Haybron ch3-4, Life Satisfaction & Measuring Happiness
1. Is satisfaction with your life the same as thinking it's going well?
2. Does rating your life satisfaction provide reliably objective insight into your degree of happiness?
3. In what sense do "most people actually have good lives"?
4. Can the science of happiness tell us which groups tend to be happier?
5. What (verbally-expressed, non-numerical) ratio of positive over negative emotional states does happiness probably require?
6. What percentage of American college students said they'd considered suicide?
Discussion Questions (please add yours):
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Old Podcast
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"Brad's Status" on Fresh Air - a new film on status anxiety and the pursuit of elusive happiness.
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How do you Measure Happiness? The Top Questionnaires
Measuring happiness is at least as difficult as catching rare and elusive butterflies. What kind of net should we use? At the Pursuit of Happiness project, we try to collect and analyze the most scientific studies on happiness and subjective well-being (SWB). The question is, how does one evaluate what the most “scientific” studies are? Naturally, randomized and controlled studies are more reliable. These kinds of studies often require an enormous amount of effort and funding, and many studies that claim to do this are flawed in various ways.
One more major challenge to reliability is how these studies measure the happiness or SWB of their subjects. The following is a list of the most widely used and respected questionnaires. As you can see, we can discover some major differences in how they approach the issue, which reflect different definitions and perceptions of happiness.
2. Does rating your life satisfaction provide reliably objective insight into your degree of happiness?
3. In what sense do "most people actually have good lives"?
4. Can the science of happiness tell us which groups tend to be happier?
5. What (verbally-expressed, non-numerical) ratio of positive over negative emotional states does happiness probably require?
6. What percentage of American college students said they'd considered suicide?
Discussion Questions (please add yours):
- Are you having wonderful life, like Wittgenstein allegedly said he did? 34
- Today, right now, where would you rate your life on a 1-10 scale? What do you think that rating says about your satisfaction and your happiness? How much has it, or will it, fluctuate in the days, weeks, and years to come?
- Do you have a good life? What will they say about you at your funeral? Will you be gratified if your children have a life comparable to yours?
- Could you be happy in Maldonia? 42 In general, are you more or less happy than the people around you?
- Do you agree with Mill's statement? 46
- Which face on the chart is yours today? 47
- Is it "impossible that 94% of Americans are happy"? 50
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Old Podcast
==
"Brad's Status" on Fresh Air - a new film on status anxiety and the pursuit of elusive happiness.
==
How do you Measure Happiness? The Top Questionnaires
Measuring happiness is at least as difficult as catching rare and elusive butterflies. What kind of net should we use? At the Pursuit of Happiness project, we try to collect and analyze the most scientific studies on happiness and subjective well-being (SWB). The question is, how does one evaluate what the most “scientific” studies are? Naturally, randomized and controlled studies are more reliable. These kinds of studies often require an enormous amount of effort and funding, and many studies that claim to do this are flawed in various ways.
One more major challenge to reliability is how these studies measure the happiness or SWB of their subjects. The following is a list of the most widely used and respected questionnaires. As you can see, we can discover some major differences in how they approach the issue, which reflect different definitions and perceptions of happiness.
Chasing it may not work, but neither does sitting and waiting.
Oxford Happiness Inventory (Argyle and Hill)
Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper)
Satisfaction with Life Scale (Deiner, Emmons, Larsen and Griffin)
Panas Scale (Watson, Clark, Tellegen)
And this is Todd Kashdan’s thoughtful critique of the above scales:
The assessment of subjective well-being (issues raised by the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire)
We should mention a recent measurement of Subjective Well Being created by the OECD, as part of their very sophisticated and broad ranging survey, theBetter Life Initiative. This initiative is fascinating and includes some eye-popping graphics. To see their detailed report on SWB and the questions they used to measure it, please refer to the end note.
The strong point of both the Panas Scale and the OECD Subjective Well Being scale is that they measure both positive and negative affect, which, as one might expect, have a clear inverse correlation.
http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/science-of-happiness/measuring-happiness/
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And speaking of Buddhists, Robert Wright's audacioiusly-titled Why Buddhism is True tackles the western secular version as a philosophy of happiness.
