In relation with age In adolescence There has been a significant focus in past research on adulthood, in regards to well-being and development and although
eudaimonia is not a new field of study, there has been little research done in the areas of
adolescence and youth. Research that has been done on this age group had previously explored more negative aspects than well-being, such as problem and risk behaviours (i.e. drug and
alcohol use). Researchers who conducted a study in 2013 recognized the absence of adolescents in eudaimonic research and the importance of this developmental stage. Adolescents rapidly face cognitive, social and physical changes, making them prime subjects to study for development and well-being. The
eudaimonic identity theory was used in their research to examine the development of
identity through
self-discovery and
self-realization. They emphasize the personal value found in discovering and appeasing one's "
daimon" (
daemon) through subjective experiences that develop eudaimonic happiness from aligning with one's true self. Researchers focused their studies on PYD (
positive youth development) and the
eudaimonic identity theory in the context of three developmental elements:
self-defining activities,
personal expressiveness and
goal-directed behaviours. They determined that adolescents sample multiple
self-defining activities; these activities aid in identity formation, as individuals choose activities that they believe represents who they are. These
self-defining activities also help determine the adolescent's social environments. For example, an adolescent involved in sports, would likely surround themselves with like-minded active and competitive people.
Personal expressiveness, as coined by psychologist A. S. Waterman, are the activities that we choose to express and connect with our "
daimon" through subjective experiences. Finally,
goal-directed behaviours, are developed through
goal setting, where individuals work towards identity establishment. Adolescents recognize their passions, abilities and talents and aim to fulfill their goals and behave in a way that appeases their true self. Well-being in late life is more likely to be related to other contextual factors including proximity to death. However, most of this terminal decline in well-being could be attributed to other changes in age-normative functional declines including physical health and function. Also, there is growing debate that assumptions that a single population estimate of age-related changes in well-being truly reflects the
lived experiences of older adults has been questioned. The use of growth mixture modelling frameworks has allowed researchers to identify homogenous groups of individuals who are more similar to each other than the population based on their level and change in well-being and has shown that most report stable well-being in their late life and in the decade prior to death. These findings are based on decades of data, and control for cohort groups; the data avoids the risk that the drops in happiness during midlife are due to populations' unique midlife experiences, like a war. The studies have also controlled for income, job status and parenting (as opposed to
childlessness) to try to isolate the effects of age. Researchers found support for the notion of age changes inside the individual that affect happiness. This could be for any number of reasons. Psychological factors could include greater awareness of one's self and preferences; an ability to control desires and have more realistic expectations – unrealistic expectations tend to foster unhappiness; moving closer to death may motivate people to pursue personal goals; improved social skills, like forgiveness, may take years to develop – the practice of forgiveness seems linked to higher levels of happiness; or happier people may live longer and are slightly overrepresented in the elderly population. Age-related chemical changes might also play a role. Other studies have found older individuals reported more health problems, but fewer problems overall. Young adults reported more anger, anxiety, depression, financial problems, troubled relationships and career stress. Researchers also suggest depression in the elderly is often due largely to passivity and inaction – they recommend people continue to undertake activities that bring happiness, even in old age. The activity restriction model of depressed affect suggests that stressors that disrupt traditional activities of daily life can lead to a decrease in mental health. The elderly population is vulnerable to activity restriction because of the disabling factors related to age. Increases in scheduled activity, as well as
social support, can decrease the chances of activity restriction.
In relation with depression and languishing A study by Keyes found that there are major costs of depression, which 14% of adults experience annually: it impairs social roles; it costs billions each year due to work absenteeism, diminished
productivity, and
healthcare costs; finally, depression accounts for at least one-third of
suicides. Therefore, it is important to study flourishing to learn about what is possible if issues such as depression are tackled and how the ramifications of focusing on the positive make life better not just for one person, but also for others around them.
Positive psychology interventions (PPI) in patients A
strengths-based approach to personal positive change aims to have clinical psychology place an equal weight on both positive and negative functioning when attempting to understand and treat distress. This rationale is based on empirical findings. Because positive characteristics interact with negative life events to predict disorder the exclusive study of negative life events could produce misleading results. Thus, psychologists are looking to use positive psychology to treat patients. Amy Krentzman, among the others, discussed positive intervention as a way to treat patients. She defined positive intervention as a therapy or activity primarily aimed at increasing positive feelings, positive behaviors, or positive cognitions, as opposed to focusing on negative thoughts or dysfunctional behaviors. A way of using positive intervention as a clinical treatment is to use positive activity interventions. Positive activity interventions, or PAIs, are brief self-administered exercises that promote positive feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Two widely used PAIs are "Three Good Things" and "Best Future Self." "Three Good Things" requires a patient to daily document, for a week, three events that went well during the day, and the respective cause, or causes (this exercise can be modified with counterfactual thinking, that is, adding the imagination of things had them been worse). "Best Future Self" has a patient "think about their life in the future, and imagine that everything has gone as well as it possibly could. They have worked hard and succeeded at accomplishing all of their life goals. Think of this as the realization of all of their life dreams." The patient is then asked to write down what they imagined. These positive interventions have been shown to decrease depression, and interventions focusing on strengths and positive emotions can, in fact, be as effective in treating disorder as other more commonly used approaches such as
cognitive behavioral therapy. Moreover, the apparent effect of PPIs cannot be caused by
publication bias, according to a
meta-analysis on 49 studies (2009). PPIs studied included producing gratitude letters, performing optimistic thinking, replaying positive life experiences, and socializing with people. There is also evidence of a diminished effect from gratitude journaling if it is done more than once or twice a week. Journaling sans gratitude is effective in decreasing negative emotions in general, which suggests that the act of journaling, rather than gratitude alone, is involved in the treatment effect.
