Spring 2011 Happiness Class Class Notes 1

Return to Happiness

1/11/2011

This was our introductory class, so most of the time was spent on course mechanics.

We did discuss a few points about philosophical method and we looked at the distinction between State Happiness and Life Happiness, which we'll see again in the happiness research as the difference between Affect and Life Satisfaction.

1/18/2011

Classical Models

Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, Book 1

• hierarchy of arts, chief good chosen for its own sake, politics the master art.

• the lives of pleasure, honor (political), and contemplative compared.

• note implicit criteria for happiness: p. 3 good not easily taken from us.

• mere possession of virture not enough for happiness? why?

• Section 6 has a digression on Plato's theory of forms -- wants to argue against "form of the good" - note consequence for happiness.

• Section 7: argument turns toward the connection of the good with "ends" (telos) and final ends, that for which all else is done.

• Search for telos of man. Working from our "rational psychology" (bot of p. 6). "human good turns out to be activity of soul in accordance with virtue.

• Aristotle's list: (in addition to fulfilling your function, happiness includes:) friends, power, good birth, good children, beauty, prosperity, fortune. Note: what problem does this list solve in A's theory?

• Note how A thinks of true happiness as a "state change" (p. 9, bot) and as divine (p. 11). relates to topic in McMahon p. 49 -- ultimately the contemplative life is most blessed and happiest.

McMahon, Classical Models, ch.1

• major historical theme in Greek thought: movement from recognition of happiness (and celebration of it) as a condition, to consideration of our power to realize it through careful thought and discipline.

• note in the discussion of Dionysian ritual and Symposium

• presence of "robust hedonism" in culture of happiness.
• fundamental opposition of Platonic thought to pleasures of the body as a sig. component of happiness.

• Surgery for the Soul -- transition to Hellenistic schools (post-Socratic)

• Zeno for Stoicism
• Epicurus for Epicureanism
• Key points: Concept of philosophy as therapeutic and engaging emotions and cognition; working out of problem of "sufficiency of virtue" and "theory of pleasure."

Small Group Work

Develop conjectures, arguments, and lines of reasoning for the following Aristotelian (and broadly classical) idea:

If happiness is real, then its possession by an individual involves a relatively permanent change such that it is not easily lost.

Evaluate this Aristotelian idea:

Your nature (your function) will guide you toward happiness.

Contemporary Research

Haidt, Happiness Hypothesis, ch. 5

• Major theme -- happiness as internal or external pursuit.

• Buddha and Epictetus take a relatively "internal" path. Haidt suggests research shows this to be somewhat extreme -- there are things to strive for outside of yourself, happiness in the journey ("progress principle") "Things won are done; joy's soul lies in the doing."

• Haidt's list of happiness makers and unmakers(correlates and major causes)

• Adaptation, hedonic treadmill, set point theory, Bob and Mary comparison: relationship, meaningfulness. Bob's list more susceptible to adaptation. understanding lack of adaptation for cosmetic surgery. what's shallow vs. what matters.
• from 92f: Noise, Commuting, Shame, conflict,

• Happiness Formula

• H = Set point + Conditions + Voluntary action
• "It is vain to say that human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it." (Charlotte Bronte, 1847)

• Complicating factors

• Flow and Seligman's strengths test www.authentichappiness.org
• Comparisons and biases.
• Schwartz maximizers and satisficers.

Schimmack, "The Structure of SWB"

• Review basic diagram on p. 98.

• bottom up vs. top down --
• problems of measurement -- "shared method variance"
• more sophisticated model -- domain importance

• What could explain variance in LS besides DS?

• Positive illusions
• Money
• "direct evidence" of bottom up theory -- 106

• PA and NA

• structural, causal, and momentary

Small Group Work

If Haidt and Schimmack are roughly right in their accounts of happiness and the structure of subjective well-being, then what sorts of activities and choices start to look more or less important in the pursuit of happiness?

1/25/2011

The Shape of Happiness

This week we'll use our additional reading on major causes and correlates of happiness (don't forget Haidt and Schimmack!) to infer and speculate about the general "shape" of happiness. Another way to get at this is to ask, "What "must" human happiness be like given some of the patterns of its occurence?" We'll try to move from the theorizing of the psychometricians about the measurement validity and causation to larger structures about which we'll develop more knowledge and reflection in the coming weeks.

