Selma,
From my files, an article posted at BBC News, on 5/22/2003,
reported on various studies, done in the US, most notably at University of
California San Francisco Medical Centre, that concluded Buddhists are happier
and calmer than other people. Meditation can tame the amygdala, an area of
the brain which is the hub of fear memory. Paul Ekman concluded "There is
something about conscientious Buddhist practice that results in the kind of
happiness we all see." Studies were also done at the University of
Wisconsin, on brain activitity, that showed the prefrontal lobes of experienced
Buddhist practitioners, reflected activity associated with positive
emotions, self-control and temperament. I don't consider this view
definitive, but it is interesting. I found "The Art of Happiness and Work"
to be a superficial book [and appropriation of Buddhism] and not in conflict
with conservative reformism in the workplace. The author has a dot.com
website, but I was not sufficiently motivated, after reading the book, to bother
to look at it, as it seems to be primarily a commercial enterprise. Ray's
earlier remark about this being mediated for utilitarian ends, in the world of
work, provides context. I still am uneasy with the link between individual
inner development and society in Buddhist philosophy.
B.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2003 8:21
AM
Subject: Re: [Futurework] How to be
happy
Does anyone here see a connection between this discussion
and the article about the neuroscientists study of Buddhists
brains?
Selma
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2003 3:32
AM
Subject: [Futurework] How to be
happy
This week the New Scientist is starting a
series on happiness -- a complex subject which is coming under increasing
scrutiny by various life sciences (even economics!). This will be going into
my project database because the basis of my evolutionary economics
hypothesis is that we have now reached life-work constraints to the
satisfactions given by consumer goods and services, and thus that we might
now be coming to the end of their continuing efficacy in stimulating
economic growth in the conventionally measured way -- and this, quite
besides the increasing scarcity of cheap energy fuels in the coming
decades.
One of the articles in the NS series is "Reasons to
be cheerful". Ten of these have been given, and the rapporteurs have given
them weightings after consultation with those who are researching in the
field. I have changed their graphic weightings into numbers of asterisks
below and rearranged them in order of what they consider to be
important.(The authors have scattered the order about -- goodness knows
why!)
My own main stimulus for happiness is not mentioned. This is to
think/ponder/soliloquise by myself early in the morning when no-one is
around. Some would say that this makes me an excessive introvert -- and thus
likely to be unhappy, as the first item below says. But a very close second
cause of happiness in my life is chatting with people I meet on my morning
dogwalk. When I meet people I know, or strangers who seem inclined to chat
for a few minutes, I stuff my Economist or Financial Times
into my pocket and engage. No matter how interesting or important an article
may be, it's nowhere near as fascinating as someone else's personality and
experiences. Thus I start every day with a double dose of happiness and I
count myself a lucky old man.
Keith
Hudson
<<<< REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL Bob Holmes, Kurt
Kleiner, Kate Douglas and Michael Bond
1. MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR
GENES Rating**********
Are some people born happy or unhappy?
David Lykken, a psychologist and behavioural geneticist at the University of
Minnesota, Minneapolis, believes our feeling of well-being at any moment is
determined half by what is going on in our lives at that time and half by a
"set point" of happiness, which is up to 90 per cent genetically determined
and to which we eventually return after dramatic events.
"Our
happiness set point is largely determined by our grandparents," says Lykken.
"But whether we bounce along above it or slump along under it depends on our
-- or our parents' -- good sense and good training." Lykken bases his claim
on his study of more than 4000 adult twins born in Minnesota between 1936
and 1955. He found that genetic variation accounted for between 44 and 55
per cent of the difference in the twins' happiness levels, while neither
income, marital status, religion nor education accounted for any more than
about 3 per cent (Psychological Science, vol 7, p
189).
Personality and happiness do seem to be linked: many studies
have shown that extroverts tend to be happier than most people, and a lot
happier than introverts. This could be because extroverts are more likely to
do the things that bring happiness, such as have friends, climb the job
ladder and get married. Or it could just mean that being happy makes you
extroverted. Several studies have found that putting people in a good mood
makes them more sociable. For example, Michael Cunningham at the University
of Louisville in Kentucky showed that people were more talkative and open
with others after watching a happy film than after watching a sad one
(Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol 14, p
283).