Post-traumatic growth Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is a possible outcome after a traumatic event, besides
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Following a traumatic event, for instance rape, incest, cancer, attack, or combat, "it is normal to experience debilitating symptoms of depression and anxiety." A person who shows PTG however, will experience these negative outcomes for a time and then show an increase in well-being, higher than it was before the trauma occurred.
Martin Seligman, a founder of positive psychology, emphasizes that "arriving at a higher level of psychological functioning than before" is a key point in PTG. If instead an individual experiences a depressive period but recovers from an incident and returns to their normal level of psychological functioning, they are demonstrating
resilience.
Post-traumatic growth in constructive journalism The phenomenon of PTG is applicable to many disciplines. The construct is important not only for just soldiers, emergency responders, and survivors of traumatic events, but on average, for everyday citizens facing typical adversity. One way to expose citizens to stories of PTG is through constructive journalism. Constructive journalism, as defined by PhD student Karen McIntyre at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, is "an emerging style of journalism in which positive psychology techniques are applied to news work with the aim of engaging readers by creating more productive news stories, all while maintaining core journalistic functions". Cathrine Gyldensted, an experienced reporter with a Masters in applied positive psychology and coauthor of two books, demonstrated that typical news reporting, which is associated with negative valence, harms mood. Using PTG to focus on victims' strengths and instances of overcoming adversity encourages readers to implement similar ideals in their own lives. "So the goal of positive psychology in well-being theory is to measure and to build human flourishing."
Affect - ratio of positive to negative affect Fredrickson and Losada postulated in 2005 that the
ratio of positive to negative
affect, known as the
critical positivity ratio, can distinguish
individuals that flourish from those that do not. Languishing was characterized by a ratio of positive to negative affect of 2.5. Optimal functioning or flourishing was argued to occur at a ratio of 4.3. The point at which flourishing changes to languishing is called the
Losada line and is placed at the positivity ratio of 2.9. Those with higher ratios were claimed to have broader behavioral repertoires, greater
flexibility and resilience to
adversity, more social
resources, and more optimal functioning in many areas of their life. The model also predicted the existence of an upper limit to happiness, reached at a positivity ratio of 11.5. Fredrickson and Losada claimed that at this limit, flourishing begins to disintegrate and productivity and creativity decrease. They suggested as positivity increased, so to "appropriate negativity" needs to increase. This was described as time-limited, practicable
feedback connected to specific circumstances, i.e.
constructive criticism. Fredrickson partially retracted the paper, agreeing that the math may be flawed, but maintaining that the empirical evidence is still valid. Brown and colleagues insist there is no evidence for the critical positivity ratio whatsoever.
In relation with basic emotions Most
psychologists focus on a person's most basic
emotions. There are thought to be between seven and fifteen basic
emotions. The
emotions can be combined in many ways to create more subtle variations of
emotional experience. This suggests that any attempt to wholly eliminate negative emotions from our life would have the unintended consequence of losing the variety and subtlety of our most profound emotional experiences. Efforts to increase positive emotions will not automatically result in decreased negative
emotions, nor will decreased negative emotions necessarily result in increased positive emotions. Russell and Feldman Barrett (1992) described emotional reactions as core affects, which are primitive emotional reactions that are consistently experienced but often not acknowledged; they blend pleasant and unpleasant as well as activated and deactivated dimensions that we carry with us at an almost unconscious level. While a 2012 study found that wellbeing was higher for people who experienced both positive and negative emotions, evidence suggests negative emotions can be damaging. In an article titled "The undoing effect of positive emotions",
Barbara Fredrickson et al. hypothesized positive emotions undo the cardiovascular effects of negative emotions. When people experience
stress, they show increased
heart rate, higher
blood sugar,
immune suppression, and other adaptations optimized for immediate action. If unregulated, the prolonged physiological activation can lead to illness,
coronary heart disease, and heightened mortality. Both lab and survey research substantiate that positive emotions help people under stress to return to a preferable, healthier physiological baseline. Other research shows that improved mood is one of the various benefits of physical exercise.
Behavioral repertoire The
broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions suggests positive emotions (e.g.
happiness,
interest,
anticipation) broaden one's awareness and encourage novel, varied, and exploratory thoughts and actions. Over time, this broadened behavioral repertoire builds skills and resources. For example, curiosity about a landscape becomes valuable navigational knowledge; pleasant interactions with a stranger become a supportive friendship; aimless physical play becomes exercise and physical excellence. Positive emotions are contrasted with negative emotions, which prompt narrow survival-oriented behaviors. For example, the negative emotion of
anxiety leads to the specific
fight-or-flight response for immediate survival.
