5">{{cite journal |last1=Mauss |first1=Iris B. |last2=Tamir |first2=Maya |last3=Anderson |first3=Craig L. |last4=Savino |first4=Nicole S. |title=Can seeking happiness make people unhappy? Paradoxical effects of valuing happiness |journal=Emotion |date=August 2011 |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=807–815 |doi=10.1037/a0022010 |pmid=21517168 |pmc=3160511 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=25 August 2015|title=Four "Inside Out" insights to discuss and improve our kids' emotional lives (and our own)|url=https://sharpbrains.com/blog/2015/08/25/four-inside-out-insights-to-discuss-and-improve-our-emotional-lives/|access-date=24 November 2020|website=SharpBrains|language=en-US|archive-date=23 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123215749/https://sharpbrains.com/blog/2015/08/25/four-inside-out-insights-to-discuss-and-improve-our-emotional-lives/|url-status=live}}</ref>  One study shows that women who value happiness more tend to react less positively to happy emotions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mauss |first1=Iris B. |last2=Tamir |first2=Maya |last3=Anderson |first3=Craig L. |last4=Savino |first4=Nicole S. |date=August 2011 |title=Can seeking happiness make people unhappy? Paradoxical effects of valuing happiness. |journal=Emotion |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=807–815 |doi=10.1037/a0022010 |issn=1931-1516 |pmc=3160511 |pmid=21517168}}</ref> A 2012 study found that psychological [[Subjective well-being|well-being]] was higher for people who experienced both positive and [[negative emotion]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal | title=Mixed Emotional Experience is Associated with and Precedes Improvements in Psychological Well-Being| journal=PLOS ONE| volume=7| issue=4| article-number=e35633| bibcode=2012PLoSO...735633A| last1=Adler| first1=Jonathan M.| last2=Hershfield| first2=Hal E.| year=2012| doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0035633| pmid=22539987| pmc=3334356| doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hershfield |first1=Hal E. |last2=Scheibe |first2=Susanne |last3=Sims |first3=Tamara L. |last4=Carstensen |first4=Laura L. |title=When Feeling Bad Can Be Good: Mixed Emotions Benefit Physical Health Across Adulthood |journal=Social Psychological and Personality Science |date=January 2013 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=54–61 |doi=10.1177/1948550612444616 |pmid=24032072 |pmc=3768126 }}</ref>

== Society and culture ==
=== Government ===
[[File:US Navy 110527-N-OA833-014 Newly commissioned Navy and Marine Corps officers toss their hats during the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 2011 graduation.jpg|thumb|Newly commissioned officers celebrate their new positions by throwing their midshipmen covers into the air as part of the U.S. Naval Academy class of 2011 graduation and commissioning ceremony.]]
{{Main|Happiness economics}}

[[Jeremy Bentham]] believed that public policy should attempt to maximize happiness, and he even attempted to estimate a "hedonic calculus". [[Thomas Jefferson]] put the "pursuit of happiness" on the same level as life and liberty in the [[United States Declaration of Independence]]. Presently, many countries and organizations regularly [[#Measurement|measure]] population happiness through large-scale surveys, e.g., [[Gross National Happiness|Bhutan]].

Richer nations tend to have higher [[#Measurement|measures]] of happiness than poorer nations.<ref name="Frey2001">{{cite book | first = Bruno S. | last = Frey |author2=Alois Stutzer | title = Happiness and Economics | publisher = Princeton University Press |date=2001 | isbn = 978-0-691-06998-2}}{{page needed|date=April 2022}}</ref><ref name="Cato2007">{{cite web | url = http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8179 | title = In Pursuit of Happiness Research. Is It Reliable? What Does It Imply for Policy? | publisher = The [[Cato Institute]] | date = 11 April 2007 | access-date = 2 August 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110219211701/http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8179 | archive-date = 19 February 2011 }}</ref> The relationship between wealth and happiness is not linear and the same GDP increase in poor countries will have more effect on happiness than in wealthy countries.<ref name="wealth_and_happiness_revisited">{{cite web |url=http://www2.eur.nl/fsw/research/veenhoven/Pub2000s/2003e-full.pdf |title=Wealth and happiness revisited Growing wealth of nations does go with greater happiness |access-date=26 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016231853/http://www2.eur.nl/fsw/research/veenhoven/Pub2000s/2003e-full.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/business/16leonhardt.html | work=The New York Times | title=Maybe Money Does Buy Happiness After All | first=David | last=Leonhardt | date=16 April 2008 | access-date=10 April 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424154306/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/business/16leonhardt.html | archive-date=24 April 2009 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bpp.wharton.upenn.edu/betseys/papers/Happiness.pdf |title=Economic Growth and Subjective Well-Being: Reassessing the Easterlin Paradox |website=bpp.wharton.upenn.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617020438/http://bpp.wharton.upenn.edu/betseys/papers/happiness.pdf |archive-date=17 June 2012 }}</ref><ref name="globe">{{cite news |url=https://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/11/23/a_talk_with_betsey_stevenson_and_justin_wolfers/?page=full |title=Boston.com |publisher=Boston.com |date=23 November 2008 |access-date=26 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513234516/http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/11/23/a_talk_with_betsey_stevenson_and_justin_wolfers/?page=full |archive-date=13 May 2013 |url-status=live |last1=Akst |first1=Daniel }}</ref>