But being an extrovert doesn't always equate to happiness: it
depends on your environment too. Gerhard Kette at Johannes Kepler University
in Linz, Austria, found that in prison, introverts are happier than
extroverts.
2. GET MARRIED Weighting******
In an analysis
of reports from 42 countries, a team in the US found that married people are
consistently happier than singletons. The effect is small, accounting for
between about 1 and 2 per cent of the variance in subjective well-being. But
that still begs the question: does marriage make you happy, or are happy
people simply more likely to get married?
Both may be true. In a
study that followed more than 30,000 Germans for 15 years, Diener and his
colleagues, including Richard Lucas from Michigan State University, found
that happy people are more likely to get married and stay married. But
anyone can improve their mood by getting married. The effect begins about a
year before the "happy day" and lasts for around a year afterwards. On
average, satisfaction levels do return to their baseline, but the
researchers say this conceals the fact that a good marriage has a permanent
positive effect. Furthermore, people who are less happy to begin with get a
bigger boost from marriage (Journal ofPersonality and Social
Psychology, vol 84, p 527).
And it seems there's something
special about signing that piece of paper: the research shows that you can't
get as much benefit from simply cohabiting. "My hunch is that cohabiting
couples lack the deeper security that comes with the formal band of gold,
and that is why they are not quite so happy," says Oswald. "Insecurity, we
know from all data, is bad for human beings."
3. MAKE FRIENDS AND
VALUE THEM Weighting*****
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.
Diener interviewed 83 people from these three groups and
measured their life satisfaction using a scale where a score of 2 is
considered neutral. Overall, they averaged 1.93 -- not great, but
creditable, compared with a control group of middle class students in the
city who scored 2.43. And the slum dwellers, who were happiest of the three
disadvantaged groups, scored 2.23, which is not significantly different from
the students' score (Social Indicators Research, vol 55, p
329).
"We think social relationships are partly responsible," says
Diener. He points out that all three deprived groups got high satisfaction
-ratings in specific areas such as family (2.5) and friends (2.4). Slum
dwellers did particularly well, perhaps because they are most likely to be
able to cash in on the social support that arises from the importance of the
extended family in Indian culture. "This is what the American homeless do
not have, and they are unhappy despite better material conditions," says
Diener. His latest, still unpublished, findings seem to bear this
out.
4. DESIRE LESS Weighting****
Wise men down the ages
have said that curbing your desires is a surer route to happiness than a fat
bank balance -- and they may be right.
In the 198os, political
scientist Alex Michalos, now at the University of Northern British Columbia
in Prince George, asked 18,000 college students in 39 countries to rate
their happiness on a numeric scale. Then he asked them how close they were
to having all they wanted in life. He found that the people whose
aspirations -- not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health,
money, the works -- soared farthest beyond what they already had tended to
be less happy than those who perceived a smaller gap. Indeed, the size of
the gap predicted happiness about five times as well as income alone. "The
gap measures just blow away the absolute measures of income," says
Michalos.
This "aspiration gap" might explain why most people fail to
get much happier as their salaries rise. Instead of satisfying our desires,
most of us merely want more. In surveys by the Roper polling organisation in
1978 and 1994, for example, Americans were asked to list the material goods
they thought important to "the good life". The researchers found that the
more of these goods people already had, the longer their list was, so the
good life remained always just out of reach.
5. FIND GOD (OR A BELIEF
SYSTEM) Weighting***
Karl Marx was close to the mark when he
described religion as an "opiate for the masses". Of the dozens of studies
that have looked at religion and happiness, the vast majority have found a
positive link. Harold Koenig at Duke University Medical Center in Durham.
North Carolina, uncovered 100 papers on the subject, 79 of which showed that
people who get involved in a religion are happier or more satisfied with
their lives -- or have more positive emotions - than others.
But why?
Believing in God or an afterlife can give people meaning and purpose and
reduce the feeling of being alone in the world, says Koenig, especially as
people get older. "You really see the effect in times of stress. Religious
belief can be a very powerful way of coping with adversity."
And it
seems you're better off adhering to some belief system than none at all.