In relation with experience Thomas Nagel has said that "''There are elements which, if added to one's experience, make life better; there are other elements which if added to one's experience, make life worse. But what remains when these are set aside is not merely neutral: it is emphatically positive.''" Experiences are central to a proposed dimension of well-being called psychological richness. This additional dimension of well-being was proposed as an empirically supported expansion to the hedonic vs. eudaimonic well-being dichotomy. Whereas hedonic well-being can be measured via life satisfaction, and eudaimonic well-being can be measured via one's perceptions of the meaning of their life, psychological richness is measured via characteristic experiences.
Psychological richness is cultivated through having psychologically rich experiences, which are characterized as varying, interesting, novel, challenging, and perspective-changing, as subjectively measured by the experiencer. One line of evidence for this comes from studies conducted with college students, where students who went on trips (new and unusual experiences), whether they be short excursions or semester-length study abroad programs, reported increased psychological richness, but not increases in happiness or meaning (Oishi et al., 2021). In contrast to hedonic well-being, which is thought to result in personal satisfaction, and eudaimonic well-being, which is thought to result in societal contribution, psychological richness is thought to result in wisdom.
The concept of "flourishing" The term flourishing, in positive psychology, refers to optimal human functioning. It comprises four parts: goodness, generativity, growth, and
resilience (Fredrickson, 2005). According to Fredrickson (2005), goodness is made up of: happiness, contentment, and effective performance; generativity is about making life better for future generations, and is defined by "broadened thought-action repertoires and behavioral flexibility"; growth involves the use of personal and social assets; and resilience reflects survival and growth after enduring a hardship. Fredrickson & Losada claimed to have discovered a
critical positivity ratio, above which people would flourish and below which they would not. Although Fredrickson claims that her experimental results are still valid, these experimental results have also been questioned due to poor statistical methodology, and
Alan Sokal has pointed out that "given [Fredrickson and Losada's] experimental design and method of data analysis, no data whatsoever could possibly give any evidence of any nonlinearity in the relationship between "flourishing" and the positivity ratio — much less evidence for a sharp discontinuity." Another study surveyed a U.S. sample of 3,032 adults, aged 25–74. Results showed 17.2 percent of adults were flourishing, while 56.6 percent were moderately mentally healthy. Some common characteristics of a flourishing adult included: educated, older, married and wealthy. The study findings suggest there is room for adults to improve as less than 20 percent of Americans are living a flourishing life. (Keyes, 2002). Benefits from living a flourishing life emerge from research on the effects of experiencing a high ratio of positive to negative affect. The studied benefits of positive affect are increased responsiveness, "broadened behavioral repertoires", increased instinct, and increased perception and imagination. The encountered benefits of flourishing suggest a definition: "[flourishing] people experience high levels of emotional, psychological and social well being due to vigor and vitality,
self-determination, continuous self- growth, close relationships and a meaningful and purposeful life" (Siang-Yang, 2006, p. 70).
Happiness Happiness measurement Oxford Happiness Questionnaire Psychologists Peter Hills and
Michael Argyle developed the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire as a broad measure of psychological well-being. The approach was criticized for lacking a theoretical model of happiness and for overlapping too much with related concepts such as
self-esteem, sense of purpose, social interest,
kindness, sense of
humor and aesthetic appreciation.
Satisfaction with Life Scale "Happiness" encompasses different emotional and mental phenomena. One method of assessment is
Ed Diener's Satisfaction with Life Scale. According to Diener, this five-question survey corresponds well with impressions from friends and family, and low incidence of
depression. Psychologist
Daniel Kahneman explains this discrepancy by differentiating between happiness according to the "experiencing self" compared to the "remembering self": when asked to reflect on experiences,
memory biases like the Peak-End effect (e.g. we mostly remember the dramatic parts of a vacation, and how it was at the end) play a large role. A striking finding was in a study of
colonoscopy patients. Adding 60 seconds to this invasive procedure, Kahneman found participants reported the colonoscopy as
more pleasant. This was attributed to making sure the colonoscopy instrument was not moved during the extra 60 seconds – movement is the source of the most discomfort. Thus, Kahneman was appealing to the remembering self's tendency to focus on the end of the experience. Such findings help explain human error in
affective forecasting – people's ability to predict their future emotional states. The tendency to adapt, and therefore return to an earlier level of happiness, is illustrated by studies showing lottery winners are no happier in the years after they've won. after equally few years. Daniel Kahneman explains: "they are not paraplegic full time... It has to do with allocation of attention". Thus, contrary to our
impact biases, lotteries and paraplegia do not change experiences to as great a degree as we would believe. However, in a newer study (2007), winning a medium-sized lottery prize had a lasting mental wellbeing effect of 1.4 GHQ points on Britons even two years after the event. Moreover, adaptation can be a very slow and incomplete process. Distracting life changes such as the death of a spouse or losing one's job can show measurable changes in happiness levels for several years. Thus, adaptation is a complex process, and while it
does mitigate the emotional effects of many life events it cannot mitigate them entirely.
