Lecture 17: Experienced Well-Being

Lecture Overview

  • Course: UofA PSYC 333 - Judgment and Decision Making

  • Instructor: Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini

  • Focus: Experienced Well-Being (Lecture 17)

Key Chapters from Kahneman’s Work

  • Chapter 37: Experienced Well-Being

  • Chapter 38: Thinking about Life

  • Also includes a TED Talk by Daniel Kahneman (February 2010, Long Beach, California)

Insights from Kahneman

  • Notion of Happiness:

  • People are often unaware of what truly makes them happy.

  • The distinction between experienced well-being and memory-based judgments is critical.

French Poll on Happiness (Le Nouvel Observateur, 1973)

  • 63% of French respondents reported being "rather happy".

  • Low concern about various societal issues affecting happiness:

  • Capitalism concerns: 3%

  • Scarcity of resources: 4%

  • Political ideologies (Fascism, Communism) had minimal impact.
    - 69% wished they had more education, but only 5% attributed happiness to lack of education.

  • Majority showed preference for social over individual happiness aspirations.

Factors Influencing Happiness and Unhappiness

  • Good Health:

  • Being in good health ranked low on happiness factors.

  • Poor health negatively impacts happiness significantly.

Researching Well-Being

  • Crucial Questions:

  • Are wealth and happiness correlated?

  • Does marital status influence happiness?

  • How do different populations compare across happiness metrics?

Motivation for Happiness Studies

  1. Welfare Analysis: Subjective well-being provides direct measures.

  2. Shift in Focus: From consumption to social contacts.

  3. Social Rank: The importance of societal ranking over income on well-being.

  4. Adaptation: Life satisfaction remains stable but can fluctuate with time allocation.

Distinction in Happiness Types

  • Experienced Happiness: Real-time reflection of subjective experiences.

  • Life Satisfaction: Evaluative judgment of one’s life circumstances.

The Hedonic Treadmill

  • People tend to return to a baseline level of happiness after positive or negative events.

  • Expectations and desires often increase post-accomplishment, leading to fleeting happiness.

Global Surveys on Life Satisfaction

  • Life satisfaction is measured via retrospective assessments,

  • Examples: World Values Survey, General Social Survey (GSS).

  • Respondents typically provide consistent answers to happiness-based questions.

Experiment by Norbert Schwarz

  • Individual surroundings can sway responses regarding life satisfaction.

  • Group conditions influenced how respondents assessed global situation and future expectations.

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

  • Emotional states can be influenced by facial expressions.

  • Holding a pen in different ways (smiling vs. not) affects humor perception.

Economic Correlations

  • Kahneman (2009) indicated a .40 correlation between GDP and life satisfaction across countries, signifying material prosperity’s impact.

Adaptation and Happiness Assessment

  • Studies show individuals adapt to significant changes.

  • Happiness levels of lottery winners and accident victims reveal miscalculations in predicting happiness impacts.

Time Use and Happiness

  • Two Determinants of Well-Being:

  • General life circumstances (marriage, income).

  • Specific daily time use practices also notably influence happiness.

Key Findings from Studies

  1. Work and Happiness: Activities such as work, commuting, and obliged tasks correlate with lower happiness.

  2. Social Interaction: Engaging in meaningful social interactions boosts experienced happiness.

Stereotypes in Cultural Comparisons

  • Differences between American and French women in daily activities regarding family life and leisure reveal cultural influences on happiness.

Summary Insight

  • Happiness derived from marriage may not correlate with experienced well-being due to compensating factors affecting time use and emotional states.

Final Thoughts

  • Individuals often lack awareness regarding their happiness determinants, indicating a complex relationship between circumstance, activity, and mood.