Argyle, Causes and Correlates of Happiness

• Age
• Education
• Social Status
• Income
• Marriage
• Ethnicity
• Employment
• Leisure
• Religion
• Life Events

Synopsis by major factor:

• Age

• The older are slightly happier, notably in postive affect. Some evidence that women become less happy with age. In assessing causality, we might need to acknowledge a cohort effect (older people are those who survive, hence not nec. representative of a sampling of all age groups).
• Old people could have lower expectations, and hence their greater self-reported happiness might not be comparable to a younger person's self-reported happiness.
• Puzzle: objective conditions are worse for old people (health, depression and lonliness!), yet they are more satisfied. (Neural degeneration has got to be on the table as a hypothesis.)

• Education

• The educated are slightly happier. Effect weak in US. Data suggest the education effect is greater in poorer countries. Control for income and job status effects and there is still a slight effect from education. [From personal achievement?] But income and job status account for most of the education effect.

• Social Status

• About twice the effect of education or age, but half of the effect is from job status. Greater effect for stratified societies. [Effect of being a professor in Italy, for example.]
• Argyle suggest the causal mechanisms are straightforward. Lots of positive life indicators are clustered with social class. "s? The overall effect, including .the effect of income and education, is easy to ex¬plain: there is a multiple effect of better jobs,housing, relationships, and leisure. We show later that there are massive class differences in leisure—middle-class individuals engage in much more active leisure, belong to twice as many clubs, take much more exercise, take more holidays and outings, read more, have more social life, and pursue more hobbies. Working-class people just watch more television." 356

• Income

• Average correlation of .17 across studies. See chart on p. 356 -- curvilinear, with slight upward tail at highest incomes. (intriguing)
• Steep relation of income from poverty to material sufficiency.
• Diener found a stronger correlation when using multiple income measures (such and GNP, purcasing power indexes, etc.)
• Famous Myers and Diener 1996 study: "In the United States, aver-age personal income has risen from $4,000 in1970 to $16,000 in 1990 (in 1990 dollars), but there has been no change in average happiness or satisfaction." Some evidence that happiness is sensitive to economic downturns (Belgium), some evidence of variation in strength of effect across culture.
• Lottery winner studies may not be a good way to test income effects since you get lots of disruptions with winning the lottery.
• Michalo's "goal achievement gap model" p. 358: "whereby happiness is said to be due to the gap between aspirations and achievements and this gap is due to comparisons with both "average folks" and one's own past life (see figure 18.3).

Other Resources:

• Kahneman and Deaton, "High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being"
• Graham, et. al, "The Easterlin Paradox and Other Paradoxes: Why both sides of the Debate May be Correct"

• Marriage

• Average effect from meta-analysis of .14. Stronger effects for young. Does more for women than men, though stronger effect on male health.
• Causal model: Married people have higher social well being indicators (mental and physical health). These indicators are independent factors for happiness. Marriage is a source of emotional and material support. Married people just take better care of themselves. Men might benefit from emotional support more since women provide that to male spouses more than males? (differently?)
• Effects of marriage has a life-stage dimemsion to them. (figuure 18.4) Having children has a small effect.
• Reverse causation is a consideration, but hard to support since 90% of people get married.

• Ethnicity

• Widely confirmed studies show that average happiness for US African Americans is lower than for US whites.
• Mostly accounted for by income, education, and job status.
• Interestingly, African American children enjoy higher self-esteem than white kids.

• Employment

• Studies of unemployed and retired help isolate effects.
• Unemployed sig less happy: ";s. The unemployed in nearly all countries are much less happy than those at work. Inglehart (1990) found that 61 percent of the unemployed were satisfied, compared with78 percent of manual workers."
• Effects greater during high employment.
• The retired are happier on average than those at work (.25 standard dev). Notes sensitivity to retirment income.
• Causal model: income and self-esteem account for most of effect.

