Which kinds of people are likely to be happiest? And what are the best ways to become happy? Much of the research produces results which are unsurprising, but here are a few of the more interesting conclusions from a book called "Psychology of Happiness" by Michael Argyle which gives references to over 400 studies:
In one study, a good prediction of marital satisfaction was achieved from the frequency of intercourse minus number of rows.
It has recently been discovered that lonely people do not have sufficiently intimate conversations with their friends and do not make enough self-disclosure.
A recent British national survey found that only about 32% would carry on at their present job if it were financial unnecessary.
Examples of happy "unemployed" people can be found among middle and upper-class people of an earlier era who did not need to work, and did not do so. As far as we can see they were perfectly happy, in part perhaps because they had never heard of the Protestant ethic. Perhaps it was also because they had a fairly ordered way of life, with extensive duties and country pursuits.
Anonymous saying: "If you want to be happy for a few hours, get drunk. If you want to be happy for a few years, get a wife. If you want to be happy forever, get a garden".
An American study of 22 winners of large lotteries found no clear difference between their happiness and that of controls.
Extroverts are happier: extroversion (particularly its sociability component), can predict happiness 17 years later.
Subjects who were asked to inhibit their facial expression found electric shocks less painful (and had less physiological reaction to them).
People in good moods tackle problems in a different way from those in neutral or sad moods. They move more quickly, adopt the simplest strategy, and accept the first solution they find. With one test problem, 75% of those who had seen a comedy film found the solution, compared with 13% who had seen no film.
On sunny days people tip waitresses more.
If people are met in a beautiful or comfortable room, they are liked more.
The rate of contracting arthritis was much reduced among those with strong social support.
Cynical people are more prone to heart disease.
An experiment found that if householders were given a free sample of stationery at the door, and then telephoned with a request to help pass a message, they were more likely to do so, but the effect lasted only about 15 minutes.
The evidence shows that to enhance happiness, one should get married, stay married, have children, keep up with relatives, have plenty of friends and keep on good terms with the neighbours.
A treatment for depressed patients consisting of getting people to read positive self-statements at a number of points during the day, has been found to be more effective than drug therapy and insight therapy; although the most successful treatments for depression have also included behavioural methods, such as rewarding the pursuit of pleasant events with more therapy time, and social skills training.
Extract taken from Encyclopaedia Of Social Inventions edited by Nicholas Albery and Valarie Yule