The Psychology and Science of Happiness: What Does the

Research Say?
David Dubner

Abstract
This paper surveys the scientific evidence regarding the nature of human happiness by drawing upon
numerous studies in social science domains: namely psychology, but also related fields of business
leadership and consulting, economics, and behavioral economics. Beginning with a definition and
narrowing of the terminology, the review moves toward a brief sketch of measurement methods in the
topic. Subjective well-being and happiness are then explored within the framework of psychological
theories of happiness, including tension-reduction and goal attainment theories, activity and process
theories, and genetic and biologic dispositional theory. Evolving views regarding hedonic adaptation as a
key process underlying happiness is examined, as well as Lyubomirsky and Layous’ (2013)
comprehensive model of happiness as a framework that encompasses the entire scope of psychological
theories regarding happiness. Finally, the correlational evidence related to the various components of
happiness is reviewed, concluding with the observation that although strong correlational evidence is
linked to well-being, happiness is a concept that defies unequivocal causal attributions because it
contains a complex amalgam of interrelated and bi-reciprocal variables.

Defining Happiness
Any serious discussion about happiness must first begin by attempting to define what
we mean by the term happiness. In general, happiness can be thought of as an
emotional state that reflects a high level of mental and/or emotional well-being. Current
scientific perspectives typically frame happiness as a complex binary construct that
encompasses subjective elements of both affect and cognition that contribute to well-
being. Subjective well-being (SWB), according to Lyubomirsky and Dickerhoof (2006) “
represents people’s beliefs and feelings about whether they are leading a rewarding
and desirable life (p. 167).” Diener, Oishi, and Lucas (2009), define SWB as “
a person’s cognitive and affective evaluations of his or her life as a whole (p.187),”
including evaluations of emotional reactions to life events, and also cognitive judgments

David G Dubner is a doctoral student in Counseling Psychology at Northern Arizona University.

Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to [email protected].

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about satisfaction and fulfillment, and especially in important life domains, such as
marriage and work (Diener, 2012).
The roots of this dichotomous view of happiness can be traced to discourse that
philosophers and religious scholars have engaged in throughout the ages as they have
long pondered the nature, causes, and methods of fostering human happiness. The
idea of happiness as personal fulfillment; eudaimonia, and the idea of happiness as
pleasure; hedonia are rooted in the classical Greek philosophy of Aristotle’s
Nichomachean Ethics (Waterman, 2013). Aristotle eschewed the idea that the seeking
of pleasure (hedonism) is a worthwhile pursuit and ascribed true happiness to
eudaimonia a path toward what he called the good life, which is characterized by a
focus on virtuous activities that reflect the best within us. Eudaimonia is translated from
the Greek to mean “flourishing”, and can be defined as the subjective feeling of
personal fulfillment that arises when our actions have reflected our highest potentials.
The positive psychology movement, which has its own historical roots in the
human potential movement of Rogers and Maslow, has unabashedly adopted the
Aristotelian concepts of hedonia and eudaimonia in an attempt to frame the exploration
of happiness within the field of psychology. Indeed, positive psychology defines itself as
the scientific study of human flourishing (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000), and
Martin Seligman’s (the oft-noted founder of the positive psychology movement)
theoretical model of happiness is based on the good life which contains three elements:
the Pleasant Life, the Meaningful Life, and the Engaged Life (Seligman, Rashid &
Parks, 2006).
The Aristotelian notion that virtuous actions are necessary for true human
happiness has been echoed in religious teachings from the Buddhist notion of Nirvana
to the Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas’s description of felicity as a blessed
happiness which requires virtuous acts in accordance with natural and divine law. In
contemporary models of happiness espoused by positive psychologists, virtues are also
known as character strengths, and considered to be a royal road toward increasing
personal well-being and happiness. The VIA (Values-In-Action) classification system
(Peterson & Park, 2009) and the Clifton StrengthFinder (Clifton Strengths School, n.d.)