Today, I would rate my life on a scale of 1-10 a 7. I think that rating says more about my satisfaction than my happiness. I have led a fortunate life so far. I have amazing friends and family, good health, a roof over my head, and all of my basic needs are met. Right now, it is rated a bit lower because there are still a lot of uncertainties in my life since I am so young. My happiness, however, is much different. While I have all of these amazing things in my life and all of my basic needs are fulfilled, I am going through a very rough breakup. That is affecting my day-to-day happiness, but I know that those feelings will pass; therefore, my overall rating of my life is not solely dependent on what I am going through right now.
ReplyDeleteI similarly rated my life based on satisfaction than happiness. I've had periods of being significantly less happy than usual, but am overall satisfied because I'm provided for, have supportive emotional connections in my life, and have experienced great opportunities. It's nice to hear you remaining optimistic and finding peace with your current state.
DeleteI am sorry to hear about what you are going through with your breakup, so thank you for sharing that. It sounds to me that you have a good perspective. It's great that you can still see the bigger picture and appreciate the other things in life. On the happiness scale, where can you see yourself in 2 months?
DeleteI enjoyed the quote that stated that “measuring happiness is at least as difficult as catching rare and elusive butterflies.” I feel like this plays into one of our discussion questions from last class that asked if we can measure happiness. While we can measure different chemicals that are released in the brain during moments of happiness, I do not feel like that is a concrete way to measure happiness. Feelings can change from second to second so I do not feel like there is a quantitative way to measure happiness.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the difficulty of quantifying happiness and that quote represents it well. I question, though, how much of our perception of that happiness ultimately derives from the chemicals in our brain. Which would make studying happiness kind of like trying to see your own eyeball.
DeleteI would be gratified if my future children have a life comparable to mine. There are obviously things I wish would’ve gone differently in my life and there are things I wish my parents would have done differently; however, I feel like I have built a good life for myself so far.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. But thinking about it more closely, would this be a low bar compared to being 'happy'? I wouldn't want my kids to go through all the hardships I have, but I would be happy if they were in my current position. I think I may prefer to set my bar at them being consistently 'happy'.
DeleteI would rate my life an 8. I am pretty satisfied with my life, even if my happiness doesn't reach the same level. I've had troubling emotional experiences, but I've also been provided for, given opportunities, and experienced life in ways that are nourishing and exciting. My emotional state has fluctuated throughout the years, which has impacted my happiness, but I anticipate it leveling out and my happiness increasing in the times to come.
Delete6. What percentage of American college students said they'd considered suicide?
ReplyDelete[Q.1] (a.) Today, right now, where would you rate your life on a 1-10 scale? (b.) What do you think that rating says about your satisfaction and your happiness? (c.) How much has it, or will it, fluctuate in the days, weeks, and years to come?
[Q.2] (a.) Do you have a good life? (b.) What will they say about you at your funeral? (c.) Will you be gratified if your children have a life comparable to yours?
[6] "In a study of 15,000 American college students, more than half said they'd contemplated killing themselves at some point in their lives. Eight per cent had actually attempted suicide."
Excerpt From: Happiness: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) — Haybron, Daniel M.
[A.1] (a.) It's currently 00:45 and I'd say it's going splendid — a solid 8.77 — although I don't like scales for these measures. (b.) I think my aversion to a rating gives more detail than the rating does; I'm quite a happy person. (c.) Happiness consists in the individual and not in environment or circumstance; it's an individual's response to the circumstances presented to him that determines his 'happiness'. I say this both (jokingly) as a former stoic, and also there just *is* the concept of regression to the mean — most people's happiness scores will average out to a number, and the average is always around 7 with these types of scales.
