People have asked moral questions about the conduct of science, which has led to things like rules for how experiments should be conducted among other things. And psychologists have studied morality, beginning most notably with Lawrence Kohlberg who studied the structure of moral decision-making and came up with a hierarchical model with six stages of moral development based on reasoning about justice.

Recently psychologists who study happiness have come up with a few things related to morality that are interesting. I talked recently about the analysis of conservative and liberal morality undertaken by positive psychologist Jonathan Haidt. Another psychologist touched on the issue indirectly in a presentation at the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference in 2004. Dan Gilbert of Harvard University is an entertaining and informative speaker and author who recently published the bestseller Stumbling on Happiness, a delightful read in which he explains that we’re not always very good at predicting what is actually going to make us happy.

In the video of the TED conference presentation below, professor Gilbert talks about some aspects of what really makes people happy, including what he calls “synthetic happiness.” A lot of it is up to us. Being in a frame of mind where you are second-guessing an earlier decision is not conducive to happiness; sometimes it’s better for choices to be bounded. On the other hand, the environmental circumstances people find themselves in are not nearly as important as most people assume, because we’re quite good at adapting to both good and bad circumstances. Think about it: so many people make a lot of effort to make money, get a nicer house, car, clothes, furniture, electronic gadgets, etc. And some people strain so much in pursuit of such things that they’re willing to fudge something, to bend the rules - perhaps even enough to regret it later if they’re really honest with themselves. Dr. Gilbert quotes Adam Smith as having expressed a “turgid truth” in his description of pursuing such situations:

“Some of those situations may, no doubt, deserve to be preferred to others; but none of them can deserve to be pursued with that passionate ardour which drives us to violate the rules of either of prudence or of justice, or to corrupt the future tranquility of our minds, either by shame from the remembrance of our own folly, or by remorse from the horror of our own injustice.”

Having that thing you wanted so much is probably not going to make you nearly as happy in the long run as you thought anyway. So if in order to get it you need to cheat or otherwise do something that makes you feel not quite as good about yourself later, why do it? There may be other, even better reasons not to do it, but I thought the fact that Gilbert’s studies and conclusions had shed some light on this reason was interesting.

Are you like the guy in the commercial who has a parrot who repeats “Not another day.” “Can’t take this.”? If you don’t like your job, or school, or whatever you spend most of your day doing, there are several actions you can take other than complaining.

Making a big change

One possibility is to find a new job. This may take courage. Also, if you’re considering a different kind of work (or even a different work environment), it might be better to try out your new idea first by getting some experience with that new kind of work through volunteering, or by getting a part-time job without quitting your old job. If nothing along these lines is practical, find out whatever you can about the new work situation first before taking the leap. You don’t want to find out the hard way that the new situation is even worse!

Making a small change

What if it’s not a reasonable option to change jobs, or you really don’t want to for some reason? In that case you might look for ways you can transform your work situation so it gives you more satisfaction. People are happier in their work if they can be fully engaged, if they’re using their personal strengths, and if they feel like they’re making a contribution. There may be some changes you can make - or request to have made - that allow you to do these things more. If you’re bored, if you’re not able to use your abilities very fully, try taking on something more challenging, either by requesting it or by just voluntarily doing it even if you don’t have to. You may find that work becomes more fulfilling, and side benefits may include more interesting and higher-paying jobs in the future.

If you can figure out a way to do your work more efficiently and free up some of the time you saved as a result, you might be able to do something else worthwhile, either for your employer or for yourself.

Making an extracurricular change

Another option is to approach your happiness at work from the other side: Doing things outside of work that make you happier may cause some of that positive frame of mind to spill over into your work life. At the very least, it should increase your overall happiness. Just like a good vacation can rejuvenate you, a hobby or some activity you enjoy can put you in a better mood not only when you’re actually doing it, but afterward. Especially if you haven’t figured out a way yet to make your work more satisfying, make room in your life for some activity you really like.

For me the last few years that’s mainly been ballroom dance (broadly defined, including West Coast Swing, Argentine Tango, and especially Latin). It’s great because it’s good exercise (I’m a bit over 6′ tall but I went from a 35″ waist to 32″ and got more toned), there’s a social element that’s even friendlier than in most shared activities, it involves music, encourages creativity, and is a lot of fun. It’s also good for your brain: it facilitates mind-body coordination, cultivates bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, and gives your gray matter a workout through learning new dance figures and details of technique. I’ll write more about this in a future post. I’ve even participated during this time in large regional, national, and international DanceSport competitions, working my way up through 6 levels to Pre-champ Latin finalist.