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are both examples of psychometric assessments that are based on the assumption that
determining one’s personal virtues (strengths) are an essential first step en route to
increasing engagement and concomitant happiness.
The scientific study of happiness and its psychological correlates is a burgeoning
research enterprise; a recent search (March 2013) of the PsychInfo database returned
over 2700 peer-reviewed articles using happiness as a key subject term. Much of the
research conducted on happiness comes under the heading of subjective well-being
(Diener, 2000, 2012). Other happiness researchers use both terms subjective well-
being and well-being interchangeably with the term happiness (Lyubomirsky &
Dickerhoof, 2006; Lyubomirsky, 2008).
Indeed, the term well-being is often used as a proxy for happiness, especially in
the popular press. To the layperson, positive psychology is virtually synonymous to the
science of happiness, a term that is largely the result of the mainstream media’s current
fascination with research on happiness within the domain of positive psychology
(Schoenberg, 2011). Research findings from scientific studies about happiness are
rapidly filtering down for public consumption through a variety of mass media sources
including documentary films (Happy, n.d.), popular magazine articles, books; and entire
websites devoted to the science of happiness (Scientific American, n.d.), and can serve
as a useful starting point for locating scientific research on happiness and well-being.
However, not all research in the scientific study of happiness is conducted within
the domain of psychological research. Some notable exceptions are studies of well-
being in the business and economic domains, with behavioral economics representing
overlap between psychology and the business and economic domains. Much of the
current scientific research on well-being, especially on the global demographics and
correlates of well-being derives from business research. Rath and Harter’s (2010)
model of well-being originates from factor analysis of research conducted by the Gallup,
Inc., a business consulting organization. In this model, the data suggests that
happiness can be conceptualized as high levels of well-being across five domains:
career, social, financial, physical, and community. An interesting sidebar related to this
research is that the aforementioned Clifton StrengthFinder (which purports to measure

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personal strengths as a means to happiness) was developed as a result of the life’s
work of Donald O. Clifton. Clifton’s seminal business organization Selection Research,
Inc. eventually acquired Gallup, with Clifton leading the team of researchers from 1988-
1999 (Clifton Strengths School, n.d.). Currently, Gallup Inc. is at the forefront of
demographical national and global research that aims to delineate the dynamic nature
of well-being with its U.S. National Well-Being Index and Gallup World Poll (Gallup,
n.d.). Drawing on these data gathered by the Gallup World Poll (and other global data),
specific information about systematic differences between the global well-being of
nations and their putative causes has been summarized in the comprehensive World
Happiness Report by Columbia University’s Earth Institute. According to the report, the
happiest countries in the world are in Northern Europe (Denmark, Finland, Norway),
while the least happy are in sub-Saharan African nations (Central African Republic,
Benin, Togo). The United States was ranked 11th happiest. The report’s authors
conclude that aside from income levels, crucial factors correlating to higher well-being
include low political corruption, strong social networks, and political freedom. On the
individual level, the correlates of high well-being are mental and physical health, social
support, stable family structure, and a secure job (The World Happiness Report, n.d.).
Measuring Happiness
Research conducted by the Gallup organization is representative of how
happiness is often measured. Individuals are surveyed about their levels of well-being
and the information is compiled to develop national indices. The World Happiness
Report states that “among various measures of subjective well-being, the primary
distinction to be made is between cognitive life evaluations (represented by questions
asking how happy or satisfied people are with their lives as a whole), and emotional
reports” (The World Happiness Report, p. 11, n.d.). Emotional reports are further
distinguished from those that assess current emotional status (how happy are you now)
and those that are retrospective (how happy were you yesterday). These questions can
be seen as an attempt to get at the dichotomous nature of happiness as discussed
earlier.