Some political scientists argue that life satisfaction is positively related to the social democratic model of a generous [[social safety net]], pro-worker labor market regulations, and strong labor unions.<ref>[[Benjamin Radcliff|Radcliff, Benjamin]] (2013) ''The Political Economy of Human Happiness'' (New York: Cambridge University Press).{{page needed|date=August 2016}}</ref><ref>See also '''this collection of full-text peer reviewed scholarly articles on this subject''' by Radcliff and colleagues (from "Social Forces," "The Journal of Politics," and "Perspectives on Politics," among others) [http://benjaminradcliff.com/scholarly-articles/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712200741/http://benjaminradcliff.com/scholarly-articles/|date=12 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/05/14/does-a-higher-minimum-wage-make-people-happier/|title=Does a higher minimum wage make people happier? |author=Michael Krassa|date=14 May 2014|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=29 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707112256/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/05/14/does-a-higher-minimum-wage-make-people-happier/|archive-date=7 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Others argue that happiness is strongly correlated with [[economic freedom]],<ref name="cato.org">[http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8179 In Pursuit of Happiness Research. Is It Reliable? What Does It Imply for Policy?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219211701/http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=8179 |date=19 February 2011 }} The Cato Institute. 11 April 2007</ref> preferably within the context of a western mixed economy, with free press and a democracy.

===Cultural values===
[[File:A little girl from Namche Bazaar, Nepal, expressing her happiness towards foreign visitors, photographed during the tour to the Mount Everest Base Camp, December 2, 2023.jpg|thumb|A little girl from [[Namche Bazaar]], Nepal, expressing her happiness towards foreign visitors]]
Personal happiness can be affected by [[Culture and positive psychology|cultural factors]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Vignoles | first1=Vivian L. | last2=Owe | first2=Ellinor | last3=Becker | first3=Maja | display-authors=et al | title=Beyond the 'east–west' dichotomy: Global variation in cultural models of selfhood | journal=[[Journal of Experimental Psychology: General]] | publisher=American Psychological Association | volume=145 | issue=8 | year=2016 | issn=1939-2222 | doi=10.1037/xge0000175 | pages=966–1000 | pmid=27359126 | hdl=11693/36711 | s2cid=296518 | url=http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/61523/1/__smbhome.uscs.susx.ac.uk_lh89_Desktop_Late%20Research%20activity%20sheets_cultural%20models%20of%20selfhood%20accepted%20version%20reformat.pdf | hdl-access=free | access-date=5 August 2024 | archive-date=27 April 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427020127/http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/61523/1/__smbhome.uscs.susx.ac.uk_lh89_Desktop_Late%20Research%20activity%20sheets_cultural%20models%20of%20selfhood%20accepted%20version%20reformat.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Joshanloo |first1=Mohsen |title=Eastern Conceptualizations of Happiness: Fundamental Differences with Western Views |journal=Journal of Happiness Studies |date=1 April 2014 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=475–493 |id={{ProQuest|1506708399}} |doi=10.1007/s10902-013-9431-1 |s2cid=144149724 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_cultural_differences_shape_your_happiness|title=How Cultural Differences Shape Your Happiness|access-date=28 October 2020|archive-date=5 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805023656/https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_cultural_differences_shape_your_happiness|url-status=live}}</ref> Hedonism appears to be more strongly related to happiness in more individualistic cultures.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Joshanloo |first1=Mohsen |last2=Jarden |first2=Aaron |title=Individualism as the moderator of the relationship between hedonism and happiness: A study in 19 nations |journal=Personality and Individual Differences |date=1 May 2016 |volume=94 |pages=149–152 |doi=10.1016/j.paid.2016.01.025 }}</ref> Forcing people to marry and stay married can have adverse consequences. Research has shown that unhappily married couples suffer 3–25 times the risk of developing clinical depression.<ref>{{Cite journal |first1=Tatiana D. |last1=Gray |first2=Matt |last2=Hawrilenko |first3=James V. |last3=Cordova |date=2019 |title=Randomized Controlled Trial of the Marriage Checkup: Depression Outcomes |journal=Journal of Marital and Family Therapy |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=507–522 |doi=10.1111/jmft.12411 |pmid=31584721 |s2cid=203661658 |url=https://arammu.com/assets/research/MC%20Depression%20Outcomes.pdf |access-date=5 August 2024 |archive-date=5 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805023655/https://arammu.com/assets/research/MC%20Depression%20Outcomes.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fink |first1=Brandi C. |last2=Shapiro |first2=Alyson F. |date=March 2013 |title=Coping Mediates the Association Between Marital Instability and Depression, but Not Marital Satisfaction and Depression |journal=Couple & Family Psychology |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=1–13 |doi=10.1037/a0031763 |issn=2160-4096 |pmc=4096140 |pmid=25032063}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Maria R. Goldfarb & Gilles Trudel |date=2019 |title=Marital quality and depression: a review |journal=Marriage & Family Review |volume=55 |issue=8 |pages=737–763 |doi=10.1080/01494929.2019.1610136 |s2cid=165116052 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/ref/10.1080/01494929.2019.1610136?scroll=top |access-date=5 August 2024 |archive-date=12 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212145515/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/ref/10.1080/01494929.2019.1610136?scroll=top |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