As a teenager I really got into chess (and other strategy games) and played in tournaments. Next I took up guitar, and got good enough to briefly consider a career as a musician (they do have very high job satisfaction). In each case these activities were challenging and rewarding, a learning experience and fun. They allowed me to immerse myself and be fully engaged, experiencing sometimes what psychologists call “flow.”

Meaning, Pleasure, Strengths

Harvard psychology professor Tal Ben-Shahar encourages people to begin the process of finding the right work for themselves by asking three crucial questions: What gives me meaning?” “What gives me pleasure?” “What are my strengths?” Looking at the answers and finding areas of overlap may help. He recommends taking more time than just jotting down what comes to mind. In terms of what we find meaningful, for instance, he suggests: “We may need to spend time reflecting, thinking deeply to recall those moments in our lives when we felt a sense of true purpose.”

While this exercise is intended to guide a person in making a major career decision, it can be applied to the all three strategies above for increasing happiness. Extracurricular activities that people find meaningful, for example, can be very rewarding and nourishing.

Jonathan Haidt is a research psychologist at the University of Virginia. One of his main research interests is morality. Recently I ran across this quotation from him:

…the second rule of moral psychology is that morality is not just about how we treat each other (as most liberals think); it is also about binding groups together, supporting essential institutions, and living in a sanctified and noble way. When Republicans say that Democrats “just don’t get it,” this is the “it” to which they refer.

Haidt is not a conservative himself. But he seems to want to understand both liberal and conservative views of morality on their own terms, and he seems completely genuine in this effort. I was already familiar with his other research on happiness and related topics, which I thought was among the most interesting and compelling work anywhere in psychology.

Some conservatives are likely to cite him, saying something like: “See - conservative morality has more depth and completeness according to this research psychologist.” But intelligent and insightful conservative (and liberal) observers will go beyond this, and see the breadth of mind involved in each side genuinely trying to understand the other side on its own terms. I’ve known about Haidt’s outstanding research for years, but after seeing this new line of research I was even more impressed with him. The video below is a full presentation (not a 5-minute video), but well worth the time; I highly recommend it. It also is as timely as ever, with the presidential election coming up very soon.

According to research, people tend to accept information more easily that agrees with what they already think, and tend to screen more skeptically information that tends to challenge their beliefs. It can be a useful exercise to make extra effort to be open to the best arguments that a contrary view has to offer, and to question whether every part of a particular position you believe in is really as airtight as you thought.

A psychologist I know who does life coaching, Ben Dean, told a group at a conference I attended that some of his clients (and others he knew) were depressed after Kerry lost to Bush. I think it would be healthy for each side to consider the world from the perspective of the other side. It’s also helpful to realize that life won’t be much worse if their own guy doesn’t win the election.

Video: “The five foundations of morality, and why liberals often fail to get their message across”
http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/conference/2007/haidt

The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire was developed by psychologists Michael Argyle and Peter Hills at Oxford University. Take a few moments to take the survey. This is a good way to get a snapshot of your current level of happiness. You can even use your score to compare to your happiness level at some point in the future by taking the survey again. If you are using some of the interventions presented on this site to raise your happiness level, you can see whether your score on the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire goes up as a result.

Instructions

Below are a number of statements about happiness. Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each by entering a number in the blank after each statement, according to the following scale:

1 = strongly disagree
2 = moderately disagree
3 = slightly disagree
4 = slightly agree
5 = moderately agree
6 = strongly agree

Please read the statements carefully, because some are phrased positively and others negatively. Don’t take too long over individual questions; there are no “right” or “wrong” answers (and no trick questions). The first answer that comes into your head is probably the right one for you. If you find some of the questions difficult, please give the answer that is true for you in general or for most of the time.