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 Psychometric measures of personal happiness and well-being most popular with
psychological researchers also reflect this duality. Early measures such as the PANAS
(Positive and Negative Affect Scale) attempted to gauge happiness as relative levels of
positive and negative emotion (Kercher, 1992). Currently popular psychological
measures of happiness tend to be more evaluative in nature, and include the
Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffen, 1985) and the
Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1997). In recent past, some
researchers have attempted to tease apart the differences underlying the various
concepts related to well-being, e.g., life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, self-
esteem, and optimism. Using Campbell and Fiske’s (1959) multitrait-multimethod
matrix analyses, Lucas, Diener and Suh (1996) found high discriminant validity for life
satisfaction from positive and negative affect and also from optimism and self-esteem.
Self-report questionnaire assessments have long been the mainstay of research
in subjective well-being and happiness, as in many areas of psychological research.
For some time now, researchers have been developing hybrid methods to measure
happiness in the hope that such measures might increase validity. Although technically
still a measure of self-report, Csikszentmihalyi (1997) introduced the Experience
Sampling Method (ESM) in the 1970s. The ESM was novel in that it used electronic
prompts to signal participants to record their immediate levels of happiness (or other
variables such as motivation) rather than relying on retrospective reports.
Csikszentmihalyi’s ESM utilizes random prompting to generate large quantities of data,
that when compiled is assumed to be highly reliable. A recent attempt to improve upon
self-report data in the measurement of happiness is described by Zhou (2011) as an
approach that combines a happiness evaluation method developed by Ng with the day
reconstruction method by Kahneman and associates. According to Zhou, the combined
method moves happiness assessment toward more accuracy and standardization.
Theories and Models of Happiness
Psychological theories of happiness fall under three broad categories: need and
goal satisfaction theories, process and activity theories, and genetic and personality
predisposition theories. In need and goal satisfaction theories, the reduction of

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tensions, removal of pain, and the satisfaction of biological or psychological needs are
directly related to an organism’s happiness. Freud’s (1950) pleasure principle is an
obvious example of this notion. Maslow’s (1969) hierarchy of needs can be seen as an
extension of this conceptualization by including the need for psychological growth and
actualization as the ultimate expression of human potential and happiness. Carl Rogers
(1961) famously argued against the good life as any type of fixed state including
happiness, or a state of drive reduction, tension reduction, or homeostasis. In Rogers’
view, the good life is a process and not a state of being.
Whereas need satisfaction theoreticians believe that satisfaction of basic and
higher-order needs will lead to happiness, activity and process theorists posit that
engaging in activities under optimal conditions leads to a state of happiness or
fulfillment. Csikszentmihalyi’s (1997) concept of flow encapsulates this notion and has
been embraced by positive psychology researchers, including Seligman and
Lyubomirsky. According to Csikszentmihalyi, frequency of flow experiences in life
correlates more highly to measures of SWB than do frequency of feelings of happiness
(positive affect). Seligman’s aforementioned model of the good life (Seligman et al.,
2006) uses flow as a central concept in his description of the Engaged Life. For
Lyubomirsky (2007), whose research has emphasized means toward fostering
sustainable happiness, increasing the frequency of activities that are truly engaging, i.e.
“flow experiences” (p.75) is but one form of intentional activities that Lyubomirsky
advocates in the service of boosting one’s baseline level of happiness. The earliest
proponent of intentional happiness training was Fordyce (1977, 1983, as cited Boehm &
Lyubomirsky, 2009) whose ‘training’ in ‘14 fundamentals’ of happiness gives preliminary
evidence to the notion that short-term happiness levels can be boosted. Lyubomirsky
considers her research on the identification and development of volitional strategies that
contribute to long-term sustainable happiness to be an extension of Fordyce’s
pioneering work.
Lyubomirsky’s focus on intentional strategies to foster sustainable happiness has
not ignored research evidence that strongly suggests that happiness is in a large part
determined by genetics. Lyubomirsky has proposed a model which purports that

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sustainable happiness derives from three components in varying proportions.
According to this model, roughly 10% of sustainable happiness is determined by life
circumstances, 40% by intentional activity, and 50% is determined by a set point of
biological and genetic forces. The idea that there is an element of stability in people’s
levels of happiness (aside from influences due to life circumstances or the achievement
of goals) due to personality dispositions is the fundamental premise of genetic and
personality theory.
The notion that there is a substantial genetic component to subjective well-being
is strongly supported by scientific research findings (Headey & Wearing, 1989),
especially in the study of twins. Tellegren et al. (1988, as cited in Diener, et al., 2009)
found that in studies comparing both monozygotic and dizygotic twins raised together
and apart, approximately 50% of the emotional reactivity of life circumstances can be
explained by genes. Other studies (Diener et al, 2009) have correlated specific facets
of personality traits to SWB; cheerfulness (a facet of extraversion) is strongly correlated
with high levels of SWB, while depression (a facet of neuroticism) is strongly correlated
to low levels of SWB. Dispositional cognitive styles such as optimism and hope are also
linked to higher levels of happiness (Snyder et al., 1991, as cited in Diener et al., 2009;
Scheier & Carver, 1993, as cited in Diener et al., 2009).
Lyubomirsky’s tripartite model of sustainable happiness is congruent with the fact
that psychological research often fails to confirm any single variable as causal, and that
complex human experiences often result from the interaction of several dynamic
variables. Diener’s decades-long research on SWB provides strong empirical evidence
for this view, and notes that for the vast majority of people, the set point of happiness is
slightly positive and is strongly influenced by temperament and externals such as
cultural norms.
Diener also notes that underlying an individual’s set point of happiness is the
process of adaption; that people react strongly in the short term to good and bad
events, but tend to habituate (adapt) over time and return to their original level (set
point) of happiness (Diener, 2000). Adaptation theory has strongly influenced modern
psychological theory about happiness since Bradburn and Campbell (1971, as cited in