Gary Reker at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, says this is most
apparent when it comes to fear of death. Those who are deeply religious and
those who are deeply irreligious have described themselves as less fearful
of death than others, he says. "The most fearful are those who are
uncertain, or uncommitted, to any specific belief system."
Another
reason why being religious improves well-being is the social interaction and
support it brings. "Just seeing other people go up to the altar and come
back with some sort of refreshment gives people a strong sense of
satisfaction," says Abbott Ferriss at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
"Many people attend religious services for their social strengths. This is
something few religious figures acknowledge."
Koenig believes it is
not just about receiving support. "It's really about giving. Studies have
shown that people who provide support to others are better off themselves.
They even live longer." This, researchers agree, makes religious involvement
a source of greater satisfaction than other socially inclusive activities,
such as joining a football supporters' club.
Do some religions make
you happier than others? Ferriss looked at the US General Social Survey, an
ongoing study that measures attitudes and behaviours across American society
(Journal of Happiness Studies, vol 3, p 199). He found that
Protestant Christians were happiest of any religious denomination, though
not by much. There was a stronger link with the doctrinal nature of worship:
evangelicals and fundamentalists, with their conviction that they are on the
only true path, are significantly the happiest worshippers.
6. DO
SOMEONE A GOOD TURN Weighting***
Religions teach that charity is
good for the soul. It might also make you happier.
Several studies
have found a link between happiness and altruistic behaviour. But as with
many behavioural traits, it is not always clear whether doing good makes you
feel good, or whether happy people are more likely to be
altruistic.
Again, both could be true. In a study of 3617 people who
were each interviewed once and then three years later, Peggy Thoits and
Lyndi Hewitt ofVanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, found that
happy people were more likely to sign up for volunteer work. But they also
found that volunteers became happier, and the more voluntary work they did
the happier they got (Journal of Health and Social Behavior, vol 42,
p 115).
James Konow, an economist at Loyola Marymount University in
Los Angeles, California, tried to tease apart cause and effect in a lab
experiment. He recruited subjects to answer questionnaires, and towards the
end of the session gave half of them $10 and half of them nothing. He then
told the subjects who had been paid that they could share their money with
those who hadn't been paid. Konow found that the more satisfied a student
was with their life overall, the more likely they were to share the money.
However, being in a happy mood on the day of the test did not make them any
more generous, and students who gave did not report any immediate increase
in happiness -- in fact, they were slightly less happy.
But those who
shared their money were more likely to show the personality traits of a
"self-actualiser"-- someone concerned with their own personal growth and
improvement. Among other things, such people experience deep interpersonal
relationships and empathy for others (American Economic Review, vol
90, p 1072). Konow thinks that while a single act of generosity did not make
his subjects happier, the cumulative effects of being a generous person
did.
7. STOP COMPARING YOUR LOOKS WITH
OTHERS Weighting**
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".
Perhaps the explanation is
that life is kinder to the beautiful. Or it could be more subtle than that.
The most attractive faces are highly symmetrical, and there is evidence from
animal research that symmetry reflects good genes and a healthy immune
system. So perhaps beautiful people are happier because they are healthier:
many studies have found that health and happiness go hand in
hand.
The good news is that you can cash in on beauty's emotional
high, even if you are no oil painting. The secret is to believe you look
great. Unfortunately, this is harder than it sounds. Only 1 in 20 people
accurately judges where they lie on an attractiveness ratings scale. Most
have a distorted self-image that errs on the side of loathing, rather than
loving, according to a meta-analysis published by Alan Feingold at Yale
University (Psychological Bulletin, vol 111, p 304). Women tend to
think they are too fat and men worry about being puny.
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.
What can be done? One published round-up of
patients' reactions suggests that a successful nose or boob job can leave
you happier in the long term. But the fact that many patients keep coming
back for more implies that they are still not happy with how they
look.
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.
8. EARN MORE MONEY (UP TO A
POINT) Weighting*
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.
Whenever and wherever they look, researchers find that,
on average, wealthier people are happier. "There are rich people who are
miserable. There are poor people who are happy all the time. But if you're
an unhappy rich person, you're going to be happier than if you were poor,"
says Robert Frank, an economist at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
The same seems to be true of people who suddenly strike it rich. Lottery
winners and people who come into large inheritances end up somewhat happier
than they were before, according to studies by Andrew Oswald, an economist
at Warwick University.
