Measuring Urban Parks On Subjective Well Being Of Urban Dwellers

Happiness is a state of existence that Americans have perused since the founding of this great country. It’s such an important part of American life that “The pursuit of Happiness” is even “laid out in our nation’s Declaration of Independence” (McMahon 783). Happiness is something that may come from many aspects of life: one’s children, employment, financial wellbeing, sports, hobbies, and many other things. Ruth Whippman tells us that "Americans as a whole invest more time and money and emotional energy in the explicit pursuit of happiness than any other nation on earth". Are Americans happier today than they were three centuries ago? Does modern technology, social economic status, religious freedoms, and/or the

Senior compares what people think about people in other states and locations happiness, finding that usually these comparisons are untrue. Different studies and polls found that the Swiss and Canadians rank themselves among the happiest, while the Japanese are less happy. European countries tend to rank themselves the least happy, with Russia coming in last. Is happiness really based on location? I find that just because people don’t like the snowy weather doesn’t mean that they are unhappy during the holiday season. Families seem to come together and rejoice in each other’s company during this bad weather season. “And no matter where they live, human beings are terrible predictors of what will make them happy” (426). Senior discusses how we fill in the gaps, where we tend to remember only happy events and feelings and phase out bad ones. She discuss how our imaginations work in rationalizing situations and feelings, setting ourselves up for big disappointments, but deal with the successfully at the

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

However, the study showed that parental education had no effect on the student 's life satisfaction, but it did show that perceived family and personal social status did have a positive effect. Furthermore, individual subjective happiness is not affected by the parental education levels, but once again perceived family status did. "Previous research has consistently linked economic resources and human capital to positive and negative health outcomes across their life span" (Zorotovich 630). Dr. Zorotovich et al look at more factors than just that of income level, and how these factors could maximize well-being, and takes into account how social status of a person and their family members can also affect well-being. They found that people and their families perceived social status had a large impact on the individual 's life satisfaction and happiness, but people with a greater perceived social status of themselves and their families had reported greater levels of happiness and life satisfaction.

From the reader of Happy City by Charles Montcomepy, in Chapter 2: The City Has Always Been A Happiness Project, I have more understanding on how happiness is came into our life with factors of living environment no matter in town or countryside, which will control our happiness indirectly.

A group of 300 people were surveyed. Their marital status was recorded along with answers to several questions. One question asked was whether “Friends and social life” or “Job or primary activity” contributes most to their general well-being. The results from this question appear in the table below.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) claims that a person’s income, education level, and their housing situation plays a big role in their happiness. Income specifically has a huge impact. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a forum where 34 democracies with market economies work with each other, as well

The myth that old age is typically associated with decreased happiness is one that can perhaps be easily believed at first glance. Never having experienced old age, it is easy to think: “all of one’s friends must be either dead or dying; disease at old age must be rampant; one’s partner may have already passed; the only thing one is looking forward to must be death” so therefore old age must be a time of unhappiness. In addition, this “age-happiness” bias is reported even by older individuals when attempting to rate their happiness at 70 vs. 30 years old (Lacey et al. 2011). However, research in the field of psychology does not fully support the assertion that old age should be equated with unhappiness (Lacey et al., 2011). Quite the contrary, many studies point to the conclusion that aging can actually increase happiness (Lacey et al., 2011). However, it is important to explore other factors that may contribute to that being the case, such as one’s expectations when it comes to aging, cultural expectations.

Even if we use the word “happiness” on daily basis, has anyone ever tried to define it? It’s harder than it seems. When do you feel happy? How is it when you feel happy? Is there any way to understand how much happiness to you experience? This is the main hypothesis of this paper – Can happiness or wellbeing be measured? And if it can be measured, how do we measure it? Happiness is feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life, situation (Meriam Webster). Pleasure and enjoyment are very subjective and means different things to different people. This is where the term subjective wellbeing comes from. There are a lot of things that can be included when measuring wellbeing. Various studies have been conducted to assess wellbeing and how does it affect other factors. For example Earlstin(1995) and later on Ferrer-i-Carbonell(2005) have examined the relationship between income and happiness. Gruber(2004) studies the relationship cigarette taxation and happier smokers. Richard, Clark, Gerogellis and Diener(2004) analyze the effect of unemployment on wellbeing.

I started to question about happiness in America after I saw a pattern in high school that students are often confused or stressed. I started out with the question, “why is it hard to be happy when being happy shouldn’t be that hard?” To answer these questions, I found Sophie Chan’s 2011 study, “Hong Kong Chinese community leaders’ perspectives on family health, happiness and harmony: a qualitative study.” This study would help answer questions on my audience’s curiosity about other countries happiness compared to the United States. Then I started to think that there were also other issues that friction with happiness in America and

In today’s materialistic world, the phrase that ‘money can’t buy happiness’ is tending to be proved hence otherwise. Social research and surveys have shown results based on an individuals income, health and the political scenario which is dominant in his or her region. It is quite obvious that the gap between the privileged and the not so is growing into a great divide giving rise to different class and status, thus defining ones social circle. It should therefore be understood how an individuals economic status affects their personal happiness throughout all aspects of life. Many tend to refer to this age-old quote especially when they tend to belong to sector of people who can’t afford the modern day luxuries of life. What they do not

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.

Both positive and negative factors determine the quality of life in urban centers. To start with, people living in cities have a variety of choices to make regarding their everyday lives. For example, residents in urban areas have access to the various types of food which results in improved health. Additionally, different types of culture exist in cities. People learn different culture through

When you hear the word happiness, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Do you think of material possessions like designer clothes and accessories, the newest iPhone with the highest possible storage capacity, or a shiny red supercar? Do you think the amount of money you have or your current financial status has an effect on how happy you are? Plenty of college students, myself included, would associate happiness with possessing items like these or just having a lot of money in general. In today’s society, one common belief about social class is that the richer and more money or things that one has, the happier this will make them. This belief is reinforced by countless advertisements we see and hear everywhere, whether that be on

Why are people in some countries happier than people in other countries? This paper engages in comparative analysis of the educational systems and their relation to the happiness in South Korea, as well as countries in East Asia and in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).