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Diener, Lucas & Scollon, 2006) described the process and coined the term the hedonic
treadmill; a theory that was scaffolded atop Helson’s automatic habituation model
(1948, 1964, as cited in Diener et al., 2006). Automatic habituation is seen to be an
adaptive process by which psychological systems react to deviations from one’s current
adaptation level and allow constant influx of stimuli to diminish in impact. The notion of
a hedonic treadmill has gained widespread appeal among many researchers, especially
psychologists and behavioral economists, especially since early research with lottery
winners and spinal cord victims seemed to confirm the view that humans can adapt to
many events in life, and that these events do not exert a substantial long term effect on
happiness levels (Brickman, Coates, & Janoff-Bulman, 1978). Brickman and colleagues
posited that the theory of adaptation to happiness would explain why both a major
favorable event such as winning a lottery and a major adverse event such as becoming
permanently paralyzed ostensibly has little effect on SWB. The gist of the hedonic
treadmill model is that the pleasures of success and the pain of failure all eventually
fade away as we adapt back up or down to our stable set-point of happiness. A notable
corollary to this idea is that people are poor at predicting their emotional state in the
future (affective forecasting) and tend to overestimate how positive events like winning
the lottery might affect their happiness, while at the same time ignoring other factors
that will impact happiness levels (Kahneman, 2011).
It should be noted that Headey and Wearing (1989) originally contended that the
idea of the hedonic treadmill was subject to over-interpretation. Recent psychological
research has confirmed this to be true, and is rapidly revising the traditional view of the
hedonic treadmill, which is now known as hedonic adaptation (HA). Diener et al. (2006)
note five important revisions to the established theory of HA, all of which are based on
individual temperaments and differing underlying components of well-being, and
Sheldon and Lyubomirsky (2012) suggests that “well-being decreases substantially after
such adverse life events as unemployment, disability, divorce, and widowhood, and
does not completely recover… and that strong negative events can throw people
permanently ‘off kilter,’ exerting a durable negative influence on them such that they
remain at a lower baseline than before” (p. 670).

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 In addition, Sheldon and Lyubomirsky (2012) have tested moderating variables in
a model they have labeled the Hedonic Adaptation Prevention (HAP) model. In their
view, both appreciation and variety in change-related experiences can delay the
process of HA and a return to lower levels of SWB. Another interesting finding comes
from Nelson and Meyvis (2008), who found in six studies that interruptions can
undermine and disrupt the process of HA. Their findings strongly suggest that
interruptions disturb HA and lead to intensification of both positive and negative
experience: pleasant experiences are made more pleasurable and unpleasant
experiences are made more irritating through breaks in the experience.
The implication of these data is that despite the general underlying effect of HA,
happiness can be both substantially decreased because of significant negative life
events, and increased, through the practice of intentional positive activity. The viability
of increasing well-being is summarized in a recent journal article by Lyubomirsky and
Layous (2013). According to their positive-activity model it is the specific features of
activities, persons, and person-activity fit that act to moderate the effect of positive
activities on well-being. In addition, their model proposes that the mediating variables
accounting for changes in well-being over time are positive emotions, positive thoughts,
positive behaviors, and need satisfaction; a comprehensive inventory that neatly
encompasses the three broad categories of need/goal satisfaction theories,
process/activity theories, and genetic/personality predisposition theories.
Conclusions about Happiness
Current research strongly suggests that the level of happiness an individual
experiences depend upon a convergence of both cognitive and affective evaluations of
one’s life, and is determined by a variety of factors which can be roughly grouped into
three general categories: genetic and biological set point, life circumstances, and
intentional activity. Although personality traits such as levels of neuroticism and
extraversion are assumed to be relatively stable (Costa & McCrae, 1980), it still remains
unclear to what degree traits presumed to be stable are purely biologically determined
and are not subject to change. Consider optimism as a prime example of this lack of
clarity. While optimism appears closely related to the depression facet of the

