Wednesday, August 17, 2005
A meta-analysis finds that relative rather than absolute economic status correlates with happiness, but health and marriage are more important. From ScienceNow:
Many surveys show that richer folks tend to be happier, but the reasons for this correlation remain unclear. According to one theory, heftier incomes buy bigger homes and fancier cars, which can bring greater satisfaction. Another idea is that happiness also depends on how one's earnings rival those of same-age peers. The trouble with most surveys, however, is that they do not address confounding factors, such as a skyrocketing divorce rate, which could mask the effects of income on happiness, says Glenn Firebaugh, a sociologist at Pennsylvania State University in University Park. That's an empirical finding with implications for ethics and politics. Insofar as poverty impinges on health and marriage, that would seem to confound their results. Also, basal happiness is known to be heritable.1 IQ affects health and longevity. Any indication that it affects happiness? Related: Bloody matam & display 1. Lykken, D. & Tellegen, A. Psychol. Sci. 7, 186−189 (1996). |