Is it Possible to Research Happiness?

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Happiness is something that human beings have always wanted to achieve, so much so that in recent decades this search has become a science with the hope of better understanding it. It is a complicated topic since it is difficult to define and measure because happiness is relative.

What is happiness? It has been a topic of discussion since Ancient Greece, with Aristotle being the one who first raised the issue forcefully. For Aristotle, all things in the universe have a purpose, a function, and an end; happiness is not a passing feeling; it is the product of a well-lived life; it is the sum of an entire existence, a complete life.

In that era, happiness was conceptualized as consisting of at least two aspects: hedonia (or pleasure) and eudaimonia (the feeling that life is lived well). The main ancient Greek word for happiness was related to this second term. Furthermore, it was a sign of divine favor, joy was random, and it depended on the gods if someone was happy. Even today, this concept is strongly linked to luck. In Spanish, “happiness” is derived from the Latin “felix,” which is fate or destiny; in English, “happ” comes from early English and Old Norse and means chance or fortune.

According to the teacher and psychologist Ed Diener, and his colleague Pelin Kesebir, happiness is: “people’s assessments of their lives and encompasses both cognitive judgments of satisfaction and affective assessments of moods and emotions.”

Although not many historians are devoted to happiness, those who exist agree that “at least on a rhetorical level, there was a significant change in Western culture about 250 years ago,” according to Peter N. Stearns of the Harvard Business Review.

What caused this change? Part of it was that happiness went from being a personal goal to a collective one. There was also more emphasis that being cheerful pleases God, and there was a greater appreciation of the affairs of this world. In addition, inventions that helped increase comfort, such as having heating in the home, the invention of umbrellas, and better methods of dentistry, among others, were some inventions that caused people to smile more and contributed to creating the first stage of modern Western happiness.

And so, what is considered happiness has been changing throughout history. From the 1920s onwards, literature emphasizing the importance of joy, personal responsibility for achieving happiness, and available methods began to emerge. From then on, it extended to childhood, an area with which it was not previously associated and therefore was not considered the responsibility of family members or guardians.

The science of happiness and positive psychology

The construct of happiness is still evolving, and although difficult to define, it can be empirically assessed through qualitative and quantitative assessments. This is why more and more universities and academics have become interested in the subject. Even Tecmilenio University has the Institute of Happiness Sciences, the first in Mexico. This Institute “investigates what works well in the lives of people and organizations and how people’s happiness can be enhanced.”

Some people argue that happiness should not have scientific research because it is impossible to measure objectively. However, in 1984 educator and psychologist Ed Diener introduced the term “subjective well-being,” a way of measuring happiness by asking questions like: Are you happy? How would you rate yours on a scale of 1 to 10? These questions are used to help conduct controlled experiments. This helped prove that subjective well-being has construct validity, meaning it is constant over time. It is highly correlated with some personality traits and can predict future outcomes.

There is also the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) which provides a general indication of well-being over time using a diary to assess subjective daily life experiences. Many other personal methods exist, such as the Lyubomirsky and Lepper Subjective Happiness Scale in 1999 or the Fordyce Happiness Scale in 1977. Among the most recent is the Steen Happiness Index of 2005, where participants read a series of statements and select the one that best describes how they are currently. From there, it is indicated whether they live any of the three “happy life” types: a pleasant life, a committed life, or a meaningful life.

On the other hand, in their 2010 publication, researchers Kringelbach and Berridge argued that neuroscience could study related brain circuits. Neuroscientists found that pleasure: “is not simply a sensation or thought, but a result of brain activity in hedonic systems.” All happiness, from food to monetary treats, involves the same brain systems. They concluded their research by saying that more research is needed to understand the neuroanatomy of happiness fully.

But what does this mean? Does it mean that happiness can be “measured” and given a scientific explanation? This neurological evidence, and the different methods to measure subjective well-being, suggest that it is possible to have a scientific basis for happiness. Psychological research on the subject is also essential because it is not only related to better physical health and longevity but also a priority for people.