The Questionnaire

1. I don’t feel particularly pleased with the way I am. (R) _____

2. I am intensely interested in other people. _____

3. I feel that life is very rewarding. _____

4. I have very warm feelings towards almost everyone. _____

5. I rarely wake up feeling rested. (R) _____

6. I am not particularly optimistic about the future. (R) _____

7. I find most things amusing. _____

8. I am always committed and involved. _____

9. Life is good. _____

10. I do not think that the world is a good place. (R) _____

11. I laugh a lot. _____

12. I am well satisfied about everything in my life. _____

13. I don’t think I look attractive. (R) _____

14. There is a gap between what I would like to do and what I have done. (R) _____

15. I am very happy. _____

16. I find beauty in some things. _____

17. I always have a cheerful effect on others. _____

18. I can fit in (find time for) everything I want to. _____

19. I feel that I am not especially in control of my life. (R) _____

20. I feel able to take anything on. _____

21. I feel fully mentally alert. _____

22. I often experience joy and elation. _____

23. I don’t find it easy to make decisions. (R) _____

24. I don’t have a particular sense of meaning and purpose in my life. (R) _____

25. I feel I have a great deal of energy. _____

26. I usually have a good influence on events. _____

27. I don’t have fun with other people. (R) _____

28. I don’t feel particularly healthy. (R) _____

29. I don’t have particularly happy memories of the past. (R) _____

Calculate your score

Step 1. Items marked (R) should be scored in reverse:

If you gave yourself a “1,” cross it out and change it to a “6.”
Change “2″ to a “5″
Change “3″ to a “4″
Change “4″ to a “3″
Change “5″ to a “2″
Change “6″ to a “1″

Step 2. Add the numbers for all 29 questions. (Use the converted numbers for the 12 items that are reverse scored.)

Step 3. Divide by 29. So your happiness score = the total (from step 2) divided by 29.

I recommend you record your score and the date. Then you’ll have the option to compare your score now with your score at a later date. This can be especially helpful if you are trying some of the exercises, and actively working on increasing your happiness.

Reference

Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (2002). The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire: a compact scale for the measurement of psychological well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 33, 1073–1082.

I’ve used “don’t” rather than the more staid and formal “do not” in the phrasing of the questions above; I decided to give preference to my own sense of what is more natural and conversational in American English. (Remember that the questionnaire was developed in England.) I’ve also added the phrase “(find time for),” which psychology researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky uses for clarification in question 18.

The presidential candidates agree to the rules of the debate including time limits. A green light turns yellow and then red to let both men know that their time is up for answering that particular question. The candidates do what any reasonable person would expect: they run over the time limit a little bit, then a little more. (Of course.) It’s in their own interest to do so - especially given that they wouldn’t want to be upstaged by the other guy. But the organizers are caught completely off-guard by this predictable situation. It’s as though no one thought about this possibility, and there is no backup plan. The only thing the moderator can come up with is to chide the candidates repeatedly that they had agreed to the rules. Every time he does so he takes time and focus away from the discussion and the issues, which starts to seem a bit absurd after awhile. At one point one of the candidates makes a suggestion for him to raise his hand to get their attention.

Then, as if to highlight the lack of good planning, when the debate ends and the candidates naturally move toward each other to shake hands, the moderator stops them and asks them to move out of the way because he can’t see the teleprompter on the wall behind them.

This actually happened last night at the second presidential debate. It wasn’t a Saturday Night Live sketch.*

How could the organizers have failed to plan for likely outcomes? I really don’t know, but it has the appearance of not thinking things through, which is the point I want to make.

Thought experiment

Albert Einstein used “thought experiments” to think through the ramifications and logical consequences of certain initial conditions. It was a truly outstanding example of rational thought.

Why not try to do something similar in planning? Some things just work better with a good plan. And sometimes it’s worth taking time to think through some of the “what ifs?” It depends on how important something is, of course. But sometimes people spend a lot of time on things that actually matter less (and bring them less happiness and meaning) than other things. Try this: It can be a useful exercise to consider how you’d want to be remembered when you’re gone.

If you already know what needs to be done, lay out the process. Mentally walking through each step can be revealing, even without applying genius-level intellect to problems and solutions.

What if we’re talking about something bigger, and laying out the steps is premature? Don’t underestimate the power of a dream or vision, and its ability to inspire.