Happiness set point The happiness set point idea is that most people return to an average level of happiness – or a set point – after temporary highs and lows in emotionality. People whose set points lean toward positive emotionality tend to be cheerful most of the time and those whose set points tend to be more negative emotionality tend to gravitate toward pessimism and anxiety. Lykken found that we can influence our level of well-being by creating environments more conductive to feelings of happiness and by working with our genetic makeup. {{Pie chart In her 2008 book
The How of Happiness,
Sonja Lyubomirsky similarly argued people's happiness varies around a genetic set point.
Diener warns, however, that it is nonsensical to claim that "happiness is influenced 30–50% by genetics". Diener explains that the recipe for happiness for an individual always requires genetics, environment, and behaviour too, so it is nonsensical to claim that an individual's happiness is due to only one ingredient. Only differences in happiness can be attributed to differences in factors. In other words, Lyubomirsky's research does not discuss happiness in one individual; it discusses differences in happiness between two or more people. Specifically, Lyubomirsky suggests that 30–40% of the difference in happiness levels is due to genetics (i.e.
heritable). In other words, still, Diener says it makes no sense to say one person's happiness is "due 50% to genetics", but it does make sense to say one person's difference in happiness is 50% due to differences in their genetics (and the rest is due to behaviour and environment). Other research-based habits and techniques for increasing happiness are discussed on this page. Besides the development of new habits, the use of antidepressants, effective exercise, and a healthier
diet have proven to affect mood significantly. There is evidence that a vegan diet reduces stress and anxiety.
Exercise is sometimes called the "miracle" or "wonder" drug – alluding to the wide variety of proven benefits it provides. A 2010 book,
Anatomy of an Epidemic, challenges the use of non-conservative usage of medications for mental patients, specially with respect to their long-term positive feedback effects.
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche has said that neuro scientists have found that with meditation, an individual's happiness baseline can change. and meditation has been found to increase happiness in several studies. A study on Brahma Kumaris
Raja yoga meditators showed them having higher
happiness (Oxford happiness questionnaire) than the control group.
Evidences against the happiness set point theory In recent large panel studies divorce, death of a spouse, unemployment, disability and similar events have been shown to change the long-term subjective well-being, even though some adaptation does occur and inborn factors affect this. Fujita and Diener found that 24% of people changed significantly between the first five years of the study and the last five years. Almost one in four people showed changes in their well-being over the years; indeed sometimes those changes were quite dramatic. Bruce Headey found that 5–6% of people dramatically increased their life satisfaction over a 15- to 20-year period and that the goals people pursued significantly affected their life satisfaction.
Personal training to increase happiness The easiest and best possible way to increase one's happiness is by doing something that increases the ratio of positive to negative emotions. Contrary to some beliefs, in many scenarios, people are actually very good at determining what will increase their positive emotions. There have been many techniques developed to help increase one's happiness. A first technique is known as the "Sustainable Happiness Model (SHM)." This model proposes that long-term happiness is determined upon: (1) one's genetically determined
set-point, (2) circumstantial factors, and (3) intentional activities. Lyubomirsky, Sheldon and Schkade suggest to make these changes in the correct way in order to have long-term happiness. Another suggestion of how to increase one's happiness is through a procedure called "Hope Training." Hope Training is primarily focused on hope due to the belief that hope drives the positive emotions of well-being. This training is based on the hope theory, which states that well-being can increase once people have developed goals and believe themselves to achieve those goals. One of the main purposes of hope training is to eliminate individuals from false hope syndrome. False hope syndrome particularly occurs when one believes that changing their behavior is easy and the outcomes of the change will be evidenced in a short period of time. There are coaching procedures based on positive psychology, which are backed by scientific research, with availability of intervention tools and assessments that positive psychology trained coaches can utilize to support the coaching process. Positive psychology coaching uses scientific evidence and insights gained in these areas to work with clients in their goals.
Time and happiness Philip Zimbardo suggests we might also analyze happiness from a "time perspective". He suggested the sorting of people's focus in life by valence (positive or negative) and also by their time perspective (past, present, or future orientation). Doing so may reveal some individual conflicts, not over whether an activity is enjoyed, but whether one prefers to risk delaying gratification further. Zimbardo also believes research reveals an optimal balance of perspectives for a happy life; commenting, our focus on reliving positive aspects of our past should be high, followed by time spent believing in a positive future, and finally spending a moderate (but not excessive) amount of time in enjoyment of the present.
The "flow" In the 1970s Csikszentmihalyi started to study
flow, a state of absorption where one's abilities are well-matched to the demands at-hand. Flow is characterized by intense concentration, loss of self-awareness, a feeling of being perfectly challenged (neither bored nor overwhelmed), and a sense "time is flying". Flow is intrinsically rewarding; it can also assist in the achievement of goals (e.g., winning a game) or improving skills (e.g., becoming a better chess player). Anyone can experience flow, in different domains, such as play, creativity, and work. Flow is achieved when the challenge of the situation meets one's personal abilities. A mismatch of challenge for someone of low skills results in a state of anxiety; insufficient challenge for someone highly skilled results in boredom. His studies also show that flow is greater during work while happiness is greater during leisure activities.