• Leisure

• Relatively strong correlation: .2 in meta-studies.
• Leisure effects observed in lots of contexts (social relations from work, adolescent leisure habits, even a short walk. Sport and exercise include both social effects and release of endorphins.
• Flow is a factor. Comparisons of high engagement and high apathy (tv) leisure activities.

• Religion

• The strength of religion on happiness is positive, sensitive to church attendance, strength of commitment, related to meaningfulness and sense of purpose (an independent variable).
• Reverse causation: Are happier people more likely to be religious?
• Causal model: Religion works through social support, increasing esteem and meaningfulness.
• Kirpatrick 1992 study: self-reported relationship with God has similar effects as other relationships.
• Churchgoers are healthier.

• Life events and activities (especially on affect)

• "' A study in fiveEu European countries found that the main causes of joy were said to be relationships with friends, the basic pleasures of food,drink, and sex, and success experiences (Scherer etal. 1986)."..."Frequency of sexual intercourse also correlates with happiness,as does satisfaction with sex life, being in love, and frequency of interaction with spouse, but having liberal sexual attitudes has a negative relationship." "Experiments with drugs show that alcohol, in modest doses, has the greatest effects on positive mood."

Diener and Suh, National Differences in SWB

With this article, income is once again highlighted as a factor, but now in the context of cross nation comparisons. The major "shape" issue here is, "How does culture and national grouping interact with perceptions and judgements of happiness?

After accounting for measurement and methodological issues, there are real and substantive differences in well-being across nations. While wealthier nations are generally happier, there are complexities to the causal model. National income correlates with non-economic goods such as rights, equality, fulfillment of basic needs, and individualism. These factors have effects on both SWB and income that have not been isolated.

Individualism correlates with higher reported SWB, but also higher suicide rates. Collectivists may be working with a different model of happiness or just a different attitude about its importance. (good place to mention other research)

Different models for explaining cultural differences are presented: innate needs approach, theory of goal striving, models of emotional socialization, and genetic explanations.

• Other resources:

• Eunkook Suh, "Self, the Hyphen between Culture and Subjective Well-Being
• Diener and Oishi, "Money and Happiness: Income and Subjective Well-being across Nations"

Typical Image for the Easterlin Paradox

--from Layard, Happiness

2/1/2011

Early Christian Conceptions of Happiness

• Roman cultural decadance!
• Roman thought on living well: Horace
• "Asher" and "makarios" and "felicita" -- Hellenizing the judaic term, but not Romanizing it.
• St. Perpetua and Felicitas

Yoga Philosophy

Miller on Patanjali's Yoga

• "The aim of yoga is to eliminate the control that material nature exerts over the human spirit, to rediscover through introspective practice what the poet T. S. Eliot called the "still point of the turning world." This is a state of perfect equilibrium and absolute spiritual calm, an interior refuge in the chaos of worldly existence. In the view of Patanjali, yogic practice can break habitual ways of thinking and acting that bind one to the corruptions of everyday life."

• Patanjali's method - analysis of thought process (citta), freedom from uncontrollable thought, p. 15. succinct presentation of how "turnings of thought" are generated, seeds again, "In Patanjali's analysis, the aggregate of impressions that expresses itself in thought (citta) and action (karma) also accounts for subconscious predispositions that condition the character and behavior of an individual through many reincarnations. Thought and action thus become involved in an endless round of reciprocal causality. Actions create memory traces, which fuel the mental processes and are stored in memory, which endures through many rebirths."

Farhi on the Brahmavihara

5 kleshas:

1. Avidha: Ignorance of our eternal nature 2. Astnita: Seeing oneself as separate and divided from the rest ofthe world 3. Raga: Attraction and attachment to impermanent things 4. Dvesha: Aversion to the unpleasant 5. Abhinivesha: Clinging to life because we fail to perceive theseamless continuity of consciousness, which cannot be brokenby death (Yoga-Sutra 2.3)

Brahmahivara -- attitudes

cultivation on the brahmahivara are seen as preparatory to overcoming the 5 kleshas

1. Friendliness toward the joyful 2. Compassion for those who are suffering 3. Celebrating the good in others 4. Remaining impartial to the faults and imperfections of others(Yoga-Sutra 1.33)