There are generally three ways that psychologists study happiness:

1. Theories of satisfaction of needs and goals
   • It refers to theories that result in striving to achieve appropriate goals and satisfy fundamental human needs.
2. Genetic and predisposition theories of personality
   • They propose that genes influence well-being because they are associated with extraversion and other personality traits. This means that well-being stays mostly the same over time.
3. Process/activity theories
   • Well-being can be improved by participating in engaging activities that require effort.

Positive psychology has emerged recently, but since 2000, psychologists Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi have published an introduction to the subject. Its goal is to understand and cultivate the factors that make individuals, communities, and societies happy.

The secret to being happy

In the context of psychology and the study of happiness, in 1938, Harvard began the Study of Adult Development following 268 individuals for the past 80 years to identify the psychological predictors of healthy aging. Study director Robert Waldinger said in his TED Talk that: “the surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships have a powerful influence on our health; taking care of your body is important, but taking care of your relationships is also a form of self-care. That, I think, is the revelation.”

The study found that close relationships are the critical element that keeps people going throughout their lives, more so than money or fame. Bonds protect individuals from bad times as they delay mental and physical deterioration and are the best predictors of long and happy lives more than a high social class, a good IQ, or even good genes.

The psychologist also said that “health and happiness do not depend on people’s cholesterol level, but on how satisfied they were in their relationships. People most satisfied in their relationships at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80.” Those people who maintain warm relationships live longer and are happier since, according to the study, people with strong social support have less mental decline as they age. For example, women with marital conflicts often had worse memory functions than those who felt close to their partners. Waldinger clarifies this: “It turns out that people who are more socially connected with family, friends, and the community are happier, are physically healthier, and live longer than people who are less connected.”

Learning: an alternate path to happiness

A lesser-known path to happiness is learning, growing, and overcoming challenges. What about learning makes it an essential ingredient of joy and achievement? Multiple studies demonstrate the relationship between learning and thriving and guide actions that can increase happiness.

An example is the study Momentary Happiness: The Role of Psychological Need Satisfaction, carried out by researchers Ryan T. Howell, David Chenot, Graham Hill, and Coleen H. Howell, which indicates that those people who participate in formal education experience greater happiness and satisfaction with life in general. According to the study, psychological well-being is positively correlated with the joy of needs such as autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The researchers explored momentary happiness, and their results show that when engaging in behaviors that promote competition and satisfying needs for autonomy and relatedness, people with high levels of life satisfaction experienced more significant increases in happiness.

Studying and learning help people take some control over their lives and their future. Knowledge can result from pursuing one’s interests and goals or achieving a job requiring a specific or compulsory curriculum.

Furthermore, according to a study by Sonja C. Kassenboehmer, Feliz Leung, and Stefanie Schurer, titled University education and non-cognitive skill development, studying at university has a positive relationship with extroversion and agreeableness among students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Other research published in the journal Nature carried out by academics Robert C. Wilson, Amitai Shenhav, Mark Straccia, and Jonathan D. Cohen, points out that if you never fail, you will not have the motivation to continue. If you fail too much, you will only lose motivation. The sweet spot for building resilience and learning motivation is 85% success and 15% failure. For researchers, there is a sweet spot of difficulty, and it is a modern teaching method at the heart of learning.

On the other hand, the more new things a person learns, the more they broaden their horizons and have a greater perspective, which is linked to experiences of greater happiness and joy. A study by Eiluned Pearce, an experimental psychology researcher at the University of Oxford and the Working Men’s Educational Association of England and Scotland, found that when people participate in classes outside of work, they improve their mental and physical health and report greater satisfaction with their lives.

Learning can help you make better decisions, which contributes to personal success. According to academic research at Cornell University, when people participate in formal educational programs, they tend to make better decisions and express greater rationality, especially regarding economic evaluations. Finally, according to a publication by Björn Högberg, from the Department of Social Work at Umeå University, in which they studied 15,000 people in 25 countries every two years since 2002, when countries support higher educational attainment, their citizens are happier and healthier.

Tell us, what does happiness mean to you? Can it be investigated? What do you think about the science of happiness or positive psychology?

Translation by Daniel Wetta

This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0