Diener And Seligman's Very Happy People?

Happiness is something that many people spend their whole lives searching for, but when it comes down to it, is often impossible to truly find. In John Gertner’s essay “The Futile Pursuit of Happiness,” he discusses the findings from the happiness studies done by Daniel Gilbert, Tim Wilson, George Loewenstein, and Daniel Kahneman. The results of the studies suggest that although people can predict who or what will make them happy, they do not know how long it will last or to what degree.

In her article “How Happy Are You and Why?,” Sonja Lyubomirsky argues that people have control over their own happiness. Lyubomirsky supports her claims with her interviews with happy people and scientific studies. Her purpose is to consider steps that people can take in order to become happier. She establishes an informal relationship with her audience of unhappy people.

The authors of the article believe that there are three things that form happiness as a whole, “pleasure (or positive emotion); engagement; and meaning” (Seligman 540). In order to increase happiness, there needs to be a way to increase these three constituents in the lives of people. With this being said most people in the world cannot increase all three constituents, but a person can live a full life when “A person uses all three routes to happiness” (541). The main goal of people is to increase all three paths or constituents because through living a full life a person can have more satisfaction. This article gives many interesting facts about happiness and gives a very direct definition of what happiness is. This definition of what happiness is might match what some other people might think, but it cannot satisfy the definition that every one in the world

Satisfaction with life is oftentimes highly correlated with happiness, but it is not by inherently the same as happiness. One may be satisfied with one’s life outcomes or satisfied with external factors, without being very happy. Once discovering a satisfaction with life rating, one may be able to determine if satisfaction with life is something one can control, and if it is, one may be able to maximize one’s life satisfaction. For instance, if one is typically not searching for a mate, and he or she scores low on this scale, one may be more willing in the future to seek a partner if he or she knows that statistically speaking, people with partners are more satisfied with his or her life.

From the perspective of positive psychology, there is a well-being formula invested by Martin Seligman to achieve a higher well-being. Martin Seligman (2010) defined as happiness: H (to maintain the length of happiness) = S (happy range breadth) + V (you can control the factors) + C (your living environment). Happy length: the distinction between "temporary" happy and "persistent" happy. Temporary happiness can be achieved by food, comedy, bunch of flowers. While the persistence of happiness is mainly affected by genetic, and this genetic trait can be changed. The breadth of happiness: psychologists think that we are born with a happy constant point, like a thermometer. If there is a happier thing, even if we are upset, it will be dedicated

In the article, Determinants of Happiness in Undergraduate University Students, it says, “Researchers such as Cummins et al. (2009) go as far as to suggest that individuals are happier when whole society’s functions better” (Flynn and MacLeod 452). This shows that without happiness, people could not work well together. It is why so many people work together, and keeping the economy well. In the article Determinants of Happiness in Undergraduate University Students, it says, “It is well known in the positive psychology literature that increased happiness is related to multiple benefits including better mental and physical health, (see Lyubomirsky et al. 2005)” (Flynn and MacLeod 452). This is why people that are happier have a better life in their jobs and schools. It also shows that people have better eating habits if they are happy. In the article Determinants of Happiness in Undergraduate University Students, it says that, “The individual benefits can pale in comparison to the potential societal gains of having a population comprised of such happy and therefore “successful” individuals” (Flynn and MacLeod 453). This is why people who like their job are better at their job. People that are fortunate are ones who usually like their job. People are happier if what they are doing is what they like, and it helps them to be happier than they

Happiness is one of the most significant dimensions of human experience. Many people can argue that happiness is a meaningful and desirable entity. Studies indicate that everyone pursues happiness in various aspects of their life. Our four fathers saw happiness as a need, so they made the pursuit of happiness as one of the three unalienable rights branded in the Declaration of Independence. There is a sense of complexity behind the meaning of happiness; its definition is not definite. Think of happiness as a rope; there are many thin fiber strands bonded together to become the strength of the rope. Like the analogy of the rope, there are numerous factors that can contribute to an individual’s overall happiness in life. This study is going to

In an unofficial poll of students at State University, I found that of the fifty-eight students and one professor, males and females of several ethnic backgrounds and age groups, that I asked the question "What is happiness to you?", all of them had very different physical, intellectual, or emotional motivator for their happiness. Only the

What makes you happy? Psychology: Ninth Edition in Modules responds “most people mention- before anything else- close, satisfying relationships with family, friends, or romantic partners” [Bercheld 1985]. In summation, happiness is often dependent on social interaction. People who live alone and have little to no interaction with others begin to exhibit qualities associated with insanity- a person is said to have psychological disorders for making up people who do not actually surround them. Ironically, Americans of the present generation are increasingly isolating themselves through “social” media. The absence of genuine human interaction has led to increased numbers of people feeling depressed or even

This myth is the idea that the more positive and pleasurable things in our life, the happier we will be. Also, that with lots of money comes happiness. Ed Diener and Martin Seligman studied two-hundred graduates in order to compare their happiness levels. The most happy individuals did not experience a greater number of positive events than the least happy people. Another study over a group of employed women found that positive life events did not have much correlation with their happiness. Their amount of sleep and proneness to depression had a major impact on their happiness, though. Research also supports the hedonic treadmill, which is a hypothesis that our moods adjust to life events like our legs adjust to the speed of a treadmill. This

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “Happiness is when you want to think what you think what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Describing happiness can seem as ambiguous as accomplishing and achieving it. Without help, we as different individuals all have the same want---- happiness. However, the satisfaction in life can not be defined through just one definition or study. The concept of happiness and it’s sources have been defined through religious, psychological and abstract ground. People in general are happier when they are around a set of people that uplifts them, because psychologically their happiness is affected by their environment.

Happiness forms the basis for smiling and everybody would want to be happy while interacting with others in the society. Every individual has what triggers their movement towards happiness. The article explains various perspectives of happiness that are realized within the society. It will discuss practice perspective, psychological perspective and scientific perspective of happiness.

Psychologists have not located assured causes that lead people to well-being. David G. Myers in his article “The Funds, Friends, and Faith of Happy People” published in the American Psychologist (2000) and Michael Wiederman in “Why It's So Hard to Be Happy” published in the Scientific American Mind (2007), discuss the reasons which lead people to be happy, and the factors which contribute to unhappiness.

The journal that I had selected deals with the relationship between health behaviors and happiness. Through the use of cross-sectional survey of 800 randomly selected university students, researchers were able to analyze what it takes for students to remain happy when undergoing many life struggles.

Whether its hitting a home run or smelling flowers, every single person has something that makes them happy. Finding those moments and enjoying them is what leaves people feeling content with life. The reason being content with life leaves numerous people delighted is because for that split second, they have nothing else in the world to worry about. In addition to being content, people are stress free in times of happiness. Given that people who are joyful are likely stress free, stress is going to cause unhappiness. Chronic stressful life situations can actually lead to the development of depression if you don’t cope with the stress (Stress Management 1). Therefore, people how have less stress often feel more content with life, which, in turn, leaves them more happy. In order to battle stress, people look for help from others or reach out to fictitious thoughts. Nobody is better at helping each other out than