The magic ratio

The Appreciative Inquiry approach points out the value of identifying the “positive core” rather than utilizing only criticism, or being dragged down by hopelessness, irony, or negativity. Also, researchers have looked at the optimum ratio of positive to negative in interactions. Beginning with the landmark investigations of psychologist John Gottman, using what he called “the magic ratio” (5:1), Gottman and colleagues were able use analysis of positive to negative interactions in 15-minute conversations to predict divorce 10 years later with 94% accuracy. Psychologist Donald O. Clifton encourages highlighting what coworkers or employees do well instead of what needs improvement, and discovering the benefits of supporting their valuable contributions. But research discovered that when the ratio gets too high, about 13:1, effectiveness declines. That situation was out of touch and unrealistic. So reduce negative feedback, but don’t eliminate it.

A very useful contribution positive psychology might make to certain kinds of business or personal planning is looking at your personal strengths. This could be strengths in relation to your job, or in relation to your role in the personal task you’re planning for. It could be the strengths of those involved in some joint business or personal task. It could even be the strengths of your business or project team as a whole. Playing from your strengths rather than focusing primarily on weaknesses has been shown to work better.

Founder of modern “positive psychology” Martin Seligman says that using our strengths “makes work more fun, transforms a job or a career into a calling, and increases flow.

*If it had been SNL, the absurdity would have been taken much further: the moderator might have been asked to wave both arms over his head, jump up and down, and “do something more to get our attention”; “just throw a few crumpled up pieces of paper,” an eraser (chalk flies on impact from side of head), “try your shoe,” “use this taser” (then: “don’t tase me, bro!”), “here’s a harpoon gun” (”God knows I had worse in Nam”).

I wanted to pause and tell you a little more about what I have in mind for this site. I might expand on this plan, but right now my idea is to create several kinds of pages as described below. You can already see that my blog entries are really more like short articles on particular topics than they are like typical blog entries (that most bloggers tend not to spend much time carefully creating). The vast majority of these will deal with some issue in positive psychology.

1. I’ll tell you, in plain English, about interesting things coming out of research on happiness; satisfaction with life, work, and leisure; meaning in life and activities; being fully engaged in what you’re doing (flow); relationships; building on your strengths; and related issues.

2. I’ll give you ideas for how you can apply this to your own life. Some will be my own ideas, and some will be my explanations of how other positive psychologists apply what they’ve learned in their investigations. I hope this stuff will be really helpful to you.

3. Sometimes the main theme of an article / blog post will be a bit off the topic of positive psychology, but will share something I think you might find interesting. In these cases I’ll usually relate it to something in positive psychology, and to happiness. I tried this for the first time with my last article, “How to be rich and happy.” By the way, there’s obviously much more to say about this topic, for example, Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener’s concept of “psychological wealth.”

4. I’m not going to promise I might not occasionally add a blog entry on some random topic I find entertaining, funny, or interesting. I want to make the blog more personal. And I might add things just because they make me smile.

……….

Here’s an example of an off-topic tip that’s timely. Today I ran across Google’s voter tools (http://maps.google.com/maps/). If you’re reading this soon after I wrote it, and if you haven’t already received voter information in the mail, be sure to check deadlines (they’re soon!), see if you’re still registered, learn how to register, find out where your polling place is, etc. with Google’s convenient tools. Google always seems to be coming up with something cool.

After the $700 billion bailout bill was rejected by the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday, the market crash was described by news organizations as the “biggest one-day drop in Dow history” (going back to 1896). This description is kind of ridiculous because it was the biggest point drop, but in percentage terms (7%), it was not one of the top 16 worst days. In fact according to a study by researchers at New York University and Boston University, a statistical analysis using a complex formula concluded that drops of 7% would be expected once every 4.3 years, but we haven’t had one for 7 years. In 1987 the market crashed almost 23% in one day, and recovered very soon afterward.

I always wondered why most TV news programs report stock market moves in point terms without including (at least in the graphic) what the number really means in percentage terms. So it’s hugely misleading to claim yesterday was the biggest drop in Dow history. Comparing the point rise or fall with historical moves up or down becomes more and more misleading the further back you go. But hidden inside this problem is a key secret to wealth.

Exponential growth (green)

(Here’s a mouthful): Any growth that’s proportional to current value is going to be exponential. In other words, if you keep adding a fixed percentage (like 10%), something will grow faster and faster. The growth curve bends upward. Albert Einstein is supposed to have said that the most powerful force in the universe (or the greatest invention in human history) is compound interest.