One theory is that higher [[Subjective well-being|SWB]] in richer countries is related to their more individualistic cultures. Individualistic cultures may satisfy intrinsic motivations to a higher degree than collectivistic cultures, and fulfilling intrinsic motivations, as opposed to extrinsic motivations, may relate to greater levels of happiness, leading to more happiness in individualistic cultures.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ahuvia |first=Aaron C. |date=1 March 2002 |title=Individualism/Collectivism and Cultures of Happiness: A Theoretical Conjecture on the Relationship between Consumption, Culture and Subjective Well-Being at the National Level |journal=Journal of Happiness Studies |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=23–36 |doi=10.1023/A:1015682121103 |hdl=2027.42/43060 |s2cid=145603149 |issn=1573-7780 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Cultural views on happiness have changed over time.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://hbr.org/2012/01/the-history-of-happiness|title=The History of Happiness|journal=Harvard Business Review|date=January 2012|last1=Stearns|first1=Peter N.|volume=90|issue=1–2|pages=104–109, 153|pmid=22299510|access-date=28 October 2020|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031032825/https://hbr.org/2012/01/the-history-of-happiness|url-status=live}}</ref> For instance Western concern about childhood being a time of happiness has occurred only since the 19th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stearns |first1=Peter N. |title=Happy Children: A Modern Emotional Commitment |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |date=6 September 2019 |volume=10 |article-number=2025 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02025 |pmid=31555187 |pmc=6742924 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Not all cultures seek to maximize happiness,<ref name="auto1">{{cite journal |last1=Hornsey |first1=Matthew J. |last2=Bain |first2=Paul G. |last3=Harris |first3=Emily A. |last4=Lebedeva |first4=Nadezhda |last5=Kashima |first5=Emiko S. |last6=Guan |first6=Yanjun |last7=González |first7=Roberto |last8=Chen |first8=Sylvia Xiaohua |last9=Blumen |first9=Sheyla |title=How Much Is Enough in a Perfect World? Cultural Variation in Ideal Levels of Happiness, Pleasure, Freedom, Health, Self-Esteem, Longevity, and Intelligence |journal=Psychological Science |date=September 2018 |volume=29 |issue=9 |pages=1393–1404 |doi=10.1177/0956797618768058 |pmid=29889603 |s2cid=48355171 |url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/24174/1/24174.pdf |access-date=2 November 2018 |archive-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219135001/http://dro.dur.ac.uk/24174/1/24174.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jeanne Tsai" group=nb>See the work of [[Jeanne Tsai]]</ref><ref name="autogenerated1" group=nb>See [[Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness#Meaning of "happiness"]] ref. the meaning of the US Declaration of Independence phrase</ref> and some cultures are averse to happiness.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Joshanloo |first1=Mohsen |last2=Weijers |first2=Dan |title=Aversion to Happiness Across Cultures: A Review of Where and Why People are Averse to Happiness |journal=Journal of Happiness Studies |date=June 2014 |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=717–735 |doi=10.1007/s10902-013-9489-9 |s2cid=144425713 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://phys.org/news/2014-03-cultures-differ-happiness-beliefs.html | title=Study sheds light on how cultures differ in their happiness beliefs | access-date=10 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010095901/https://phys.org/news/2014-03-cultures-differ-happiness-beliefs.html | archive-date=10 October 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref> It has been found in Western cultures that individual happiness is the most important. Some other cultures have opposite views and tend to be aversive to the idea of individual happiness. For example, people living in Eastern Asian cultures focus more on the need for happiness within relationships with others and even find personal happiness to be harmful to fulfilling happy social relationships.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://phys.org/news/2014-03-cultures-differ-happiness-beliefs.html |title=Study sheds light on how cultures differ in their happiness beliefs |last=Springer |date=17 March 2014 |website=Science X Network |access-date=10 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010095901/https://phys.org/news/2014-03-cultures-differ-happiness-beliefs.html |archive-date=10 October 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jeanne Tsai" group=nb /><ref name="autogenerated1" group=nb />

