My main question with the happiness surveys is whether what you're really getting is the answer you want to hear.
So for instance if you're Scandinavian you're expected to say you're happy. This is pretty much one of the first things everyone says when it comes to the region. And if you haven't thought too much about it lately, perhaps you are inclined to just tell the researcher a stock answer.
How do we know that people are not just saying what is expected of them? I think there's at least some evidence that people tend to do that when asked a question.
It goes the other way too, some cultures have the belief that outward displays of happiness invite misfortune, especially around nosy strangers, aka happiness researchers.
> So for instance if you're Scandinavian you're expected to say you're happy.
I can't remember where I read it, but I read something that explained Scandinavian happiness through low expectations. At the beginning of the year, people were asked how they think they feel and be doing in a year, and the answer was marginally better. In a year, the researchers checked in, and people were generally doing marginally better. So it's probably closer to satisfaction than happiness.
Well, neurosciences tend to find generally good correlations between what people say they feel, and what can be measured by other means (IRMf and so on).
Plus, it seems human minds is completely sensible to auto-persuasion with methods as trivial as daily individual "say it loudly" and "visualize the situation has you already succeeded in the goal". So being completely acculturated to a social belief of "we are so happy in our land" can surely be granted some favorable credits.
The concept is also deeply British "stiff upper lip" etc, although I am struggling to think of good words to describe the difference (the Wikipedia article uses "private mind" which is deeply unsatisfactory).
> That implies that not only they are not that happy but they are systemically lying for some reason. I find this scenario hard to believe.
I don't at all. Everytime my boss or coworkers have asked how I'm doing I've always said great unless I had an amusing anecdote. Even if I'm having a fight with my wife, I'm experiencing anxiety, or I'm feeling depressed. I could totally imagine this social rule being broader and stronger in other countries.
This is very different survey compared to when HR asks you the same questions. Even in workplace scenarios I wouldn't lie if my personal life were suffering from difficulties.
I believe you might be in the minority at least in the u.s. Here most blue and white color workers don't feel comfortable sharing negative events in their personal life except under certain exceptions.(especially close work friends, in an informal setting)
Yeah, I'm in Easter Europe. I had a 1:1 and shared it with my boss that I just had a break up with my GF so that's why my focus is not that sharp lately. He appreciated it and we moved on to other topics.
So you would be fine to share at work that your gf cheated on you and left for another dude and so you are a little bit destabilized/unhappy now? (it is just a hypothetical case)
>> Actually I know a guy who had in a bar fight after a scenario you just described. He's still fine at his job.
It is not like you are going to be fired if you are a software engineer talking a bit about your life. However, "bringing you shit" and discussing it at work is not always welcomed especially in most competitive environments. I guess that people who worked in such environments know what I am talking about.
As an example, have a look at what two other users reply above.
I immediately searched for the word 'sleep' in this article.
> And various surveys have confirmed that people who say they are happy also tend to sleep better and express positive emotions verbally more frequently.
Great statistics, thanks for sharing. I think that happiness is definitely something we should care about more, personally and also in statistics and political decision making.
Let me share this (free) book written by a psychologist that deals with happiness.
It's not the kind of hooray-optimist positive psychology, it's actually backed by research, with the results detailed in each chapter.
It is important when exactly they ask that question. If they would ask me in June vs in November I would certainly give different replies. Time of the year with different amount of good weather conditions makes big difference.
Vitamin D deficiency in Winter is quite normal and was always experienced by our ancestors (assuming non-equatorial geography). This is what brings good feeling in Spring.
It's interesting that there seems to be a trend towards greater happiness during the internet era. If you look at the "Share who say they are 'very satisfied' or 'fairly satisfied' with their life" 1973 - 2016 graphs they are fairly flat 1973-1994 and then go up noticeably after then. Maybe spending time on the net isn't as bad as some make out. Personally I've found it a major plus in my life.
This is not what I meant. I am talking about the change happening in the last few years might be positive w.r.t. what was happening say 10-20 years ago.
I think people like their organs more than they care about football. Hopefully that's history. I wouldn't derive nation's happiness from experience tourists had during a football match.
Not sure what that means but the stories I heard from the Kosovan (and Serbian and Albanian) people about their dead relatives have certainly filled me with a lot of hate towards pointless wars.
3 downvotes so far, no replies with why. Maybe you think I am stupid. At the site you can see I put a lot of time and work into those conclusions -- they are not lightly made. Best to you.
Thanks. I hoped I was posting a solution that has worked for me, based on careful, long observation and testing, for the topic at hand, like we do for any problem discussed (like the technical ones). Suggestions on how to post such carefully-tested solutions in a better way? (My guess is that some beliefs as solutions are more popular than others. Atheists post their belief too (their "solution", so to speak) but that view seems more popular right now.
So for instance if you're Scandinavian you're expected to say you're happy. This is pretty much one of the first things everyone says when it comes to the region. And if you haven't thought too much about it lately, perhaps you are inclined to just tell the researcher a stock answer.
How do we know that people are not just saying what is expected of them? I think there's at least some evidence that people tend to do that when asked a question.