What is happiness ?According to (Diener 1984 , 1994 ), happiness is the cognitive and objective evaluation of ones life , it is described in terms of there being a presence of possitivity and an absence of negativity .Happiness is a complex , subjective and very illusive concept , its base is very much dependant on our physiological makeup , e.g hormones , but also it is a product of the enviroment we experience. Coleman 1988 believes social capital to be a significant predictor of happiness , social capital being defined by (Leung 2002) to be : an individuals resources accumulated through inter personal attitudes that help to develop a strong social network and ties between an individual and their community .However this is not the sole contributor to adult happiness and well being , certain researchers champion different variables as the prominent factor.
In a survey conducted by (Batcho , Nave & Dapin 2010), found that an individuals perception of their own childhood had a significant correlation with their well being as an adult . However one of the criticism of the procedure used in this piece of research is that it used retrospective methods whereby partcipants were asked to recall memories from their childhood, the issue with this is that memory is very vunerable and that many of us will remember our childhood in a romanticized, idealist form (Stern 1992 ).Thus this questions the reliability of the results found , however with this aside there is other research which supports these claims of a relationship between childhood happiness and adult happiness.
When i was scouring the databases for predictors and contributors towards general happiness i came across a study that thought religion would be a powerful contributor, but there results found it to not have a significant relationship .The study by (Francis ,Ziebertz & Lewis 2003) used a sample of 331 students who completed a German edition of the Oxford Happiness Inventory and the francis scale of attitude towards christianity , the study found no relationship between happiness and religion .However this studies validity may have been effected by the sample :they were all students from the same university , it is possible the sample was struggling from cohort effects .Would the results have been different and found a relationship between the two variables if the researchers had used a more varied sample?
Friendship was a variable which was found to be of the upmost signifiucance when it came to reported levels of happiness.Research published in a book called :’ journal of happiness studies ‘ which unsuprisingly investigated the relationship between : happiness, personality and number of friends .The study found that friendship quality predicted the onset of happiness above and beyond the effects of personality and number of friends .However in studies like this can you ever really determine the direction of influence, ( what variable causes the other) , were the people miserable to begin with , then acquired friends and were happier , or were the people happy to begin with and then the quality of their friendships improved their happiness ?
To conclude , the happy scholars cannot point out all the variables which make a happy person. Could this be because none of us are the same and we all have different things which motivate us and cause us to feel happy . However there are common variables such as quality of friendship and social capital , these variables are likely to effect our degree of happiness to some extent.
(Diener 1984 , 1994 )
(Leung 2002)
(Batcho , Nave & Dapin 2010)
(Stern 1992 )
(Francis ,Ziebertz & Lewis 2003)
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A study conducted by ( Leslie J. Francisa,L.J., & Lesterb,D.,1997) showed that religion does in fact play a role in happiness, however the degree to which this role influences the level of happiness an individual experiences is not known exactly. A sample of 212 undergraduate students in the USA completed the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the Francis Scale of Attitude.
Toward Christianity and a short form of Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire. Results showed that the students who were happiest score highly on all 3 scales, which includes high positive attitudes towards christianity. Whilst, as mentioned in the above post, the sample may suffewr from cohort effects, there is still a suggestion that religion can inlfuence individuals levels of happiness.
Several explanations have been proposed as to why there is a connection between religion and happiness. Firstly, religious groups offer social support and generally people seem to be happier when they are around other people who have a supportive attitude. Secondly, many people with religious beleifs have a greater sense of life satisfaction and happiness due to the fact that they seem to feel they have more of a direction within thier lives. Finally, religious experiences can be very positive, and people who are more exposed to positive experiences are likely to feel greater happiness.(Beit-Hallahmi & Argyle, 1997).
References
Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin, and Michael Argyle. (1997). The Psychology of Religious
Behaviour, Belief and Experience. London: Routledge.
Leslie J. Francisa,L.J., & Lesterb,D.,(1997).Religion, personality and happiness, Journal of contemporary religion, volume 12 issue 1
There may also be links between certain hormone and vitamin levels and happiness. For example Seasonal Affective disorder is associated with low levels of vitamin D (Wilkins et al., 2006). There are also links between serotonin levels and mood. For example, there have been low levels of the major metabolite of serotonin in the spinal fluid of drug-free depressed patients (1994). Other hormones, including high levels of Pregnenolone (Goepp, 2007) and Dopamine (Diehl & Gershon, 1992) and endorphins (Beck & Beck, 1987) have been linked to higher levels of happiness.
References
Beck, D., & Beck, J. (1987). The pleasure connection: How endorphins affect our health and happiness. Synthesis Press: San Marcos, Calif.
Diehl, D. J., & Gershon, S. (1992). The role of dopamine in mood disorders. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 33, 2, 155-120.