But the link between money and happiness is a
bit more complex than that. In the past half-century, average income has
skyrocketed in industrialised countries, yet happiness levels have remained
static. 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. "Human beings make
the mistake that they think another X thousand dollars in an absolute sense
will make them better off. It's not that. It's that dollars buy status, and
status makes them better off," says Oswald. This helps explain why people
who can seek status in other ways -- scientists or actors, for example --
may happily accept relatively poorly paid jobs.
Oswald's research
bears this out. In lab tests, he asked college undergraduates how satisfied
they would be with various salary offers for a hypothetical job. He found
that the offer's ranking within a range of possible salaries made a huge
difference to the students' satisfaction: they rated a particular salary
much more favourably if it was one of the top ones on offer rather than one
of the lower ones. Similarly, in a recent survey of more than 16,000 workers
in the UK, Oswald found they reported being more satisfied with a given
salary if it ranked higher in the company's salary hierarchy.
He has
developed a "happiness equation" that prices the ingredients of happiness.
This allows him to ask, for example, how much additional money it would
take, on average, to make a single person as happy as a married one. The
answer puts money firmly in its place: it would take an additional £70,000
per year, far more than most people's annual salary. Similarly, the
happiness benefits of having a job far exceed the actual income involved
(International Journal of Epidemiology, vol 31, p 1139). "Money
matters, but it's not as important as the average citizen thinks," Oswald
concludes.
9. GROW OLD GRACEFULLY Weighting*
Old age may
not be as bad as people presume. Elderly people are on average just as happy
as the young, and actually rate themselves more satisfied with their lives
overall. "People refer to it as the paradox of ageing. Given all the
problems of ageing, how could they be more satisfied?" asks Laura
Carstensen, a psychology professor at Stanford University in
California.
In one study, Carstensen gave pagers to 184 people
between the ages of 18 and 94, and paged them five times a day for a week,
asking them to fill out an emotions questionnaire each time. Old people
reported positive emotions just as often as young people, but they reported
negative emotions much less frequently (Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, vol 79, p 644).
In a larger study using survey data
from 2727 people aged between 25 and 74, Daniel Mroczek and Christian Kolarz
of Fordham University in New York City got similar results. But they also
found that other things such as gender, personality type and social factors
affect how you will feel as you get older. For instance, both men and women
tended to experience more positive emotions as they aged, but only married
men experienced fewer negative ones (Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, vol 75, p 1333).
Why are old people so happy? Some
researchers suggest they may expect life to be harder and learn to live with
it, or they're more realistic about their goals, only setting ones that they
know they can achieve. But Carstensen thinks that with time running out,
older people have learned to regulate their own emotions, focusing on things
that make them happy and letting go of those that don't.
"People
realise not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last
forever," he says. "A goodbye kiss to a spouse at the age of 85, for
example, may elicit far more differentiated and complex emotional responses
than a similar kiss to a spouse at the age of 20."
10. DON'T
WORRY IF YOU AREN'T A GENIUS Weighting
Though few surveys
have examined whether smart people are happier, they have usually found that
intelligence has no effect. At first glance that seems surprising, since
brighter people tend to earn more money and richer people tend to be
happier. "I think if you were entering the world today with a choice between
being born smart and not smart, it wouldn't be a hard choice," says
Frank.
Some researchers think there must be some other, unmeasured
factor messing up the lives of smarter people, but so far they have only
been able to speculate about what it is. Brighter people could have higher
expectations and thus be dissatisfied with anything less than the highest
achievements.
Or, perhaps it is simply that psychologists have been
measuring the wrong kind of intelligence. "Maybe scoring high on an IQ test
-- which means you know a lot of vocabulary and can rotate things in your
mind -- doesn't have a lot to do with your ability to get along well with
people," says Ed Diener, a psychologist at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign. He speculates that "social intelligence" could be the real
key to happiness. >>>> New Scientist -- 4 October
2003
Keith Hudson, Bath, England, <www.evolutionary-economics.org>, <www.handlo.com>,
<www.property-portraits.co.uk>
|