=== Religion ===
{{see also|Religious studies}}

People in countries with high cultural religiosity tend to relate their life satisfaction less to their emotional experiences than people in more secular countries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.spsp.org/news-center/blog/joshanloo-life-satisfaction|title=Emotions Matter More for People's Life Satisfaction in Religious than Secular Countries &#124; SPSP|access-date=28 October 2020|archive-date=29 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129161631/http://www.spsp.org/news-center/blog/joshanloo-life-satisfaction|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Buddhism ====
[[File:Very happy Tibetan Buddhist Monk.jpg|thumb|upright|Tibetan Buddhist monk]]
Happiness forms a central theme of [[Buddhism|Buddhist teachings]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://buddhism.about.com/od/enlightenmentandnirvana/tp/The-Seven-Factors-Of-Enlightenment.htm|title=In Buddhism, There Are Seven Factors of Enlightenment. What Are They?|website=About.com Religion & Spirituality|access-date=26 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409011031/http://buddhism.about.com/od/enlightenmentandnirvana/tp/The-Seven-Factors-Of-Enlightenment.htm|archive-date=9 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> For ultimate freedom from [[dukkha|suffering]], the [[Noble Eightfold Path]] leads its practitioner to [[Nirvana (concept)|Nirvana]], a state of everlasting peace. Ultimate happiness is only achieved by overcoming [[Taṇhā|craving]] in all forms. More mundane forms of happiness, such as acquiring wealth and maintaining good friendships, are also recognized as worthy goals for [[householder (Buddhism)|lay people]] (see ''[[sukha]]''). Buddhism also encourages the generation of [[Maitrī|loving kindness]] and [[Karuṇā|compassion]], the desire for the happiness and welfare of all beings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/bs-s15.htm |title=Buddhist studies for primary and secondary students, Unit Six: The Four Immeasurables |publisher=Buddhanet.net |access-date=26 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030227124943/http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/bs-s15.htm |archive-date=27 February 2003 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hofmann |first1=Stefan G. |last2=Grossman |first2=Paul |last3=Hinton |first3=Devon E. |title=Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: Potential for psychological interventions |journal=Clinical Psychology Review |date=November 2011 |volume=31 |issue=7 |pages=1126–1132 |doi=10.1016/j.cpr.2011.07.003 |pmid=21840289 |pmc=3176989 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shonin |first1=Edo |last2=Van Gordon |first2=William |last3=Compare |first3=Angelo |last4=Zangeneh |first4=Masood |last5=Griffiths |first5=Mark D. |title=Buddhist-Derived Loving-Kindness and Compassion Meditation for the Treatment of Psychopathology: a Systematic Review |journal=Mindfulness |date=1 October 2015 |volume=6 |issue=5 |pages=1161–1180 |doi=10.1007/s12671-014-0368-1 }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=October 2011}}{{Unreliable source?|date=October 2011}}

====Hinduism====
In [[Advaita Vedanta]], the ultimate goal of life is happiness, in the sense that duality between [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]] and [[Brahman]] is transcended and one realizes oneself to be the Self in all.

[[Patanjali]], author of the [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Yoga Sutras]], wrote exhaustively on the psychological and ontological roots of bliss.<ref>{{cite book | last = Levine | first = Marvin
 | title = The Positive Psychology of Buddhism and Yoga: Paths to a Mature Happiness
 | publisher = Lawrence Erlbaum
 | year = 2000 | isbn = 978-0-8058-3833-6}}{{page needed|date=August 2016}}</ref>

====Confucianism====
The Chinese Confucian thinker [[Mencius]], who had sought to give advice to ruthless political leaders during China's Warring States period, was convinced that the mind played a mediating role between the "lesser self" (the physiological self) and the "greater self" (the moral self), and that getting the priorities right between these two would lead to sage-hood.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Richey |first=Jeffrey |title=Mencius (c. 372–289 B.C.E.) |url=https://iep.utm.edu/mencius/ |website=iep.utm.edu |access-date=23 March 2022 |archive-date=18 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418070444/https://iep.utm.edu/mencius/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He argued that if one did not feel satisfaction or pleasure in nourishing one's "vital force" with "righteous deeds", then that force would shrivel up (Mencius, 6A:15 2A:2). More specifically, he mentions the experience of intoxicating joy if one celebrates the practice of the great virtues, especially through music.<ref>{{cite book | last = Chan | first = Wing-tsit | title = A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy | url = https://archive.org/details/sourcebookinchin00chan | url-access = registration | location = Princeton, NJ | publisher = Princeton University Press | year = 1963 | isbn = ((978-0691019642))}}{{page needed|date=August 2016}}</ref>