[A.2] (a.) Yes. (b.) Hopefully not much, if I manage to will the good of the another consistently, perhaps that. If not, I don't want anything said, as I would have failed the one thing necessary. (c.) No. We advance by standing on the shoulders of giants. If my life wasn't even the smallest stepping stool for my children, then I have failed them. I want them to love more than I, to feel more than I, to care more than I, and to approach the divine (i.e., the transcendent) more carefully than I.
I had never really considered the difference between happiness and life satisfaction. And now that I think about it, when you first asked us the question of whether we were a happy person (and every other time people ask me) I think about how satisfied I am with my life and how it has gone. Maybe that last part brings an important distinction, but I always think "hey, my life hasn't been perfect, and I have had a lot of challenges and hardships thrown my way. But, I have a lot going for me as well." I always actively ignore how I am feeling in that moment or that day or that week, because I would also be one of those people to answer that I am, most of the time, in a depressed state (as far as my understanding of the term; thinking negatively, finding it hard to motivate myself to do the things I need to, etc. etc.)
ReplyDeleteAll that being said, I agree with the assessment that this measure of 'happiness' is, ironically, a dissatisfying one. I do think it is more important to consider emotional state. That is closer to what I think of for the word "happy."
Q. 3: In what sense do "most people actually have good lives?"
ReplyDeleteThe book says that, according to the satisfaction definition of happiness, most people have good lives in the sense that they would look back and see choices that they would call "good" and endorse, not that they would actually have felt good or been well off.
I do find it interesting here that 'good' has been separated from 'happy,' I would have always linked these two together in my personal definition.
"Today, right now, where would you rate your life on a 1-10 scale? What do you think that rating says about your satisfaction and your happiness? How much has it, or will it, fluctuate in the days, weeks, and years to come?"
ReplyDeleteBeing an emotionally turbulent individual makes rating my life on a general 1-10 scale very difficult. I would get better results by doing it once a week over an extended period to find an average by the end of the year. But, if I make the scale less general, then it makes it much easier. For example, I can easily rate my academic life an 8/10; my social life would be around 5-6/10, because school has started back and hinders my time with friends and family. So, I can provide a metric for individual layers of my life, but attempting to consolidate them into an overall judgement of well-being is dependent on what I'm comparing it to.
I don't think this speaks as much to my satisfaction and happiness as much as it says about my inability to quantify happiness as numbers. Reflecting on my own life satisfaction, I can see that it depends on how much I compare what I have, what I don't have, and what I want to have--not only in the physical or material context, but also emotionally and spiritually.
I would say that whatever fluctuations happen in the coming days, weeks, and months won't shift the overall rating, because my general analysis of well-being is already based on the fluctuations that have occured, and are occuring. To simplify: happiness is a wave, not a point.
You make a really good point here about the fluctuations of happiness. The author touches on this in the book by saying that people might rate themselves as less happy on rainy days than on sunny ones, but as you imply in your struggle to quantify happiness, this quantification rests on the variables that person uses in their happiness equation at that moment. Maybe today my equation includes how well I'm doing in school and my strong family connections, and therefore I rate myself pretty high. Then tomorrow, those factors are absent, and I include my poor athleticism and lack of a romantic partner in my consideration of my happiness. That could give two very different answers despite being the same person because of the differing variables in coming to happiness conclusions.
DeleteDo you have a good life? What will they say about you at your funeral? Will you be gratified if your children have a life comparable to yours?
ReplyDeleteI'm am globally satisfied with my life and I experience much more positive emotions than negative emotions, so yeah, I would say I'm satisfied.
My friends and those close to me have been explicitly instructed to say all their worst memories of me at my funeral. I have promised them that if they refuse to do this, they should hope that I have no way to haunt them. I want everyone to leave the funeral home and be like "wow, I'm glad that guy is gone." It just seems like it would be easier to leave me behind, and besides, who wants to sit there and listen about all the boring nice stuff I've done. Listening to the juicy terribly parts sounds way more entertaining.
Children are not in my future, but I want so much more for my niece and nephews. I'm happy with my life, and I would be grateful for them to be at least as happy as me, but I hope they experience much more positive emotions, less negative hurdles, and as much life satisfaction as possible.