Add 10% the first year to $100 and you’re adding just $10. But keep going and your money doubles in about 7 years. Then if you have $200 and it grows by 10% that year, you’ve gained $20. Then $400 ($40), $800 ($80)…. and that’s without putting in any additional money.

Something else happened yesterday. An unprecedented full biography was published about the life of Warren Buffett, the second richest man in the world and the most successful investor of all time. It’s named The Snowball. When you find a successful method for something in life, let it snowball. This applies to a lot of things, including investing.

People who put this magic to work for them get richer and richer. People who let this work against them are going the wrong way on the escalator.

A good example of this working against you is credit card debt. If you’re paying 20% on credit card debt because you didn’t pay off the full balance, you’re building wealth - but unfortunately for someone else, not for yourself.

You want to have some of your money working for you. Then it becomes a money factory.

Credit card interest is the exact opposite. It’s a money toilet. FLUSH!

If you’re making more than you spend and can invest, some of your money is going to be just like little elves laboring away while you sleep. If you’re spending more than you make, and have to borrow, more and more of your money is going to have a panoramic 360 degree view of white porcelain.

There are exceptions to “don’t borrow” of course, like debt that invests in yourself (education), or an “appreciating asset” (a house you plan to live in for at least 5 or 10 years), or even a temporary need.

Some things don’t fall into the category of “needs” - those cute shoes you saw in the store window, that cool car, that sweet electronic entertainment device or other gleaming gizmo. Besides, research shows that acquiring things only gives you a very temporary pleasure boost that doesn’t last. (Research has found that spending your money in other ways can make you happier for longer periods; more on that in a future post.)

“But I don’t have any extra money! Where am I supposed to get money to save and invest?”

In The Automatic Millionaire, David Bach advises that you have to find your “Latte factor”: What do you habitually spend money on that you could easily buy less of, but you don’t give a second thought because it’s only a small amount each time? (going out for lunch every day, soda, snacks, candy, cigarettes) A recent college graduate who finds $5 a day like this can save almost $2000 a year, invested for retirement growing at 10% becomes…drum roll…nearly $1.2 million! If an employer provides 401k matching funds of 50%, it becomes $1.74 million. Pretty expensive coffee!

Looking at it like this helps people to reevaluate those small expenses that they thought didn’t matter. They’re seeing that it’s much better and more secure to save and grow their money. Bach’s book is a basic introduction to building wealth, well-written and very easy to read, presenting a simple and practical approach that works even for people who have no previous financial knowledge. I actually bought 4 copies for family and friends a few years ago when it came out.

Here’s the bad news: Money can’t buy happiness. (Okay, you knew that already.) On the other hand, it seems like a lot of people who know this still spend a disproportionate amount of their time focused on earning money, sacrificing other things in the process. Money can be a big factor in happiness or “life satisfaction” if your struggling to satisfy basic survival needs like food and shelter. Once you get beyond this threshold, however, most research shows that increases in income are only associated with small increases in happiness (depending on how it’s defined). So money has the potential to buy you a certain kind of freedom if handled well, and there are ways to use money that increase happiness, but a lot of people neglect other areas of their lives even more.

If you think about it, you can use this same snowball formula in other areas of your life too. Do what works, and then do more of it. Of course we can all learn new things from science, but you already know a lot about what works for you in various relationships, exercise and health, emotional regulation, attitude, perspective, career/vocation/calling, sense of your contribution, and what you really value in life. Analyze your successes in these and other important areas, and put more attention and effort into those successful approaches. Build on your strengths. You can be rich in more ways than just financial.

You might remember the character played by Molly Shannon on Saturday Night Live, licensed joyologist Helen Madden. What you might not know is now you can get a professional graduate degree from an Ivy League university studying a curriculum based on research on happiness. This is not some single course with what sounds like a crackpot title you occasionally hear about in news reports. It’s a respected masters degree based on peer-reviewed science by leading researchers.

“Positive Psychology” is an expansion of psychology’s focus beyond a disease model, to understand how normal people can be happier, how individuals and communities can thrive. Professor Martin Seligman is a former president of the American Psychological Association, the 13th most frequently cited psychologist in introductory psychology textbooks throughout the 20th century, and the leader of the modern “positive psychology” movement, having brought this effort into focus in the research arena. He and others at the University of Pennsylvania have created the first Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program. (Visit the Positive Psychology Center and see “Educational Programs” for more information.)