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personality trait of neuroticism (negatively correlated), it is also considered a cognitive
explanatory style that can be learned (Seligman, 1990). Which raises the question that
if depression (as learned helplessness) is a form of environmental influence and not a
fixed genetic trait, does that hold true also for other facets of neuroticism such as
anxiety and impulsivity? The answer to this question is related to the view that
psychological traits have strong genetic components, but are not necessarily entirely
stable over the lifespan.
With respect to life circumstances, the literature now suggests that although
external circumstances exert some influence on happiness, it is proportionally much
less influential than the genetic set point or activities an individual pursue. Lyubomirsky
(2008) has pegged it at about only 10% has a determinant of happiness. Research
conducted and reviewed by Diener and associates (as cited in Boehm and
Lyubomirsky, 2009) suggests that demographic factors related to life circumstances
such as marriage, age, sex, culture, life events and income explain relatively little of the
variance in happiness levels of individuals.
Income has long been studied as a demographic correlate of subjective well-
being. Although income has been correlated to subjective well-being both on a within-
nation and between-nation basis, the consensus about to what degree income is
correlated to well-being is rapidly eroding. Early economic research by Easterlin (1974)
gave rise to an assumption popularly labeled the Easterlin Paradox, which stated that
beyond a level of basic needs being met, a nation’s overall average well-being is not
correlated to income levels. However, Sacks, Stevenson and Wolfer’s (2012) analysis of
data from the Gallup World Poll reassesses the Easterlin Paradox, finding clear and
convincing evidence that there is no satiation point for a nation’s wealth, and there is an
unequivocal link between GDP per capita and SWB across countries. Regarding
individual income levels, Diener et al., (2009) state that beyond a certain level, changes
in personal income do not appear to influence an individual’s SWB significantly. In
earlier research, Diener Horowitz and Edmonds (1985) found that multi-millionaire
Americans are only negligibly happier than average Americans.

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 However, what an individual does with one’s income falls under the category of
intentional activity, an area highlighted in previous discussion that holds significant
potential for increasing personal happiness (Lyubomirsky & Layous, 2013). Several
recent studies confirm the view that money can buy happiness; so long as it is well-
spent. West, Reed and Gildengorin (1998) found that when controlling for known
correlates of depressive status, higher income was associated with lower depressive
symptomology in older adults. More recently, Caprariello and Reis (2013) note that
spending money on experiences, rather than on material possessions, makes people
happier if the experiences are shared with others. This adds to the growing body of
evidence that indicates that spending money on others, rather than oneself leads to
higher levels of happiness (Aknin et al, 2013).
Happiness is indeed a fuzzy concept— fraught with nuance, jangle about
terminology, overlapping constructs and notions about what happiness entails. Yet if
we can agree on anything—it is that no matter how ill-defined happiness is, as humans
we desire more of it. We value and seek lives that are pleasant, engaged and
meaningful. As humans, we prize the many correlates of happiness: more marital
satisfaction, greater quality of our social lives, better job performance and higher
incomes, greater physical health, longevity, and success (Diener, 2012; Rath & Harter,
2010). We recognize the many benefits and rewards that happiness bestows upon us,
and as students of psychology, we also recognize our responsibility and intentionality
toward happiness. We must also accept the complex interrelationship between
correlational variables related to happiness. Many variables related to happiness appear
to be bi-directional and bi-reciprocal in nature, and defy any clear attributions to
causality. Lyubomirsky, King, and Diener (2005) state this position succinctly in their title
page as they examine the juxtaposition of correlational evidence in the relationship
between success and happiness and ponder: Does Happiness Lead to Success? This
may well be the seminal question in our scientific inquiry regarding well-being: does
happiness lead to success, or does success lead to happiness? The answer appears to
be— yes!

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