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Happiness: Its Meaning, Measurement and
Importance
Dan Weijers
Overview
• L1 (today): – Happiness and the meaning of life
• L2 (Thurs 19 July): – Measuring happiness
• L3 (Thurs 26 July): – Happiness and public policy
Main Goal
Introductions
• Name?• Why have you come along?• The key to happiness in your opinion?
Happiness: Its Meaning, Measurement and
Significance
L1: Happiness and the Meaning of Life
Objective
• Understanding what’s really important in life
What (Really) Matters?
• What advice would you give a child?
What (Really) Matters?
WellbeingThe good
life
HappinessThe
meaning of life
Theories of Wellbeing…
• Explain what ultimately makes a person’s life go better for them
One Thing or Many?
• One simple thing:– Just pleasure
• One complex thing:– Informed, authentic, and morally based
positive feelings• A list of things:
– Happiness, friendship and truth
Subjective vs Objective
• Does just our personal opinion matter?
• Or can we be wrong?
Who Are We to Say What is Objectively Good for Us?
Theories of Wellbeing
Mental State
(Hedonism)
Desire/Life SatisfactionFlourishing
Objective List
Mental State Theories
• Folk: get pleasure now!• Philosophers: maximise pleasure over your entire
life• Key: All that matters is how you feel (your mental
states)
Well-being Happiness +ve net balance of good over bad mental states
Especially hedonism
What about Truth & Freedom?• Compare two lives
– Same experiences– Different reality
• Double agent partner• Sponsored children all died
• Whose life is better?
• What should we do about a happy slave?
Desire Satisfaction Theories
• Based on desire/preference-satisfaction• Informed: adequately informed desires only• Ideal: desires that fit some objective criteria only • Key: All that matters is getting what you want (or
should want)
Well-beingHappinessHaving most or more of your desires satisfied
Sometimes
Is the Satisfaction of Our Desires Good for us?
• How would “omniscient you” advise yourself?
• Having a desire satisfied does not seem valuable unless it is the right desire
Objective List
• E.g. W.D. Ross’ account:– Knowledge, Pleasure, Virtue and the proper
apportionment of pleasure to virtue
• Can’t we explain knowledge with pleasure or desire-satisfaction?
Flourishing Theories
• Developing one or all of your species’ fundamental traits
• Aristotle: Flourishing is the soul expressing virtue• E.g. cowardice – courage - rashness
• Key: All that matters is being the best
you can be (given that you’re a human)
Well-being Flourishing Developing & expressing natural capacities
Why is Fulfilling Our Natural Capacities Good?
• Is excellence in reasoning or long-distance running better for us?
• Unnatural things can be good for us too!– E.g. Pacemakers, wings etc.
Best Theory of Wellbeing?
Mental State
(Hedonism)
Desire/Life Satisfaction
Flourishing
Objective List
Next Week
• How to measure wellbeing• Special guest for first half
Happiness: Its Meaning, Measurement and
Importance
L2: Measuring Happiness
Objectives
• Show how various types of happiness are measured
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the approaches
• Understand the limitations of measurements
Are you Happy?
• A simple and a complicated question
• How we go about answering it depends on what we take ‘happiness’ to mean
• Or, it depends on how the question is asked
How Can I Find Out How Happy You Are?
• Indirectly– Look at your wealth/income– Look at your capabilities or your quality of
life indicators
• (More) Directly– Observe your behaviour– Brain scans– Ask you
Looking at Your Income• Used by:
– Some economists & politicians– Most of us as an indicator of ‘national
progress’
• Income is an indicator of ability to satisfy preferences (and thereby make yourself happy)
Margin of Discontent
• Gap between what we have and what we want
• Two solutions:1) ‘Sages’ solution:
• “Give up wanting” – Hard & boring?
2) ‘Economic growth solution:• “People satisfy their wants by increasing
their possessions, thus becoming happier”
Looking at Your Income• Used by:
– Some economists & politicians– Most of us as an indicator of ‘national
progress’• Income is an indicator of ability to
satisfy preferences (and thereby make yourself happy)
• Benefits: Easy to calculate and compare on large scale
• Problems…
Does $$ Make Us Happy?
1) Reducing the margin of discontent makes people happier
2) Economic growth helps consumers to reduce their margin of discontent
• If 1. and 2. are both true, then why have we gotten richer…but not happier?
• Evidence?
Materialism Doesn’t Pay
Very High
Adaptation
• Lottery winners return to pretty much the same level of happiness after 1 year (contested)
• The more we have:– The more we want and – The more we think we need
• Evidence?
