Science: Fantastic
article in New Scientist volume 180 (4 Oct 2003), covering how
science is beginning to identify the keys to a happy life, and perform
studies measuring people’s happiness.
That’s a subscribers-only link unfortunately, but I’ll excerpt a few
choice snippets:
First off, money:
Can money buy happiness? The short answer is, yes - but it doesn’t buy
you very much. And once you can afford to feed, clothe and house
yourself, each extra dollar makes less and less difference. … In the
past half-century, average income has skyrocketed in industrialised
countries, yet happiness levels have remained static (see Graph). It
seems absolute income doesn’t make much difference once you have enough
to meet your basic needs. Instead, the key seems to be whether you have
more than your friends, neighbours and colleagues.
Looks:
First the bad news: good-looking people really are happier. When Diener
got people to rate their own looks, both with and without make-up, there
was a ’small but positive effect of physical attractiveness on
subjective well-being’.
But don’t compare your looks with what the media puts out:
In a new study, Laurie Mintz and her colleagues from the University of
Missouri-Columbia found that women who saw advertisements featuring
lithe and flawless young models for just one to three minutes rated
their own bodies more negatively and showed an increase in depression.
Mintz was alarmed how quickly the women’s self-esteem was undermined.
And she believes people are becoming more dissatisfied as new technology
allows the media to create ever more unrealistic images.
Mintz recommends less drastic steps to contentment: avoid unrealistic
media images; understand that such pictures are airbrushed and
‘Photoshopped’ to perfection; appreciate your body for what it does
rather than how it looks.
Friends:
It is hard to imagine a more pitiful existence than life on the streets
of Calcutta or in one of its slums, or making a living there as a
prostitute. Yet despite the poverty and squalor they face, such people
are much happier than you might imagine. ‘We think social relationships
are partly responsible,’ says Diener.
And a global comparison:
The latest global analysis of how levels of satisfaction and happiness
vary from country to country shows that the most ’satisfied’ people tend
to live in Latin America, Western Europe and North America. Eastern
Europeans are the least satisfied.
… There is plenty more about national happiness levels that has
researchers scratching their heads. One of the most significant
observations is that in industrialised nations, average happiness has
remained virtually static since the second world war, despite a
considerable rise in average income (see Graphic). The exception is
Denmark, where people have become more satisfied with life over the past
30 years - no one is quite sure why.
and the effects of consumerism:
A growing number of researchers are putting the static trend down to
consumerism. Survey after survey has shown that the desire for material
goods, which has increased hand in hand with average income, is a
‘happiness suppressant’.
One study, by Tim Kasser at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, found
that young adults who focus on money, image and fame tend to be more
depressed, have less enthusiasm for life and suffer more physical
symptoms such as headaches and sore throats than others (The High Price
of Materialism, MIT Press, 2002). Kasser believes that people tend to
embrace material values when they are feeling insecure (retail therapy,
anyone?). ‘Advertisements have become more sophisticated,’ says Kasser.
‘They try to tie their message to people’s psychological needs. But it
is a false link. It is toxic.’
Lots of good bits. Pity it’s subscribers-only!
Tags: article, difference, fantastic, happiness, income, life, money, new, science, scientist, volume