Health Addiction Arguably, some people pursue ineffective shortcuts to feeling good. These shortcuts create positive feelings, but are problematic, in part because of the lack of effort involved. Some examples of these shortcuts include shopping, drugs, chocolate, loveless sex, and TV. These are problematic pursuits because all of these examples have the ability to become addictive. When happiness comes to us so easily, it comes with a price we may not realize. This price comes when taking these shortcuts is the only way to become happy, otherwise viewed as an
addiction. A review by Amy Krentzman on the Application of Positive Psychology to Substance Use, Addiction, and Recovery Research, identified, in the field of positive psychology, three domains that allow an individual to thrive and contribute to society. One of these, A Pleasant Life, involves good feelings about the past, present, and future. To tie this with addiction, they chose an example of
alcoholism. Research on positive affect and alcohol showed a majority of the population associates drinking with pleasure. The pleasure one feels from alcohol is known as somatic pleasure, which is immediate but a short lived sensory delight. The researchers wanted to make clear pleasure alone does not amount to a life well lived; there is more to life than pleasure. Secondly, the Engaged Life is associated with positive traits such as strength of character. A few examples of character strength according to
Character Strength and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification by
Seligman and Peterson (2004) are bravery, integrity, citizenship, humility, prudence, gratitude, and hope, all of which are shown in the rise to recovery. Thirdly, the Meaningful Life is service and membership to positive organizations. Examples of positive organizations include family, workplace, social groups, and society in general. Membership of these groups fosters positive affect, while also promoting character strengths, which as seen in the Engaged Life, can aid in beating addiction.
Mental health Layard and others show that the most important influence on happiness is mental health. Although health is part of well-being, some people are able to maintain satisfactory wellbeing despite the presence of psychological symptoms.
Physical health Meta-analyses published between 2013 and 2017 show that exercise is associated with reductions in depressive symptoms, fatigue and QoL plus improvements in attention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, social functioning, schizophrenic symptoms, and verbal fluency in various special populations. However, aerobic exercise has no significant effect on anxiety disorders. In 2005 a study conducted by Andrew Steptow and Michael Marmot at University College London, found that happiness is related to biological markers that play an important role in health. The researchers aimed to analyze whether there was any association between well-being and three biological markers: heart rate,
cortisol levels, and plasma fibrinogen levels. The participants who rated themselves the least happy had cortisol levels that were 48% higher than those who rated themselves as the most happy. The least happy subjects also had a large plasma fibrinogen response to two stress-inducing tasks: the Stroop test, and tracing a star seen in a mirror image. Repeating their studies three years later Steptow and Marmot found that participants who scored high in positive emotion continued to have lower levels of cortisol and fibrinogen, as well as a lower heart rate. In
Happy People Live Longer (2011), Bruno Frey reported that happy people live 14% longer, increasing longevity 7.5 to 10 years and
Richard Davidson's bestseller (2012)
The Emotional Life of Your Brain argues that positive emotion and happiness benefit long-term health. However, in 2015 a study building on earlier research found that happiness has no effect on mortality. "This "basic belief that if you're happier you're going to live longer. That's just not true." Consistent results are that "apart from good health, happy people were more likely to be older, not smoke, have fewer educational qualifications, do strenuous exercise, live with a partner, do religious or group activities and sleep for eight hours a night." Positive emotional states have a favorable effect on mortality and survival in both healthy and diseased populations. Even at the same level of smoking, drinking, exercise, and sleep,
happier people seem to live longer. Interventional trials conducted to establish a
cause-effect relationship indicate positive emotions to be associated with greater resistance to objectively verifiable
colds and
flu.
Alternative medicine Health consumers sometimes confuse the terms "wellness" and "well-being". Wellness is a term more commonly associated with alternative medicine which may or may not coincide with gains in subjective well-being. In 2014, the Australian Government reviewed the effectiveness of numerous complementary therapies: they found low-moderate quality evidence that the Alexander technique, Buteyko, massage therapy (remedial massage), tai chi and yoga are helpful for certain health conditions. On the other hand, the balance of evidence indicates that homeopathy, aromatherapy, bowen therapy, Feldenkrais, herbalism, iridology, kinesiology, pilates, reflexology and rolfing shiatsu were classed as ineffective.
Fruit and vegetable consumption There is growing evidence that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is related to greater happiness, life satisfaction, and positive mood as well. This evidence cannot be entirely explained by demographic or health variables including
socio-economic status,
exercise,
smoking, and
body mass index, suggesting a causal link. Further studies have found that fruit and vegetable consumption predicted improvements in positive mood the next day, not vice versa. On days when people ate more fruits and vegetables, they reported feeling calmer, happier, and more energetic than normal, and they also felt more positive the next day.
Cross-sectional studies worldwide support a relationship between happiness and fruit and vegetable intake. Those eating fruits and vegetables each day have a higher likelihood of being classified as "very happy," suggesting a strong and positive correlation between fruit and vegetable consumption and happiness. Whether it be in South Korea, Iran, Chile, USA, or UK, greater fruit and vegetable consumption had a positive association with greater happiness, independent of factors such as
smoking,
exercise,
body mass index, and
socio-economic factors. This could be due to the protective benefits from chronic diseases and a greater intake of nutrients important for psychological health. alcohol, and binge drinking. Gluten and FODMAPs can negatively impact mood in some people. Bupa recommends oily fish, food with tryptophan such as milk, nuts, lentils, whole grain breads, cereals, pasta, soy and chocolate, dark chocolate, the Mediterranean diet overall including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and olive oil for wellbeing. The documentary 'food matters' includes claims of well-being benefits of raw foods, which has been disputed as pseudoscience.