So, Does $$ Make Us Happy?
• So, unless you are materialistic, more $$ makes very little difference to our happiness – much less than:
– A loving relationship– Volunteering– A rewarding job
• But materialistic people seem to have a pretty strange idea of happiness
• Having said all this… who would not want to win lotto?
Discussion
• Can money not buy happiness or are we just spending it on the wrong things?
• Is it possible to avoid adapting to new things that bring us happiness?
• Has anyone sacrificed money for happiness? How did it go?
Looking at Your Capabilities/QoL Indicators
• Used by: – Some economists & politicians– Often encouraged by NGOs
• Income, access to education, healthcare, clean environment, employment, political freedoms etc.
• Benefits: Not too hard to calculate and compare on large scale
• Problems…
Aren’t We all Capable of Happiness?
• People from all walks of life report themselves as happy, even those whose circumstances look dire to us
• Adaptation (again)• Relativity of happiness• Determinants of happiness
– Evidence?
Determinants of Happiness
Discussion
• What is more important, freedom, education, or happiness?
• Which is better, a long life of medium happiness or a medium life of great happiness?
• Should we focus on genetic technology and cognitive behavioural therapy instead of circumstances?
Observe Your Behaviour• Used by:
– A few academics– Just about all of us!
• By observing body language and behaviour we can tell how happy someone is
• Benefits: easy to do, especially with people you know well
• Problems: impractical on large scale and…
Smile!
• Smiling is the main way to tell if someone’s happy… but only if they are real smiles
• Duchenne (real) smiles can be noticed by the ‘sparkle’ in the eyes
Scanning Your Brain• Used by:
– A few academics
• Activity in specific areas of the brain are measured and compared to the other direct measures of happiness
Cute baby = Left side
Deformed baby = Right side
Causing (Ratty) Pleasure
Scanning Your Brain• Used by:
– A few academics• Activity in specific areas of the brain
are measured and compared to the other direct measures of happiness
• Benefits: becoming increasingly accurate
• Problems: very impractical on large scale and still mysterious
Discussion• If happiness has a biological cause in
the brain, then we will be able to influence it with drugs, surgery, bionics etc… but should we?
• If our brains show equal ‘happiness activity’, then are we equally happy? How can we know this?
Asking You
• Used by: – Psychologists– Occasionally by economics academics
• You think about and answer a question regarding your happiness. After all, who could be better than you at judging how happy you are?
• Benefits: Not too hard to calculate and (possibly) compare on large scale
• Problems… depend on the question…
3 Types of Questions I Can Ask You (3 Levels of Happiness)
1) How are you feeling right now (from 1 to 7)?
– Introspection
2) All things considered, how happy are you these days (from 1 to 7)?
– Introspection, comparative judgement
3) On the whole, how good do you think your life is (from 1 to 7)?
– Introspection, comparative judgement, relative to conception of ‘the good life’
Level One Happiness: Feeling Happy in the Moment
• How are you feeling right now?– Introspection
• Level One Happiness (Nettle)– Mood– Pleasure– Joy– Absence of pain and suffering (negative
feelings)• Fear, Anger, Sadness, Disgust, Pain
Level One Happiness: Feeling Happy in the Moment
• Is there really such a thing?
• How good are we at getting it right?– Introspection– Smiling.– Brain scans
• How good is it to have?
Level Two Happiness: Judging Your Happiness
• All things considered, how happy are you these days?– Introspection, comparative judgement
• Level Two Happiness (Nettle)– Total net Level One happiness (Kahneman)– Well-being– Satisfaction– Judgement about feelings
• Can be distorted by biased judgements
Level Two Happiness: Judging Your Happiness
• Is there really such a thing?
• How good are we at getting it right?– Appraisal biases– Aspirational biases
• How good is it to have?
Level Three Happiness: Thinking You Have a Good Life
• On the whole, how good do you think your life is?– Introspection, comparative judgement, relative
to conception of ‘the good life’
• Level Three Happiness (Nettle)– Eudaimonia– Fulfilling potential– Quality of life
• Doesn’t always require Level 1 or 2 happiness
Level Three Happiness: Thinking You Have a Good Life
• Is there really such a thing?– Subjectively: yes– Objectively:
interesting question
• How good are we at getting it right?
• How good is it to have?
Happiness ‘Continuum’
Level 1- Momentary
feelings- Mood- Pleasure or
joy- Not suffering
Level 2- Judgements
about feelings- Net level 1
happiness- Well-being- satisfaction
Level 3- Holistic
evaluation of value of life
- Flourishing- Needn’t
include happiness
More emotional, sensual, and reliable
More cognitive, moral, and easily biased
Discussion• When (if ever) are our judgments
about how we feel accurate enough to make decisions by?
