Lectures Science of Happiness
Lecture 1 – Why happiness deserves scientific interest (Denise de Ridder)
Negativity bias = Bad is stronger than good (more distress by losing €50 than happiness by
finding €50).
Evolution doesn’t want you to be happy or satisfied: we’re supposed to survive and
reproduce.
Psychological research also has focused more on understanding ‘bad things’ (until
2000: positive psychology).
Broaden-and-build theory of emotions (Frederickson) Positive emotions may broaden
people’s momentary thought-action repertoires, which help to build their personal
resources (physical, social)
Why does happiness deserve scientific interest?
Many people want to be happy
Government wants us to be happy. Why?
Happier people are more productive, are healthier, live longer, contribute more
to society, have better social relationships
United nations: World Happiness Reports (helps to shape policy: nations thrive when
people are happy)
Important scientists:
Martin Seligman Positive Psychology
Mihalyi Csikszentmihaliyi Flow theory
Barbara Frederickson Broaden & Build theory
Ed Diener Dr Happiness (much research)
Definitions of happiness:
A state of well-being and contentment
Happiness is a feeling of pleasure and positivity
Good mental states
Keep in mind:
Jingle We use the very same term (happiness) to refer to different underlying conceptions:
happiness refers to life satisfaction, positive affect, well-being.
Jangle Different terms are used to describe the very same underlying conceptions:
happiness, life satisfaction, meaning in life, well-being all mean happiness.
Two main approaches to happiness
Hedonic/subjective well-being (used the most) exists of 3 parts:
Cognitive life evaluation General satisfaction with life or domain-specific
satisfaction with marriage, work, friendship, the weather
Positive affect Person’s feelings, measured with reference to point in time (excited,
interested)
Negative affect Person’s feelings, measured with reference to point in time
(nervouw, afraid)
,Eudaimonic well-being = About having a purpose in life, good psychological functioning.
Fulfilling daimon (true self) = flourishing.
Measurement of happiness
Objective:
Smiling with your eyes as genuine indicator of positive affect (unfakeable)
Recording behaviors that involve gratitude or acts of kindness
Subjective:
How happy were you in the last week (scale from 1 to 7)
o But happiness is a biased judgment. People estimate their own happiness level
by too much focus on one particular issue (something they don’t have): easily
observed and distinctive element.
o Despite disadvantages of self-report, people are able to report their feelings in
metrics.
Multiple item questionnaires (with scales)
Measuring can be general or domain specific (finance, work, marriage, friendship).
Does objective happiness exist?
Day reconstruction method Records the prevalence of immediate positive affect
in everyday experience (think about day and break it up into episodes)
Real time experience = Emotions in the moment
Memories of experiences = Emotions in the past
Discrepancy between these 2: one bad thing happening now can determine how you
feel about a whole day. Or looking back at pictures from holiday: you forget the rest.
Most people care more about life satisfaction than about being happy in the moment.
Two important definitions:
Hedonic adaptation / Hedonic treadmill = People adapt quickly to new circumstances.
Winning the lottery doesn’t make you happy for very long. They are not much happier
than paraplegics (ending up in a wheelchair after an accident). We have a basic level of
happiness, with time we always go back to the baseline after bad or good things.
However, baseline may change after lasting changes in life circumstances (death of a
spouse, birth of a child).
Happiness pie = What determines happiness? 50% genetic, 40% intentional action (what you
do with your life), 10% circumstances. Population level, can differ for individuals.
Fomula: Happiness = S + C + V
S = (genetic) Set point
C = (the individual’s) Circumstances
V = Voluntary factors that are under the individual’s control
V = Intentional activities (a meaningful life). Happy life results from engaging in
intentional activities that one is passionate about and that contribute to the greater
good.
, Lecture 2 – The psychology of happiness (theories of well-being) (Leslie van der Leer)
1. Well-being types and theories
Hedonism = The seeking of pleasure and avoidance of pain. Also called subjective wellbeing.
Affective well-being
Cognitive well-being
Eudaimonia = More difficult to define… “Flourishing” / Reflection of virtue, excellence and
development of one’s full potential. Developing purpose in life.
Related, but distinct concepts of well-being
EUDAIMONIC WELL BEING
Psychological well-being (theoretically driven model):
Self-acceptance =
Positive relations =
Autonomy = Able to make your own choices in life
Environmental mastery = Being able to understand and predict your environment
Purpose in life = Having a sense that what you’re doing is worthwhile
Personal growth =
Associations with demographic variables (age, educational attainment).
Self-determination theory (SDT) (three basic psychological needs that foster well-being):
Autonomy = Able to make your own choices in life, experiencing freedom
Competence = Feeling competent, same as environmental mastery
Relatedness = Basic need for social relationships
SDT categorized eudaimonic living into four motivational concepts:
Pursuing intrinsic goals and values
Behaving autonomously
Being mindful and acting with awareness
Behaving in need-satisfying ways
Attaining intrinsically-driven goals and satisfying the basic needs also increase hedonic well-
being.