What even fewer people know is that before the Master of Applied Positive Psychology program existed, Martin Seligman led an extended semester online / conference-call course which was a condensed version of this material. It was coordinated by Ben Dean, Ph.D., founder of Coaching Toward Happiness. Like the MAPP, it was attended by professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds. It had a large contingent of professional coaches such as executive and especially life coaches. The course name, “Authentic Happiness Coaching,” combined Martin Seligman’s “Authentic Happiness” (web site, best-selling book) with Ben Dean’s focus on coaching. It was offered four times if I remember correctly, and I was privileged to participate in the third and fourth courses.

Obviously the MAPP course goes into much greater depth, and students also come from all over, but I enjoyed what I assume was a greater diversity in terms of location. As an online / conference-call course, we were able to have a number of participants from other countries, in addition to every corner of the U.S.

Guest lecturers included many of the most well-known researchers in positive psychology, who talked about the most compelling aspects of their work. Others involved in the course were very interesting people too. Dr. Tayyab Rashid worked with Dr. Seligman on research at the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, but to me what was special about him was his depth and insight, as well as a quality of warmth that made people feel at home. He was my discussion section leader. One of the students I corresponded with afterward was Dr. Howard C. Cutler, co-author with the Dalai Lama of The Art of Happiness.

This wasn’t the first or last project Ben Dean has undertaken. He always seems to have a course or a lecture featuring one of the stars of positive psychology coming along. Typically the lectures are by phone “bridge” conference-call, and questions can be emailed beforehand, but at any time Ben might open the floor electronically for a question. Sometimes there are hundreds of participants, so in such cases participation is limited, but it’s impressive to see, and Ben handles it well.

Sometimes Ben will arrange for a positive psychology superstar to do an interview or a presentation that’s free. All you have to do is register and make a call to the number in New York. (Even if you pay 5 cents a minute, that’s only $3 for an hour.) Last week he had Ed Diener and Sonja Lyubomirsky on for a two-hour interview.

Ben also gives one-day workshops in major cities, runs “Foundations” coach training classes as well as advanced classes taught by guest faculty, and provides coach certification. He even wrote a book with Robert Biswas-Diener that came out last year, Positive Psychology Coaching: Putting the Science of Happiness to Work for Your Clients.

Go to www.coachingtowardhappiness.com and you can sign up for his free newsletter. If you’re interested in coaching, check out www.mentorcoach.com.

“Dr. Happiness” is regarded as the world’s leading psychological researcher of human happiness. He’s also been called the “Jedi Master of Happiness.” His real name is Ed Diener, and he’s a professor at the University of Illinois. I said a little more about him when I talked about his Life Satisfaction Scale.

He’s written a book for the general public together with his son, Robert Biswas-Diener, a psychologist known for his ability to collect hard-to-get data. He studies subjective well-being in far flung places like Greenland, India, Israel, Spain, and Kenya, working with remote groups of people traditionally overlooked by researchers. Because of this he’s also acquired a nickname, the “Indiana Jones of positive psychology.”

Their book came out just a few days ago, but it’s already gotten quite a bit of attention, including reviews. There’s even one on Oprah.com.

It’s called Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth. Psychological wealth is “your true net worth, and includes your attitudes toward life, social support, spiritual development, material resources, health, and the activities in which you engage.”

The book is being widely praised:

“This is the most authoritative and informative book about happiness ever written. That’s not surprising, given that its authors are the world’s leading happiness researcher and his psychologist-son, whose vocation is coaching people toward happier lives.” -David G. Myers, Hope College, author, The Pursuit of Happiness: Discovering the Pathway to Fulfillment, Well-Being, and Enduring Personal Joy

“A great gift from the leading professional scientist of happiness in the world and his son, the ‘Indiana Jones’ of positive psychology.” -Martin E. P. Seligman, University of Pennsylvania and author, Authentic Happiness