Hedonic well-being Eudaimonic well-being has been found to be empirically distinguishable from hedonic well-being.
Identity Individual roles play a part in cognitive well-being. Not only does having social ties improve cognitive well-being, it also improves psychological health. Having multiple identities and roles helps individuals to relate to their society and provide the opportunity for each to contribute more as they increase their roles, therefore creating enhanced levels of cognitive well-being. Each individual role is ranked internally within a
hierarchy of salience.
Salience is "...the subjective importance that a person attaches to each identity". Those in an acculturated society may feel more equal as a human being within their culture, therefore experiencing increased well-being.
Optimism and helplessness recommended taking full responsibility for one small, but clear improvement for the world (the way energy-saving activists did by promoting a new kind of lamp). Inspired by sociological research, MacKinnon said "vertical agitation" helps reduce feelings of helplessness.
Learned optimism refers to development of one's potential for a
sanguine outlook. Optimism is learned as personal efforts and abilities are linked to personally desired outcomes. In short, it is the belief one can influence the future in tangible and meaningful ways. Learned optimism contrasts with
learned helplessness, which consists of a belief, or beliefs, one has no control over what occurs, and that something external dictates outcomes, e.g., success. Optimism is learned by consciously challenging negative
self talk. This includes self talk on any event viewed as a personal failure that permanently affects all areas of the person's life. Intrapersonal, or internal, dialogues influence one's feelings. In fact, reports of happiness are correlated with the general ability to "rationalize or explain" social and economic inequalities.
Hope is a powerful positive feeling, linked to a learned style of goal-directed thinking. Hope is fostered when a person utilizes both
pathways thinking (the perceived capacity to find routes to desired goals) and
agency thinking (the requisite motivations to use those routes). Author and journalist
J.B. MacKinnon suggested the cognitive tool of "Vertical Agitation" can assist in avoiding helplessness (e.g., paralysis in the face of Earth's many problems). The concept stemmed from research on denial by sociologist
Stanley Cohen. Cohen explained: in the face of massive problems people tend towards learned helplessness rather than confronting the
dissonant facts of the matter. Vertical Agitation involves focusing on one part of a problem at a time, while holding oneself accountable for solving the problem – all the way to the highest level of government, business and society (such as advocating strongly for something:
eco-friendly lightbulbs). This allows each individual in society to make vital "trivial" (read: small) changes, without being intimidated by the work needed to be done as a whole. Mackinnon added: a piecemeal approach also keeps individuals from becoming too 'holier than thou' (harassing friends and family about
every possible improvement), where widespread practice of Vertical Agitation would lead to much improvement.
Personal finance Well-being has traditionally focused on improving physical,
emotional and mental quality of life with little understanding of how dependent they all are on financial health. However, financial stress often manifests itself in physical and
emotional difficulties that lead to increased healthcare costs and reduced productivity. A more inclusive paradigm for well-being would acknowledge money as a source of
empowerment that maximizes physical and
emotional health by reducing financial
stress. Such a model would provide individuals with the financial knowledge they need, as well as enable them to gain valuable insight and understanding regarding their financial habits, as well as their thoughts, feelings, fears and attitudes about money. Through this work, individuals would be better equipped to manage their money and achieve the financial wellness that is essential for their overall well-being. It has been argued that money cannot effectively "buy" much happiness unless it is used in certain ways, and that "Beyond the point at which people have enough to comfortably feed, clothe, and house themselves, having more money – even a lot more money – makes them only a little bit happier." In his book
Stumbling on Happiness, psychologist
Daniel Gilbert described research suggesting money makes a significant difference to the poor (where basic needs are not yet met), but has a greatly diminished effect once one reaches middle class (i.e. the
Easterlin paradox). Every dollar earned is just as valuable to happiness up to a $75,000 annual income, thereafter, the value of each additional dollar earns a diminishing amount of happiness. According to the latest systematic review of the economic literature on life satisfaction, one's perception of their financial circumstances fully mediates the effects of objective circumstances on one's well-being. People overestimate the influence of wealth by 100%. Professor of Economics
Richard Easterlin noted that
job satisfaction does not depend on salary. In other words, having extra money for luxuries does not increase happiness as much as enjoying one's job or social network. Gilbert is thus adamant, people should go to great lengths to figure out which jobs they would enjoy, and to find a way to do one of those jobs for a living (that is, provided one is also attentive to social ties). Unemployment is detrimental to individual well-being. However, that does not hold true in countries where unemployment is widespread. Psychology Today reports that the impact of unemployment is dampened in those for whom work is less central to their identity, those who receive less criticism and less negative judgments from others, those who can meet their immediate financial obligations and those who do not see their unemployment as high stress and negative. Other protective factors include the expectation of reemployment, routines that structure one's time and evaluating oneself as worthy, competent and successful. According to the latest Executive coaching, a workplace intervention for well-being and performance, is proven to work in certain contexts, according to a 2013 independent quantitative scientific summary synthesising high quality scientific research on coaching. It tells us that standard effect sizes for the outcomes of performance/skills, well-being, coping, goal-attainment and work/career attitudes range from 0.43 to 0.74. A more recent study has challenged the