==== Judaism ====
{{Main|Happiness in Judaism}}
Happiness or ''[[simcha]]'' in Judaism is considered an important element in the [[Avodat Hashem|service of God]].<ref>Yanklowitz, Shmuly.[http://www.jewishjournal.com/bloggish/item/judaisms_value_of_happiness_living_with_gratitude_and_idealism_20120309 "Judaism's value of happiness living with gratitude and idealism."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112041241/http://www.jewishjournal.com/bloggish/item/judaisms_value_of_happiness_living_with_gratitude_and_idealism_20120309 |date=12 November 2014 }} Bloggish. ''The Jewish Journal''. 9 March 2012.</ref> A popular teaching by Rabbi [[Nachman of Breslov]], a 19th-century Chassidic Rabbi, is "''Mitzvah Gedolah Le'hiyot Besimcha Tamid''," it is a great [[mitzvah]] (commandment) to always be in a state of happiness. When a person is happy they are much more capable of serving God and going about their daily activities than when [[depression (mood)|depressed]] or upset.<ref>[http://www.breslov.org/dvar/zmanim/elul3_5758.htm ''Breslov.org''.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112020019/http://www.breslov.org/dvar/zmanim/elul3_5758.htm |date=12 November 2014 }} Accessed 11 November 2014.{{self-published source|date=August 2016}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=August 2016}}

==== Christianity ====
{{Further|The Beatitudes}}

In [[Christianity]], the ultimate end of human existence consists in felicity, Latin equivalent to the Greek ''[[eudaimonia]]'' ("blessed happiness"), described by the 13th-century philosopher-theologian [[Thomas Aquinas]] as a [[beatific vision]] of God's essence in the [[next life]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Question 3. What is happiness |url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/200308.htm |journal=[[Summa Theologica|Summa Theologiae]] |last=Aquinas |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Aquinas |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011133516/http://newadvent.org/summa/200308.htm |archive-date=11 October 2007 }}</ref> According to Aquinas and [[Augustine of Hippo]], man's last end is happiness: "all men agree in desiring the last end, which is happiness."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/2001.htm#article4 |title=Summa Theologica: Man's last end (Prima Secundae Partis, Q. 1) |publisher=Newadvent.org |access-date=26 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105095827/http://www.newadvent.org/summa/2001.htm#article4 |archive-date=5 November 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Aquinas agreed with [[Aristotle]] that happiness cannot be reached solely through reasoning about consequences of acts, but also requires a pursuit of good causes for acts, such as habits according to [[virtue]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3.htm |title=Summa Theologica: Secunda Secundae Partis |publisher=Newadvent.org |access-date=26 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518035222/http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3.htm |archive-date=18 May 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to Aquinas, happiness consists in an "operation of the speculative [[intellect]]": "Consequently happiness consists principally in such an operation, viz. in the contemplation of Divine things." And, "the last end cannot consist in the active life, which pertains to the practical intellect." So: <blockquote>Therefore the last and perfect happiness, which we await in the life to come, consists entirely in contemplation. But imperfect happiness, such as can be had here, consists first and principally in contemplation, but secondarily, in an operation of the practical intellect directing human actions and passions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/2003.htm#article2 |title=Summa Theologica: What is happiness (Prima Secundae Partis, Q. 3) |work=Newadvent.org |access-date=26 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109063700/http://www.newadvent.org/summa/2003.htm#article2 |archive-date=9 January 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref></blockquote>

Human complexities, like reason and cognition, can produce well-being or happiness, but such form is limited and transitory. In temporal life, the contemplation of God, the infinitely Beautiful, is the supreme delight of the will. ''Beatitudo'', or perfect happiness, as complete well-being, is to be attained not in this life, but the next.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07131b.htm|title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Happiness|work=newadvent.org|access-date=7 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501191841/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07131b.htm|archive-date=1 May 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Islam====
[[Al-Ghazali]], the [[Sufi]] thinker, wrote that "[[The Alchemy of Happiness]]" is a manual of [[religious instruction]] that is used throughout the Muslim world and widely practiced today.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Muhammad al-Ghazzali |first1=Abu Hamid |last2=Daniel |first2=Elton D. |last3=Muhammad al-Ghazzali |first3=Abu Hamid |last4=Field |first4=Claud |date=4 March 2015 |title=The Alchemy of Happiness |doi=10.4324/9781315700410|isbn=978-1-317-45878-4 }}</ref>

== Philosophy ==
[[File:The happy butcher.jpg|thumb|A smiling butcher slicing meat]]
{{Main|Philosophy of happiness}}