“Want the key to happiness and success in life, choose the right advisor. On the subject of happiness, students, researchers, businesses, and governments have been turning to Ed Diener. Now, in this powerful, ground-breaking book, we have the opportunity to receive the coveted advice of Dr. Diener and his son Robert Biswas-Diener. This book is a must read if you want a practical, enjoyable, and uplifting science-based guide to achieving real psychological wealth.” -David J. Pollay, President, The Momentum Project, Syndicated Columnist

“The collaboration between the foremost authority on happiness research and the “Indiana Jones” of psychology makes for a great mix of interesting examples and solid research. I have never seen a book that does such a good job offering useful practical advice while basing this advice on completely sound empirical research.” -Richard E. Lucas, Michigan State University

“This is a happiness book by the world authority, the pre-eminent scholar in the field along with an in-the-trenches coach who teaches and adapts this material every day for practical use with his clients. These folks know happiness from the inside out. The authors separate the wheat from the chaff, and serve up a meal replete with tasty morsels of practical advice on how to live. A joy to read!” -Michael B. Frisch, Baylor University, author, Quality of Life Therapy

In the phone interview I mentioned in my last post (where I mostly talked about professor Sonja Lyubomirsky’s book on happiness), Ed Diener talked about some of the same things that are in his book.

True or False:

1. I’d be happier if I made more money, found the perfect mate, lost 10 pounds, or moved to a new house.

2. Happiness is genetic. You can’t change how happy you are any more than you can change how tall you are.

3. Success brings happiness.

Well, it’s clear that environmental factors can have an affect on how tall you are. (Have our genes suddenly become almost 10% different from our - shorter - grandparents’ generation?) And there is a genetic component to happiness. Also, money can make some difference, especially at levels of poverty where basic needs aren’t met. But for the rest of us money doesn’t have nearly the impact that people seem to assume. And reaching the other goals where you get something turns out not to make us anywhere as happy as we expect.

Basically, all 3 are false.

So what does make a real difference?

First and foremost seems to be relationships. Close, supportive social relationships. We need people who we care about.

Second is attitudinal: being grateful, attending to good things/experiences and savoring them (vs. ruminating on the negative). Positive attitudes toward life in general.

Happiness is a process, not a destination.

Here’s the book: Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth. I’ll be talking more about its contents in the future.

“Dr. Happiness” Ed Diener and Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky are two of the leading researchers on happiness. A funny thing happened the day after I wrote my last post, where I introduced Dr. Diener and talked about his Life Satisfaction Scale. I got an email from Dr. Ben Dean (who I’ll talk about in a minute) saying Dr. Diener “is considered to be the world’s leading authority on research on happiness” and inviting me to a conference-call interview of Dr. Diener and Dr. Lyubomirsky that night.

Both Ed Diener and Sonja Lyubomirsky have written popular books about happiness. Sonja’s book has been out for awhile now. I just did a search for “happiness” in the “books” section of Amazon.com, and it came up second. It’s called: The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want. It’s a how-to book. In the Foreword, she says “To my knowledge, this is the first how-to-become-happier book authored by someone who has actually conducted research revealing how people can achieve a greater sense of happiness in their lives.”

She’s certainly qualified to talk about happiness: she was awarded a Templeton Positive Psychology Prize in 2002, she’s an associate editor of the Journal of Positive Psychology, and she and Ken Sheldon have a 5-year million-dollar grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to conduct research on the possibility of permanently increasing happiness.

Just looking at the table of contents gives you an idea how much she has to offer:

Dr. Lyubomirsky has found that happy people tend to perceive and interpret the world in ways that reinforce their happiness, and unhappy people do the reverse. Happy people respond in a more positive and adaptive way, while unhappy people tend to dwell or “ruminate” on negative or ambiguous events, draining cognitive resources and creating negative consequences.

She and her colleagues are investigating ways that happiness can be reliably and durably increased. They believe it can be done through intentional activities, but that these require “daily and concerted effort and commitment.” They are testing the effectiveness of gratitude exercises, “self-regulatory” and positive thinking about oneself (such as reflecting, writing, and talking about one’s happiest and unhappiest life events, or about one’s goals for the future), and practicing acts of kindness and altruism.

She talked about some of these things in the interview, and deals with how to apply some of them in practical ways in her book.

I want to talk about Ed Diener’s new book too, a bit more about the interview, and about Ben Dean’s work. But I think I’m going to have to break this up into several posts. In the meantime, take a look at Sonja’s book, The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want.