Easterlin paradox. Using recent data from a broader collection of countries, a positive link was found between GDP and well-being; and there was no point at which wealthier countries' subjective well-being ceased to increase. It was concluded economic growth does indeed increase happiness. Wealth is strongly correlated with life satisfaction but the correlation between money and emotional well-being is weak. The pursuit of money may lead people to ignore leisure time and relationships, both of which may cause and contribute to happiness. Studies have routinely shown that nations are happier when people's needs are met. Some studies suggest, however, that people are happier after spending money on experiences, rather than physical things, and after spending money on others, rather than themselves. Lottery winners report higher levels of happiness immediately following the event. But research shows winner's happiness levels drop and return to normal baseline rates within months to years. This finding suggests money does not cause long-term happiness (1978). However, in a more recent British study on lottery prizes between £1,000 and £120,000, a positive effect even two years after the event was found, the return to normal being only partial and varying. 600 women strong 2011 study shows that house owners are no happier than renters. Degree of ownership also matter: "...housing property rights matter for subjective well-being. Specifically, using subjective well-being data from China, the authors find that homeownership is associated with higher levels of life satisfaction, although this happiness premium is larger for people who have full ownership compared to those who have only a minor ownership stake in their home." According to the latest poorer levels of well-being.
Mindfulness . Ellen J. Langer argued people slip into a state of "mindlessness" by engaging in rote behavior, performing familiar, scripted actions without much cognition, as if on autopilot. Advocates of focusing on present experiences also mention research by Psychologist
Daniel Gilbert, who suggested daydreaming, instead of a focus on the present, may impede happiness. Fellow researcher, Matt Killingsworth, found evidence to support the harm of daydreaming. Fifteen thousand participants from around the world provided over 650 000 reports (using an online application on their phones that requested data at random times). Killingsworth found people who reported daydreaming soon reported less happiness; daydreaming is extremely common. Zimbardo (see "Time Perspectives" above) bestowed the merits of a present-focus, and recommended occasional recall of past positive experiences. Reflecting on past positive experiences can influence current mood, and assist in building positive expectations for the future. There is research that suggests a person's focus influences level of happiness, where thinking too much about happiness can be counter-productive. Rather than asking: "Am I happy?" – which when posed just 4 times a day, starts to decrease happiness, it might well be better to reflect on one's values (e.g., "Can I muster any hope?"). Asking different questions can assist in redirecting personal thoughts, and perhaps, lead to taking steps to better apply one's energies. The personal answer to any particular question can lead to positive actions, and hopefulness, which is a very powerful, and positive feeling. Hopefulness is more likely to foster happiness, while feelings of hopelessness tend to undermine happiness. Todd Kashdan, researcher and author of "Designing Positive Psychology", explained early science's findings should not be overgeneralized or adopted too uncritically. Mindfulness to Kashdan is very resource-intensive processing; he warned it is not simply better at all times. To illustrate, when a task is best performed with very little conscious thought (e.g., a paramedic performing practiced, emergency maneuvers).
Personality The modifiable personality traits which might cause greater well-being have yet to be critically synthesised. However, there is evidence that certain traits are beneficial for individual happiness or performance: locus of control, curiosity, spiritual striving, sense of urgency, self-compassion, authenticity, growth
mindset,
positive mental attitudes, grit,
goal orientation with a meta-analysis concluding that approach rather than avoidance goals are superior for performance; as well as prosocial rather than zero-sum goals. Researchers who have reported on the character traits of people with high and low life satisfaction found that character strengths which predict life satisfaction are zest, curiosity, hope, and humour. Character strengths that do not predict life satisfaction include appreciation of beauty and excellence, creativity, kindness, love of learning, and perspective. Meanwhile, research on character strengths that is separated by gender indicates the character strengths that predict life satisfaction in men are humour, fairness, perspective, and creativity, while the character strengths that predict life satisfaction in women are zest, gratitude, hope, appreciation of beauty, and love. Certain traits are specifically beneficial to those with certain health issues. Believing in yourself (high self efficacy) matters for eating disorders, immune response, stress management, pain management and healthy living. In literature the positive psychological approach to personality is correlated often with the concepts of personal/psychosocial development and human development, balanced, strong, mature and proactive personality, character strengths and virtues, evidenced by traits like optimism and energy, pragmatism, active consciousness, assertiveness, free and powerful will, self-determination and self-realization, personal and social autonomy, social adaptability, personal and social efficiency, interpersonal development and professional development, proactive and positive thinking, humanity, empathy and love, emotional intelligence, subjective/psychological well-being, extraversion, happiness, positive emotions. will lower distress and pain, but
news media consumption is detrimental for happiness. One exception is motivational media, for it has been found that inspiration helps with creativity, productivity and happiness. Reading self help books is associated with higher well-being, however, there is poor evidence on life coaching. Proactive laughter as in
laughter yoga increases mood and improves pain tolerance. Smiling increases attractiveness, calmness in stressful situations, retrieval of positive memories, likeability, happiness, perceived happiness (by others), perceived politeness/relaxedness/carefreeness, and perceived honesty but also perceived stupidity. However, proactively smiling only increases happiness among those who believe smiling is a reaction to feeling happy, rather than a positive intervention.