===Relation to morality===
[[Philosophy of happiness]] is often discussed in conjunction with [[ethics]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Annas|first=Julia|url=http://archive.org/details/moralityhappines00anna|title=Morality of happiness|date=1995|publisher=Oxford : Oxford University Press|others=Library Genesis|isbn=978-0-19-509652-1}}</ref> Traditional European societies, inherited from the Greeks and from Christianity, often linked happiness with morality. In this context, morality was the performance in a specific role in a certain kind of social life.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hare |first=John |date=2006 |title=Religion and Morality |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/religion-morality/ |website=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |access-date=23 March 2022 |archive-date=11 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911130605/https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/religion-morality/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Happiness remains a difficult term for [[moral philosophy]]. Throughout the history of moral philosophy, there has been an oscillation between attempts to define morality in terms of consequences leading to happiness or defining it as nothing to do with happiness at all.<ref>{{cite book |last1=MacIntyre |first1=Alasdair |title=A Short History of Ethics |url=https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryethi00maci_019 |url-access=limited |date=1998 |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryethi00maci_019/page/n181 167] |isbn=978-0-415-17398-8 |edition=Second}}</ref>

In psychology, connections between happiness and morality have been studied in a variety of ways. Empirical research suggests that laypeople's judgments of a person's happiness in part depend on perceptions of that person's morality, suggesting that judgments of others' happiness involve moral evaluation.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Phillips |first1=Jonathan |last2=Misenheimer |first2=Luke |last3=Knobe |first3=Joshua |title=The Ordinary Concept of Happiness (and Others Like It) |journal=Emotion Review |date=July 2011 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=320–322 |doi=10.1177/1754073911402385|s2cid=19273270 }}</ref> A large body of research also suggests that engaging in prosocial behavior can increase happiness.<ref name="Aknin2021">{{cite journal |last1=Aknin |first1=Lara B. |last2=Whillans |first2=Ashley V. |title=Helping and Happiness: A Review and Guide for Public Policy |journal=Social Issues and Policy Review |date=January 2021 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=3–34 |doi=10.1111/sipr.12069|s2cid=225505120 }}</ref><ref name="Hui2020">{{cite journal |last1=Hui |first1=Bryant P. H. |last2=Ng |first2=Jacky C. K. |last3=Berzaghi |first3=Erica |last4=Cunningham-Amos |first4=Lauren A. |last5=Kogan |first5=Aleksandr |title=Rewards of kindness? A meta-analysis of the link between prosociality and well-being. |journal=Psychological Bulletin |date=December 2020 |volume=146 |issue=12 |pages=1084–1116 |doi=10.1037/bul0000298|pmid=32881540 |s2cid=221497259 }}</ref><ref name="Curry2018">{{cite journal |last1=Curry |first1=Oliver Scott |last2=Rowland |first2=Lee A. |last3=Van Lissa |first3=Caspar J. |last4=Zlotowitz |first4=Sally |last5=McAlaney |first5=John |last6=Whitehouse |first6=Harvey |title=Happy to help? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of performing acts of kindness on the well-being of the actor |journal=Journal of Experimental Social Psychology |date=May 2018 |volume=76 |pages=320–329 |doi=10.1016/j.jesp.2018.02.014|s2cid=76658949 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Ethics===
[[Ethics|Ethicists]] have made arguments for how humans should behave, either individually or collectively, based on the resulting happiness of such behavior. [[Utilitarian]]s, such as [[John Stuart Mill]] and [[Jeremy Bentham]], advocated the [[greatest happiness principle]] as a guide for ethical behavior. This principle states that actions are proportionately right or wrong by how much happiness or unhappiness they bring. Mill defines happiness as that which brings about an intended pleasure and avoids an unnecessary pain, and he defines unhappiness as the reverse, namely an action that brings about pain and not pleasure. He is quick to specify that pleasure and pain are to be understood in an [[Epicureanism|Epicurean]] light, referring chiefly to the higher human pleasures of increased intellect, feelings, and moral sentiments not what one might call beastly pleasures of mere animal appetites.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mill |first1=John Stuart |title=Utilitarianism |date=1879 |publisher=Longmans, Green, and Co. |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11224/11224-h/11224-h.htm |access-date=10 April 2020 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415023633/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11224/11224-h/11224-h.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Critics of this view include [[Thomas Carlyle]], [[Ferdinand Tönnies]] and others within the German philosophical tradition. They posit that a greater happiness is to be found in choosing to suffer for others, rather than allowing others to suffer for them, declaring this to be a form of satisfying, and heroic, nobility.