I really like how honest your answers are. I think that it is awesome that you feel satisfied with your life and that the good moments outweigh the bad ones. Also, I can tell that you have more positive emotions than negative due to your humor when talking about death! I agree with that because it makes people remember the real you and not just some polished version of you.
DeleteDo you agree with Mill's statement that happiness involves "an existence made up of few and transitory pains, [and] many and various pleasures?"
ReplyDeleteYes. However, I think this is just one of many gages we would use to assess whether a person experiences happiness. Sometimes people go through much pain but manage to be happy with their lives, which suggests more to happiness than just a utilitarian calculation. I would think that the pain/pleasure balance would be one that most people consider highest on their list to be happy.
"I would think that the pain/pleasure balance would be one that most people consider highest on their list to be happy."
DeleteI think that depends on the person and how they chose to respond to the pain or pleasure. Whether the person decided to learn from the pain, or perhaps they decided to wait it out by doing nothing. To use myself as an example, I am no stranger to pain. I have experienced a lot of it in my life, both physical and emotional. However, I have always tried to learn from it, and I often did. I feel that I am a better person having experienced what I have, and those lessons, for me, could have only been learned by experiencing what I have. Those lessons have made me happier because I am now stronger than I was, and I have a better understanding of what to do in the future. Ultimately, I think that balance differs from person to person.
Q - Do you have a good life? What will they say about you at your funeral? Will you be gratified if your children have a life comparable to yours?
ReplyDeleteA - I do believe I have a good life. Some would even consider it a rich life. I have a wife, and we have a 2 year old daughter with a son on the way. Both of us are employed full-time and we are paid well enough that our bills are paid, we have food to eat, the lights and water works whenever we need it to, and we are lucky enough that we can afford to buy some things we want rather than strictly focusing on our needs. We have 2 dogs. My wife and I both still have both of our parents, and even some extended family that we can see frequently. Lastly, we are all healthy. I would consider that to be a great life.
As for what people might say at my funeral... I've actually thought about this a lot. Not in an egotistical sense, but more in a moralistic sense. Meaning, in moments of introspection I often think about how my actions might affect my eulogy and whether I would want them to be remembered by the those who attend my funeral. If the answer is no, then I need to change that behavior or take ownership of my action. My hope is that people will say that I was a good father, husband and friend who cared about other people, often more than himself.
The final question is perhaps the most difficult to answer. Probably done so intentionally. I think there is an argument for both answers to this question, and I'm not sure which one I prefer. I have not had the *hardest* life, but my life has definitely not been easy. My childhood was extremely difficult, to say the least. My relationship with my parents will forever be tainted to some degree. I'll sum it all up and say that I am not a stranger to suffering. When I look at my daughter, I see the most beautiful thing imaginable and I am continuously shocked that I helped create her. My love for her goes beyond anything in this world, and my will to protect her exceeds that. So, I cannot want her to suffer. Especially in the same way I have. However, I would not be who I am today without having suffered. I would not have learned most of the life lessons I have without having been beaten down by them and learning how to pick myself back up. I would not be the same father I am to her without having experienced my childhood. So, to answer the question, I don't know. As a father, neither the pros or cons outweigh each other. My only hope is that I can prepare her for life enough in the time I have with her that she will be okay when I'm gone.
Q: Are you having a wonderful life, like Wittgenstein allegedly said he did?
ReplyDeleteA: I assume that Wittgenstein made this claim in that he either wanted to appear satisfied or just made peace with his life and circumstances differently. I think I’ve had a wonderful life, and although I’m not currently on a Forbes 100 list, I have much to appreciate and be grateful for. I guess that the definition would lean more towards satisfaction than happiness, as lumping all of the events together creates that ratio of 3:1. To embellish what John Stuart Mill stated about happiness, it involves “an existence made up of few and transitory pains, [and] many and various emotional states.” I’d like to think that if the greater portion of these states are happy, tolerable, satisfied, etc., that my life is indeed wonderful. Even if other periods are filled with less favorable states, should I let that define my life as miserable? I personally don’t wish to, but there is no wrong answer.