Ed Diener et al. (1999) suggested this equation: positive emotion – negative emotion = subjective well-being. Since tendency to positive emotion has a correlation of 0.8 with
extroversion and tendency towards negative emotion is indistinguishable from
neuroticism, the above equation could also be written as extroversion – neuroticism = happiness. These two traits could account for between 50% and 75% of happiness. These are all referring to the
Big Five personality traits model of personality. An emotionally stable (the opposite of
Neurotic)
personality correlates well with happiness. Not only does emotional stability make one less prone to negative emotions, it also predicts higher social intelligence – which helps to manage relationships with others (an important part of being happy, discussed below). Recent research suggests there is a happiness gene, the 5-HTT gene.
Purpose in life Purpose in life refers broadly to the pursuit of life satisfaction. It has also been found that those with high purpose in life scores have strong goals and sense of direction. They feel there is meaning to their past and present life, and hold beliefs that continue to give their life purpose. Research in the past has focused on purpose in the face of adversity (what is awful, difficult, or absurd in life). Recently, research has shifted to include a focus on the role of purpose in personal fulfillment and self-actualization. The
self-control approach, as expounded by
C. R. Snyder, focusses on exercising self-control to achieve self-esteem by fulfilling goals and feeling in control of our own success. This is further reinforced by a sense of intentionality in both efforts and outcomes. The
intrinsic motivation approach of
Viktor Frankl emphasized finding value in three main areas: creative, experiential, and attitudinal. Creative values are expressed in acts of creating or producing something. Experiential values are actualized through the senses, and may overlap the hedonistic view of happiness. Attitudinal values are prominent for individuals who are unable to pursue the preceding two classes of values. Attitudinal values are believed to be primarily responsible for allowing individuals to endure suffering with dignity. All three of the above theories have self-esteem at their core. Self-esteem is often viewed as the most significant measure of psychological well-being, and highly correlated with many life-regulating skills. Purpose in life promotes and is a source of self-esteem; it is not a by-product of self-esteem.
Self-efficacy Self-efficacy refers to a belief that one's ability to accomplish a task is a function of personal effort. Low self-efficacy, or a disconnect between ability and personal effort, is associated with
depression; by comparison, high self-efficacy is associated with positive change, including overcoming abuse, overcoming eating disorders, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. High self-efficacy also has positive benefits for one's
immune system, aids in stress management, and decreases pain.
Suffering Suffering can indicate behavior worthy of change, as well as ideas that require a person's careful attention and consideration. Generally, psychology acknowledges suffering can not be eliminated, but it is possible to successfully manage and reduce suffering. The
University of Pennsylvania's Positive Psychology Center explains: "Psychology's concern with remedying human problems is understandable and should certainly not be abandoned. Human suffering demands scientifically informed solutions. Suffering and well being, however, are both part of the human condition, and psychologists should be concerned with both." Positive psychology, inspired by empirical evidence, focuses on productive approaches to pain and suffering, as well the importance of cultivating strengths and virtues to keep suffering to a minimum (see also
Character strengths and virtues (book)). In reference to the Buddhist saying "Life is suffering", researcher and clinical psychologist
Jordan Peterson suggested this view as realistic, not pessimistic, where acceptance of the reality life is harsh, provides a freedom from the expectation one should always be happy. This realization can assist in the management of inevitable suffering. To Peterson, virtues are important because they provide people with essential tools to escape suffering (e.g., the strength to admit
dissonant truths to themselves). Peterson maintained suffering is made worse by false philosophy (i.e., denial that natural suffering is inevitable). Similarly,
Seligman believes positive psychology is "not a luxury", saying "most of Positive Psychology is for all of us, troubled or untroubled, privileged or in privation, suffering or carefree. The pleasures of a good conversation, the strength of gratitude, the benefits of kindness or wisdom or spirituality or humility, the search for meaning and the antidote to "fidgeting until we die" are the birthrights of us all." Positive coping is defined as "a response aimed at diminishing the physical, emotional, and psychological burden that is linked to stressful life events and daily hassles" It is found that proper coping strategies will reduce the burden of short-term stress and will help relieve long-term stress. Stress can be reduced by building resources that inhibit or buffer future challenges. For some people, these effective resources could be physiological, psychological or social. Whether emotional effects are beneficial or adverse seems to vary with the nature of the belief. Belief in a benevolent God is associated with lower incidence of general anxiety, social anxiety, paranoia, obsession, and compulsion whereas belief in a punitive God is associated with greater symptoms. (An alternative explanation is that people seek out beliefs that fit their psychological and emotional states.) Citizens of the world's poorest countries are the most likely to be religious, and researchers suggest this is because of religion's powerful coping abilities. Luke Galen also supports terror management theory as a partial explanation of the above findings. Galen describes evidence (including his own research) that the benefits of religion are due to strong convictions and membership in a social group. == Relational factors ==