HEDONIC / SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING
Lecture 1 – Why happiness deserves scientific interest (Denise de Ridder)
Negativity bias = Bad is stronger than good (more distress by losing €50 than happiness by
finding €50).
Evolution doesn’t want you to be happy or satisfied: we’re supposed to survive and
reproduce.
Psychological research also has focused more on understanding ‘bad things’ (until
2000: positive psychology).
Broaden-and-build theory of emotions (Frederickson) Positive emotions may broaden
people’s momentary thought-action repertoires, which help to build their personal
resources (physical, social)
Why does happiness deserve scientific interest?
Many people want to be happy
Government wants us to be happy. Why?
Happier people are more productive, are healthier, live longer, contribute more
to society, have better social relationships
United nations: World Happiness Reports (helps to shape policy: nations thrive when
people are happy)
Important scientists:
Martin Seligman Positive Psychology
Mihalyi Csikszentmihaliyi Flow theory
Barbara Frederickson Broaden & Build theory
Ed Diener Dr Happiness (much research)
Definitions of happiness:
A state of well-being and contentment
Happiness is a feeling of pleasure and positivity
Good mental states
Keep in mind:
Jingle We use the very same term (happiness) to refer to different underlying conceptions:
happiness refers to life satisfaction, positive affect, well-being.
Jangle Different terms are used to describe the very same underlying conceptions:
happiness, life satisfaction, meaning in life, well-being all mean happiness.
Two main approaches to happiness
Hedonic/subjective well-being (used the most) exists of 3 parts:
Cognitive life evaluation General satisfaction with life or domain-specific
satisfaction with marriage, work, friendship, the weather
Positive affect Person’s feelings, measured with reference to point in time (excited,
interested)
Negative affect Person’s feelings, measured with reference to point in time
(nervouw, afraid)
,Eudaimonic well-being = About having a purpose in life, good psychological functioning.
Fulfilling daimon (true self) = flourishing.
Measurement of happiness
Objective:
Smiling with your eyes as genuine indicator of positive affect (unfakeable)
Recording behaviors that involve gratitude or acts of kindness
Subjective:
How happy were you in the last week (scale from 1 to 7)
o But happiness is a biased judgment. People estimate their own happiness level
by too much focus on one particular issue (something they don’t have): easily
observed and distinctive element.
o Despite disadvantages of self-report, people are able to report their feelings in
metrics.
Multiple item questionnaires (with scales)
Measuring can be general or domain specific (finance, work, marriage, friendship).
Does objective happiness exist?
Day reconstruction method Records the prevalence of immediate positive affect
in everyday experience (think about day and break it up into episodes)
Real time experience = Emotions in the moment
Memories of experiences = Emotions in the past
Discrepancy between these 2: one bad thing happening now can determine how you
feel about a whole day. Or looking back at pictures from holiday: you forget the rest.
Most people care more about life satisfaction than about being happy in the moment.
Two important definitions:
Hedonic adaptation / Hedonic treadmill = People adapt quickly to new circumstances.
Winning the lottery doesn’t make you happy for very long. They are not much happier
than paraplegics (ending up in a wheelchair after an accident). We have a basic level of
happiness, with time we always go back to the baseline after bad or good things.
However, baseline may change after lasting changes in life circumstances (death of a
spouse, birth of a child).
Happiness pie = What determines happiness? 50% genetic, 40% intentional action (what you
do with your life), 10% circumstances. Population level, can differ for individuals.
Fomula: Happiness = S + C + V
S = (genetic) Set point
C = (the individual’s) Circumstances
V = Voluntary factors that are under the individual’s control
V = Intentional activities (a meaningful life). Happy life results from engaging in
intentional activities that one is passionate about and that contribute to the greater
good.
, Lecture 2 – The psychology of happiness (theories of well-being) (Leslie van der Leer)
1. Well-being types and theories
Hedonism = The seeking of pleasure and avoidance of pain. Also called subjective wellbeing.
Affective well-being
Cognitive well-being
Eudaimonia = More difficult to define… “Flourishing” / Reflection of virtue, excellence and
development of one’s full potential. Developing purpose in life.
Related, but distinct concepts of well-being
EUDAIMONIC WELL BEING
Psychological well-being (theoretically driven model):
Self-acceptance =
Positive relations =
Autonomy = Able to make your own choices in life
Environmental mastery = Being able to understand and predict your environment
Purpose in life = Having a sense that what you’re doing is worthwhile
Personal growth =
Associations with demographic variables (age, educational attainment).
Self-determination theory (SDT) (three basic psychological needs that foster well-being):
Autonomy = Able to make your own choices in life, experiencing freedom
Competence = Feeling competent, same as environmental mastery
Relatedness = Basic need for social relationships
SDT categorized eudaimonic living into four motivational concepts:
Pursuing intrinsic goals and values
Behaving autonomously
Being mindful and acting with awareness
Behaving in need-satisfying ways
Attaining intrinsically-driven goals and satisfying the basic needs also increase hedonic well-
being.
HEDONIC / SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING
