Happiness is probably the closest thing we have to a universal human goal. Much of what we can say about happiness is highly subjective, but is there anything about happiness that is empirically true? In other words, is there a science of happiness? To find out, I asked some professors to explain the psychology behind this most elusive and desirable of human emotions.
In an effort to give a scientific definition to happiness, psychologists proposed the term "subjective well-being" that is, people's evaluations of their lives, including feelings of satisfaction as well as assessments of their moods and emotions, according to a paper entitled "In Pursuit of Happiness" published in 2008.
Okay, so happiness is subjective I could have told you that. But if happiness excuse me, "subjective well-being" is dependant on how I evaluate it, am I responsible for defining my own (un)happiness?
At some point in our lives, we've all realized that some people are just seem happier than others.
"There are different baseline rates of happiness for different people," psychology professor Howard Hughes said. "Everyone's met people that seem to be happy in the face of everything, and some people are incapable of being happy in any circumstance."
I know my friends like to joke that I fall into the latter category, but I swear I'm actually happier than I look. Most of the time.
But perfectionists, beware: your obsessive-compulsive tendencies aren't likely to garner you any happy points. Obsessing over minutiae will make you unhappy.
"People who seek to make the satisfactory choice and not the perfect choice are usually happier," psychology professor Todd Heatherton said.
It doesn't help that life in the 21st century leaves us with a million options for everything from the sandwich toppings at Homeplate to the color of our contacts. Apparently we're so overwhelmed by the wealth of choices available to us that we constantly worry about making the right selection. In other words, we worry so much about being happy that wind up making ourselves unhappy.
"It's been said that people are less happy now than they've ever been," Heatherton said.
Yikes.
Worse news: "People are bad at forecasting their happiness," Hughes said.
Try as we might, I guess we just don't know ourselves as well as we think we do. From the college we choose to the food we order at a restaurant, the choices we make are often ones that we only think will make us happy.
Heatherton offers this advice for the next time you're at Molly's: instead of trying something new (because you think the different experience will make you happy) in lieu of the dish you really love, you should just get the thing you love that's more likely to leave you satisfied.
There you have it, from the horse's mouth to your ears (eyes?). You're better off sticking with tried-and-true favorites. As if I didn't already have enough trouble making decisions now I know that the choice I think will make me happy is probably wrong.
Quick recap. Things that are likely to make me unhappy: my genes, the fact that I wash my hands constantly, making decisions, what I order for dinner
Enough about what makes people unhappy. So what does make people happy?
Some things seem obvious. Spending time with friends, rewarding experiences, doing things that you love.
"In a nutshell, the things that make people happy are experiences, not stuff'," Heatherton said.
So I should head off to travel the world to experience it all? I just need to graduate first. Intelligent Dartmouth students that we are, can't we at least figure out how to be happy? Apparently hard work will only get us halfway to happiness. Fifty percent of the variance in happiness is determined by genetics, so if your parents aren't particularly jovial, you may be out of luck.
On that note, don't get married either. You can spare your children some genetically-predisposed angst.
"About half the people that are married are unhappily married," Heatherton said.
It's definitely a glass-half-empty approach, though, so I guess you can take your chances.
"Almost half of all personality traits come from genetics," Heatherton said. "Some people are just blessed with a brain that is oriented to making them happy."
Well, lucky for them. What about the rest of us?
According to Heatherton, children and old people are the happiest in part because they only do the things that make them happy. Fortunately for us, college students are pretty happy too. Dartmouth has a reputation for having some of the happiest students in the Ivy League. (So I've been told.)
It's been 15 years since he's taught at Harvard, but looking back, Heatherton observed that students there "take themselves more seriously."
Well, at least we've got Harvard beat but who are the happiest students at Dartmouth?
We've all heard that the Dartmouth experience peaks during Sophomore Summer (something for me to look forward to, bad news for juniors), which Heatherton believes is because of the experiences it's the events you remember that matter.
"You get more happiness from them over time as they become fond memories," Heatherton said.
His advice?
"Spend more time with people you care about, take courses that you really love, be a good friend and do things that make you laugh," he said. (And don't go to med school.)
In the end, despite all the science, it's the seemingly obvious that is most true.
Additionally psychology tells us that Fridays are the happiest days of the week so be happy, Dartmouth.