<ref>{{Citation |last=Bond |first=Niall |title=Trust and Happiness in Ferdinand Tönnies' Community and Society |date=22 November 2017 |url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004353671/B9789004353671_012.xml |work=Trust and Happiness in the History of European Political Thought |pages=221–235 |editor-last=Kontler |editor-first=Laszlo |publisher=BRILL |doi=10.1163/9789004353671_012 |isbn=978-90-04-35366-4 |access-date=16 February 2023 |editor2-last=Somos |editor2-first=Mark |archive-date=20 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420033901/https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004353671/B9789004353671_012.xml |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Many studies have observed the effects of [[Volunteering|volunteerism]] (as a form of altruism) on happiness and health and have consistently found that those who exhibit volunteerism also have better current and future health and well-being.<ref name="volunteer12">{{cite journal |last1=Musick |first1=M. A. |last2=Wilson |first2=J. |year=2003 |title=Volunteering and depression: The role of psychological and social resources in different age groups |journal=Social Science & Medicine |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=259–269 |doi=10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00025-4 |pmid=12473312}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Koenig |first1=L. B. |last2=McGue |first2=M. |last3=Krueger |first3=R. F. |last4=Bouchard |year=2007 |title=Religiousness, antisocial behavior, and altruism: Genetic and environmental mediation |journal=Journal of Personality |volume=75 |issue=2 |pages=265–290 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-6494.2007.00439.x |pmid=17359239}}</ref> In a study of older adults, those who volunteered had higher life satisfaction and will to live, and less [[Depression (mood)|depression]], [[Anxiety (mood)|anxiety]], and [[somatization]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hunter |first1=K. I. |last2=Hunter |first2=M. W. |year=1980 |title=Psychosocial differences between elderly volunteers and non-volunteers |journal=The International Journal of Aging & Human Development |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=205–213 |doi=10.2190/0H6V-QPPP-7JK4-LR38 |pmid=7216525 |s2cid=42991434}}</ref> Volunteerism and helping behavior have not only been shown to improve mental health but physical health and longevity as well, attributable to the activity and social integration it encourages.<ref name="volunteer12" /><ref>{{multiref2|{{cite journal | last1 = Kayloe | first1 = J. C. | last2 = Krause | first2 = M. | year = 1985 | title = RARE FIND: or The value of volunteerism | journal = Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal | volume = 8 | issue = 4| pages = 49–56 | doi=10.1037/h0099659}}|{{cite journal|last1=Brown|first1=S. L.|last2=Brown|first2=R.|last3=House|first3=J. S.|last4=Smith|first4=D. M.|year=2008|title=Coping with spousal loss: Potential buffering effects of self-reported helping behavior|journal=Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin|volume=34|issue=6|pages=849–861|doi=10.1177/0146167208314972|pmid=18344495|s2cid=42983453}}
}}</ref><ref name="volunteer52">{{cite journal |last1=Post |first1=S. G. |year=2005 |title=Altruism, Happiness, and Health: It's Good to Be Good |journal=International Journal of Behavioral Medicine |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=66–77 |citeseerx=10.1.1.485.8406 |doi=10.1207/s15327558ijbm1202_4 |pmid=15901215 |s2cid=12544814}}</ref> One study examined the physical health of mothers who volunteered over 30 years and found that 52% of those who did not belong to a volunteer organization experienced a major illness while only 36% of those who did volunteer experienced one.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moen |first1=P. |last2=Dempster-Mcclain |first2=D. |last3=Williams |first3=R. M. |year=1992 |title=Successful aging: A life-course perspective on women's multiple roles and health |journal=American Journal of Sociology |volume=97 |issue=6 |pages=1612–1638 |doi=10.1086/229941 |s2cid=4828775}}</ref> A study on adults aged 55 and older found that during the four-year study period, people who volunteered for two or more organizations had a 63% lower likelihood of dying. After controlling for prior health status, it was determined that volunteerism accounted for a 44% reduction in mortality.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Oman |first1=D. |last2=Thoresen |first2=C. E. |last3=McMahon |first3=K. |year=1999 |title=Volunteerism and mortality among the community-dwelling elderly |journal=Journal of Health Psychology |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=301–316 |doi=10.1177/135910539900400301 |pmid=22021599 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Aristotle===
Aristotle described ''[[eudaimonia]]'' ([[Ancient Greek|Greek]]: [[:Wiktionary:εὐδαιμονία|εὐδαιμονία]]) as the goal of human thought and action. Eudaimonia is often translated to mean happiness, but some scholars contend that "human flourishing" may be a more accurate translation.<ref>{{cite book | last=Robinson | first=Daniel N. | title=Aristotle's psychology | publisher=Joe Christensen Inc | year=1999 | isbn=978-0-9672066-0-8 | oclc=48601517 | page=}}</ref> Aristotle's use of the term in Nicomachiean Ethics extends beyond the general sense of happiness.<ref>Bartlett, R. C., & Collins, S. D. (2011). ''Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. {{ISBN|9780226026749}}{{page needed|date=April 2022}}</ref>