Goepp, J. G. (2007). Enhancing cognitive function with pregnenolone. Life Extension Magazine. November 2007. retrieved from http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2007/nov2007_report_pregnenolone_01.htm
Owens, M.J., & Nemeroff, C. B. (1994). Role of serotonin in the pathophysiology of depression: focus on the serotonin transporter. Clinical Chemistry, 40, 2, 288-295.
Wilkins, C. H., Sheline, Y. I., Roe, C. M., Birge, S. J., & Morris, J. C. (2006). Vitamin D deficiency Is associated with low mood and worse cognitive performance in older adults. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 14, 12, 1034-1040.
Role of serotonin in the pathophysiology of depression: focus on the serotonin transporter.
It has been said that the feeling of being in control of one’s life has an effect on a person’s happiness. (R.Larson,1989). The amount of control over their life is correlational to a person’s level of happiness, as does one’s ability to cope with any stress thrown at them and their tolerance of pain. Having the confidence in yourself that you can cope with anything life throws at you, would evidently make you a happy person. This is quite a general theory, which does have exceptions to it. However there are two main suggestions; situations which lower a person’s sense of control are also likely to lower the person’s level of happiness. Similarly, a person experiencing a lower level of control over their life is likely to have a lower happiness level.
http://www.amsciepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/pr0.1989.64.3.775
Personality variables have also been correlated to happiness. Costa and McCrae (1980) highlighted that personality traits including fearfulness, hostility and impulsivity were associated with reduced levels of happiness. Whereas sociability and activity were related to increased levels of happiness. Furnham and Brown (1990) also investigated the relationship between personality variables and happiness. They administered the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and Oxford Inventory to one hundred participants. The results indicated a positive correlation between happiness and extraversion and a negative correlation was identified between happiness and neuroticism. Furthermore Pishva, Ghaleban, Moradi and Hoseini (2011) recently corroborated these findings again deriving a positive relationship between happiness and extraversion and a negative relationship between happiness and neuroticism. Christenson, Danko and Johnston (1993) suggested that individuals scoring higher scores for neuroticism measured by the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire may experience a reduction in happiness because they tend to experience more feelings of shame, anxiety and embarrassment than people with lower scores for neuroticism. This literature therefore points to the important role that personality variables play in mediating happiness.
References
Christenson, B.J., Danko, J.P., & Johnson, R.C. (1993). Neuroticism and the belief that one is being scrutinised by others. Personality and Individual Differences, 15, 349-350.
Costa, J.R., & McCrae, R. (1980).influence of extraversion and neuroticism on subjective well being: happy and unhappy people. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 668-378.
Furnham, A., & Brewin, C.R. (1990).Personality and happiness. Personality and Individual Differences, 11, 1093-1096.
Pishva, N., Ghalehban, M., Moradi, A., & Hoseini, L. (2011). Personality and happiness. Procedia, Social and Behavioural Sciences, 30, 429-432.
Numerous studies suggest that happy individuals are successful across multiple life domains including marriage, friendship, income and health. Some researchers believe that this happiness-success link exists not only because success makes people happy, but also because positive affect prompts success. A vast number of correlation studies show a positive association between happiness and successful outcomes within major life domains. Also, cross-sectional work indicates positive relations of happiness and positive affect with an array of desirable attributes and behaviours. Examples of these desirable attributes include positive perceptions of self and others, prosocial behaviour and likability. Finally, data suggests that positive affect is the critical mediator underlying the relationship between happiness and culturally valued success. It is possible that happy people possess certain characteristics and behavioural properties that are helpful to them even in the absence of a positive mood, making them more inclined to success in general. Although little is known about the genetic predispositions characterising chronically happy individuals, we cannot discount the possibility that long-term happiness may be directly linked with particular desirable outcomes or characteristics. As a result, these qualities may be evident even when chronically happy people are in neutral or even unpleasant moods.
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, Ed. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychology Bulletin, 131(6), 803-855
Social support has been found to have a great impact on happiness. Xin Ziqiang Chi Liping found that the availability of support and its use is a significant indicator of happiness. As you stated friendship has been found to be related with happiness, I believe this is one of the most important factors contributing to perceive happiness. For example, if individuals lack religion and the perception of a happy childhood, which you have suggested are also contributors to happiness rating they could fall back on the social support.
http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-XLXB200105009.htm
Research indicates that happy people are successful across multiple areas of life from health to wealth. Positivity works both ways, success not only brings happiness, happiness can also bring success. Correlational research demonstrates happiness and positivity affect a wide array of desirable attributes and behaviours. Confidence is positively correlated with happiness, and develop a similar relationship as positivity and success. People who are generally happy may be extroverted generally, and therefore even in the absence of a good mood may still attract success or at least opportunities and therefore happiness. Healthy gut flora could be a causal correlation for happiness, as it has been shown to cure depression and schizophrenia following a drastic change in diet and regular supplementation of high quality probiotics. Perhaps this correlation should be explored further.
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