POSITIVE: MYERS & DIENER Flashcards
(37 cards)
generally, what did they find?
Myers & Diener found a number of categories that could influence happiness.
how did they categorise these findings?
These were divided into two categories:
1. disproving myths of happiness, whether it is related to age, gender, race, culture and money;
2. traits of happy people, relationships, work/flow, and faith.
MYTHS (MEANING)
what is meant by myths of happiness / intro into myths findings
who the happy people are demographically.
findings on age can be identified as three points. what are these?
- age does not affect happiness
- different factors contribute to happiness at different ages
- crises are not particular to age
discuss the first finding, age not affecting happiness. give the researcher.
- Ingelhaart, 1990
- cross-sectional survey of 170,000 in 16 different countries
- found equal levels of happiness amongst participants – a mean 80% life satisfaction
however, there is a difference. discuss the second finding, different factors contribute to happiness at different ages. give the researcher.
- Herzog et al., 1982
-
different factors contribute to happiness;
1. social relations
2. health
become more important with age.
discuss the third finding, crises not particular to any age, and what is meant by this. give the researcher.
- McCrae & Costa (1990)
- crises are not particular to any age,
- like the supposed midlife crises in early 40s
SAME YEAR AS INGLEHAART
regarding gender, findings on gender can be identified as two points. what are these.
- no significant sex differences
- suspectibility differences
researchers plural, TWO studies
discuss the first finding, no significant sex differences give the researchers.
1
* Ingelhaart,1990
* 80% of both sexes self-reported being fairly satisfied with life
2
* Haring et al., 1994
* further study calculated that gender accounted for 1% of global well-being
FURTHER STUDY hence 4 yrs later!
however, there is a sex difference. discuss the second finding, suspectibility differences. give the researcher
- Robins & Regier,1984
- research evidenced that women are twice as vulnerable as men to depression.
10 YEARS EARLIER THAN Haring et al 1994
findings on race + culture can be split into three categories. what are these?
- colour (like black/white)
- cross-country
- cross-cultural
discuss the first finding, race affecting happiness. give the researcher.
- Diener et al.,1993
- African-Americans report nearly twice as much happiness as their European counterparts.
discuss the second finding, cross country affecting happiness. give the researcher.
- Ingelhart’s (1990)
- survey also reported** notable differences** between countries;
- 10% of Portuguese participants reported happiness,
- compared with 40% in the Netherlands.
discuss the third finding, type of culture affecting happiness. give the researcher, if any, and why this may be so.
- Individualist cultures, which prioritise individual needs,
- reported greater SWB than collectivist cultures, which focus on collective wellbeing.
- logically, it stands to reason that individual happiness matters more in the latter.
the findings of whether “money buys happiness” can be split into four categories. what are they?
- financial security
- most capitalist - America case study
- money helps though
- income
- cross-sectional comparison - LIC
discuss the first finding, financial security. give the researcher, if any.
- happiness’ relation to financial security.
- In all, it was found that money does not improve happiness,
- excluding cases where it buys comfort + allows basic needs to be met.
discuss the second finding, most capitalist - America case study . give the researcher, if any.
- Astin et al,1987
- a 1993 survey found that
- 75% of American college students deem “being well off financially”
- as an essential life goal, an increase from 39% in 1970
discuss the third finding, money helps . give the researcher, if any.
Diener & Biswas-Diener (2002)
* Whilst not all agreed that money buys happiness,
* most agree having more money would make them a little happier.
discuss the fourth finding, income . give the researcher, if any.
- Diener et al. (1993)
- found only a modest,weak positive correlation (+0.12)
- between income and happiness.
discuss the fourth finding, high income earners . give the researcher, if any.
- Diener et al.1985
- rich people do not report greater happiness.
- A survey of a sample on the Forbes rich list found that 37% were less happy than the average earning American .
discuss the fourth finding, rapid influx of income - lotteries . give the researcher, if any.
- Argyle, 1986
- those who won the lottery report a brief increase in happiness.
discuss the fifth finding, cross-sectional comparison to LICs. give the researcher, if any.
Diener et al. (1993)
* On the other hand, where affluence determines life quality in poorer countries, like Bangladesh,
* those with money report greater SWBthan those without.
* Evident is that national wealth and happiness had a +0.67 correlation,
* a moderate positive correlation.
accounting for this, what can be said about the statement “money buys happiness”?
increasing wealth beyond need makes little difference in happiness.
HAPPY PEOPLE (MEANING)
what is meant by happy people / intro into happy people findings
- It appears that some people are simply happier than others, regardless of life’s uncertainties.
- Costa et al. (1987) found that those who reported happiness in 1973 tended to be the happy ones a decade later.