In the ''[[Nicomachean Ethics]]'', written in 350 BCE, [[Aristotle]] stated that happiness (also being well and doing well) is the only thing that humans desire for their own sake, unlike riches, honour, health or friendship. He observed that men sought riches, or honour, or health not only for their own sake but also in order to be happy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reece |first=Bryan |date=2019 |title=Happiness According to Aristotle |url=https://research-bulletin.chs.harvard.edu/2019/03/15/happiness-aristotle/ |website=Research Bulletin |access-date=23 March 2022 |archive-date=5 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805024202/https://research-bulletin.chs.harvard.edu/2019/03/15/happiness-aristotle/ |url-status=live }}</ref> For Aristotle the term ''[[eudaimonia]]'', which is translated as 'happiness' or 'flourishing' is an activity rather than an emotion or a state.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Aristotle And His Definition Of Happiness – Overview|url=https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/aristotle/#:~:text=According%20to%20Aristotle,%20happiness%20consists,which%20may%20be%20very%20difficult.|access-date=18 March 2021|website=www.pursuit-of-happiness.org| date=25 March 2010 }}</ref> Eudaimonia (Greek: εὐδαιμονία) is a classical Greek word consists of the word "eu" ("good" or "well-being") and "daimōn" ("spirit" or "minor deity", used by extension to mean one's lot or fortune). Thus understood, the happy life is the good life, that is, a life in which a person fulfills human nature in an excellent way.<ref name="Negotiating the Good Life">{{cite book |doi=10.4324/9781315248233-2 |chapter=Revisiting Aristotle: In Pursuit of Happiness |title=Negotiating the Good Life |year=2017 |pages=15–46 |isbn=978-1-315-24823-3 }}</ref>

Specifically, Aristotle argued that the good life is the life of excellent rational activity. He arrived at this claim with the "Function Argument". Basically, if it is right, every living thing has a function, that which it uniquely does. For Aristotle human function is to reason, since it is that alone which humans uniquely do. And performing one's function well, or excellently, is good. According to Aristotle, the life of excellent rational activity is the happy life.<ref name="Negotiating the Good Life"/>

The key question Aristotle seeks to answer is "What is the ultimate purpose of human existence?" A lot of people are seeking pleasure, health, and a good reputation. It is true that those have a value, but none of them can occupy the place of the greatest good for which humanity aims. It may seem like all goods are a means to obtain happiness, but Aristotle said that happiness is always an end in itself.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dopico |first=Alex |date=9 October 2018 |title=What is the purpose of happiness in human existence? |website=JANETPANIC.COM }}</ref>

===Nietzsche===
[[Friedrich Nietzsche]] critiqued the English [[Utilitarianism|Utilitarians]]' focus on attaining the greatest happiness, stating that "Man does not strive for happiness, only the Englishman does".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nietzsche |first=Friedrich |title=Twilight of the Idols |publisher=OUP Oxford |year=1889 |isbn=((978-0140445145)) |page=1 |language=English}}</ref> Nietzsche meant that making happiness one's ultimate ''goal'' and the aim of one's existence, in his words "makes one contemptible." Nietzsche instead yearned for a culture that would set higher, more difficult goals than "mere happiness." He introduced the quasi-dystopic figure of the "last man" as a kind of [[thought experiment]] against the utilitarians and happiness-seekers.<ref name="plato.stanford.edu">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche-moral-political/|title=Nietzsche's Moral and Political Philosophy|encyclopedia=stanford.edu|access-date=10 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112064629/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche-moral-political/|archive-date=12 January 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{cite web|title=Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)|url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/nietzsch/|website=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy|access-date=10 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815204318/http://www.iep.utm.edu/nietzsch/|archive-date=15 August 2015}}</ref>

These small, "last men" who seek after only their own pleasure and health, avoiding all danger, exertion, difficulty, challenge, struggle are meant to seem contemptible to Nietzsche's reader. Nietzsche instead wants us to consider the value of what is difficult, what can only be earned through struggle, difficulty, pain and thus to come to see the affirmative value suffering and ''unhappiness'' truly play in creating everything of great worth in life, including all the highest achievements of human culture, not least of all philosophy.<ref name="plato.stanford.edu"/><ref name="auto2"/>

== See also ==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Aversion to happiness]]
* [[Brain stimulation reward]]
* [[Euphoria]]
* [[Extraversion and introversion#Relation to happiness|Extraversion, introversion and happiness]]
* [[Happiness economics]]
* [[Hedonic treadmill]]
* [[Joy]]
* [[Pleasure]]
* [[Smiling]]}}
{{portal|psychology|philosophy}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=nb}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite journal |last1=Seligman |first1=Martin E.&nbsp;P. |author1-link=Martin Seligman |last2=Csikszentmihalyi |first2=Mihaly |author2-link=Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi |year=2000 |title=Positive Psychology: An Introduction |journal = American Psychologist |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=5–14 |doi=10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.5 |pmid=11392865 |citeseerx=10.1.1.183.6660 |s2cid=14783574 }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness |year=2023 |author1=Robert Waldinger M.D. |author2=Marc Schulz Ph.D |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-9821-6669-4}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|Happiness}}
* [http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/ The World Database of Happiness] – a register of scientific research on the subjective appreciation of life.

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[[Category:Happiness| ]]
[[Category:Personal life]]
[[Category:Positive mental attitude]]
[[Category:Concepts in ethics]]
[[Category:Emotions]]
[[Category:Pleasure]]