4. Can the science of happiness tell us which groups tend to be happier?
ReplyDeleteNo, or at least not definitively. Science, to me, is a way to quantify observations and create theories and conclusions based on those observations. Haybron says, "If you try to boil your life down to a single number, the result is bound to be pretty arbitrary." I’d take that further: even if you had hundreds of variables to measure "happiness," you still couldn’t get a consistent result across people.
For instance, look at Bickham, who spent most of his life wrongfully imprisoned, then came out and said, "I wouldn’t change a thing." Huhh? Is he an outlier? I guess. Would he say he’s happy at that point? Probably. He just got out of prison, and Haybron seems to think he’d also say he lived a satisfying life up to then.
Something that stuck with me about life satisfaction is that someone can feel satisfied in a bad situation because "it could be worse," while someone in a fine situation might feel dissatisfied because they think they should be more. The hardest part of trying to quantify happiness is that scientists treat it like a fact. If they look at your cells and see they’re shaped like moons, they can say as a matter of fact you have sickle cell anemia. But happiness? How do you pin that down as fact? idk.
You pose a good point Avery; how would you pin down happiness as a fact? Can an emotion even be defined that accurately? Haybron makes a good point about being able to discern relative happiness from a group, but we can't do much in the way of measuring how many people are actually happy. I think it depends heavily on how the individual reacts to their surroundings and circumstances, and while it may be too fluid to maintain for more than any given period of time, the fact is that the individual can still claim to be happy at some point in their journey.
DeleteI do think there are inherent limits to defining happiness in a way that could be identified as fact, due to its subjective nature. But, I think there are facts surrounding study of happiness, such as time spent smiling and the data attained from surveys. The surveys may not present a factual display of happiness, but it creates a metric that can be applied to at least form some foundation of understanding.
DeleteQ: Which face on the chart is yours today?
ReplyDeleteA: Defining the chart as 1 being the happiest and 7 being the worst, I would say that I resonate with the 2nd or 3rd smiley face. Sticking to the theme of the chart defining my life as a whole, I’d like to remain positive about it. I’m alive, I’m in relatively good health, I maintain several good relationships, and I can feel the sun on my skin when it shines. If the whole purpose of this life is to live it, then technically, I’ve been doing just fine. I think that when we begin to compare our lives to others or to what society has defined as a productive or fulfilling life, it is when we begin to sell ourselves short of enjoying the simplicity and freedom that can come with taking “control” of our lives. There may always be things that I wish I had, or could do, or could be a part of, but I think realizing what I have already achieved and possess makes me feel accomplished. Just as happiness cannot be defined by fluid emotional states, that same smiley face may change based on the day you ask me. But, for now, I am happy enough to exist and claim that.
I think what you said about comparing each others lives was said beautifully and it couldn't have been said better! I have a tendency to do that more than I can control and I feel like no one talks about how exhausting it is. Recently I've been trying to find my true self and finding methods to stop overthinking. Personally, it is very hard but not impossible and that is what matters most.
DeleteToday, I would rate my life on a 1-10 scale as a 6. This rating overall means that I am at a confusing point in my life. I usually either have really bad weeks or really good weeks. There are never weeks that are met in the middle of those two. However, recently it is off and on. This is why I have decided to keep it near the middle at a 6. I wouldn't necessarily say I am happy, but I wouldn't say that I am sad. This past summer has been rough for me mentally, so it has fluctuated negatively. I believe that it will rise soon now that special holidays are coming around the corner. The best thing to keep me going is something to look forward to. That is the way I like to think of it as because there is always something coming to look forward to. Fall is my favorite time of the year and it fills my satisfaction rate. In the years to come, I think it will fluctuate positively because I will know who I really am.
ReplyDeleteI would rate my life on a 7 if I had to. I am very happy but I wish my finances were better, but I am very happy with what I have even if I have to put in extra effort to make ends meet. I don't think it will fluctuate much outside of some unforeseen circumstances or major life event happening.
ReplyDelete