• For self- and governmental –assessment, which method of measuring happiness:– Provides the best gauge of actual
happiness (most accurate/ reliable)?– Is the easiest to carry out?
• Or, suggest another method
How to Find Out More
• Further reading:– Happiness: The Science Behind
Your Smile• By Daniel Nettle
– Stumbling on Happiness• By Dan Gilbert
• Multimedia info:– www.danweijers.com/happiness– http://www.nationalaccountsofwel
lbeing.org/
Happiness: Its Meaning, Measurement and
Significance
L3: Happiness and Public Policy?
Objectives
• Use our previous learning (about what happiness is, how valuable it is and if we can measure it) to help us…
• Decide what we should do about happiness regarding public policy
So What Should the Government Do?
• Main goal of government?:– Happiness – Well-being – High living standards – $$$/freedom/rights
• SWB/Happiness measures/studies?– No role– Directly inform policy (alone or with others)– Use to create objective measures
Unemployment
• Raise taxes to make more public sector jobs?
• Make it harder to fire people?
Commuting
• Less time commuting could make us happier
• Should the government encourage virtual workplaces?
Advertising
• Rosser Reeves– Manager of a
successful advertising company
• While holding up two coins:– “[Making] you think
that this quarter is more valuable than that one”
The Benefits of Advertising
• Winston Churchill:• “Advertising nourishes
the consuming power of men. It creates wants for a better standard of living… It spurs individual exertion and greater production.”
• Advertising improves our well-being
Does Advertising Make Us Dissatisfied?
• Beautiful (photo-shopped) women are in adverts everywhere we look
Does Advertising Make Us Dissatisfied?
• Beautiful (photo-shopped) women are in adverts everywhere
• They make us unhappy/ dissatisfied• Should we remove tax breaks for
pictorial advertising?• Should we ban pictorial advertising?
Policy-making ↑ Well-being
(WB)
FairnessSustainability
Equality
Subjective WB Objective WB
Overall Domain-Specific
Mental state/
hedonism
Life Satisfaction
theories
Objective List/
Flourishing
Quality of Life Indicators
Traditional Economic Indicators
Health/ healthcareFreedom
TrustSafety
Environ-ment
EducationEquality
Production
IncomeEmploy-
ment
Justice
Wealth•Survey•Pager•Day reco-nstruction
•Survey•“All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life?”
•Survey•Rate agreement “I have good friends”
HAPPINESS
Happiness
Brain scan
Behav-ioural
Living Standards
• Treasury vision:– “working for higher living standards for
NZers”
• Living Standards Framework (LSF)– Explain ‘living standards’
• Living Standards Tool– “assist policy analysts to consider the
[LSF] in their day-to-day work”
Treasury’s Key Objectives
• “working for higher living standards for NZers”
1.Improved economic performance2.A high performing state sector that
supports NZ’s international competitiveness
3.A stable and sustainable macro-economic environment
Living Standards Framework
Living Standards Tool
My View
Policy-making ↑ Well-being
(WB)
FairnessSustainability
Equality
Subjective WB Objective WB
Overall Domain-Specific
Mental state/
hedonism
Life Satisfaction
theories
Objective List/
Flourishing
Quality of Life Indicators
Traditional Economic Indicators
Health/ healthcareFreedom
TrustSafety
Environ-ment
EducationEquality
Production
IncomeEmploy-
ment
Justice
Wealth•Survey•Pager•Day reco-nstruction
•Survey•“All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life?”
•Survey•Rate agreement “I have good friends”
HAPPINESS
Happiness
Brain scan
Behav-ioural
SWB as “Crosscheck”
Measuring Progress
So What Should the Government Do?
• Main goal of government?:– Happiness – Well-being – High living standards – $$$/freedom/rights
• SWB/Happiness measures/studies?– No role– Directly inform policy (alone or with others)– Use to create objective measures
How to Find Out More
• Further reading:– Happiness: Lessons from a New Science
• By Lord Richard layard
• Multimedia info:– www.treasury.govt.nz
• Search for “living standards”
– www.danweijers.com/happiness– http://www.nationalaccountsofwellbeing
.org/
Bhutan vs. New Zealand
• In Bhutan, happiness (they define it more like peaceful serenity) is the most important driver of policy– Since the late 1980’s
• In New Zealand, it’s often ‘the effect on the economy’– On jobs or per capita incomes or GDP
Other Topics
• Foreign aid• The media’s portrayal of progress• Education• Health