Happiness Its Meaning Measurement and Importance Dan Weijers

Happiness: Its Meaning, Measurement and Importance Dan Weijers

Overview • L 1 (today): – Happiness and the meaning of life • L 2 (Thurs 19 July): – Measuring happiness • L 3 (Thurs 26 July): – Happiness and public policy

Main Goal

Introductions • Name? • Why have you come along? • The key to happiness in your opinion?

Happiness: Its Meaning, Measurement and Significance L 1: Happiness and the Meaning of Life

Objective • Understanding what’s really important in life

What (Really) Matters? • What advice would you give a child?

What (Really) Matters? The good life Wellbeing Happiness The meaning of life

Theories of Wellbeing… • Explain what ultimately makes a person’s life go better for them

One Thing or Many? • One simple thing: – Just pleasure • One complex thing: – Informed, authentic, and morally based positive feelings • A list of things: – Happiness, friendship and truth

Subjective vs Objective • Does just our personal opinion matter? • Or can we be wrong?

Who Are We to Say What is Objectively Good for Us?

Theories of Wellbeing Flourishing Objective List Desire/Life Satisfaction Mental State (Hedonism)

Mental State Theories Well-being Happiness Especially hedonism +ve net balance of good over bad mental states • Folk: get pleasure now! • Philosophers: maximise pleasure over your entire life • Key: All that matters is how you feel (your mental states)

What about Truth & Freedom? • Compare two lives – Same experiences – Different reality • Double agent partner • Sponsored children all died • Whose life is better? • What should we do about a happy slave?

Desire Satisfaction Theories Happiness Well-being Having most or more of your desires satisfied Sometimes • Based on desire/preference-satisfaction • Informed: adequately informed desires only • Ideal: desires that fit some objective criteria only • Key: All that matters is getting what you want (or should want)

Is the Satisfaction of Our Desires Good for us? • How would “omniscient you” advise yourself? • Having a desire satisfied does not seem valuable unless it is the right desire

Objective List • E. g. W. D. Ross’ account: – Knowledge, Pleasure, Virtue and the proper apportionment of pleasure to virtue • Can’t we explain knowledge with pleasure or desire-satisfaction?

Flourishing Theories Well-being Flourishing Developing & expressing natural capacities • Developing one or all of your species’ fundamental traits • Aristotle: Flourishing is the soul expressing virtue • E. g. cowardice – courage - rashness • Key: All that matters is being the best you can be (given that you’re a human)

Why is Fulfilling Our Natural Capacities Good? • Is excellence in reasoning or long -distance running better for us? • Unnatural things can be good for us too! – E. g. Pacemakers, wings etc.

Best Theory of Wellbeing? Flourishing Objective List Desire/Life Satisfaction Mental State (Hedonism)

Next Week • How to measure wellbeing • Special guest for first half

Happiness: Its Meaning, Measurement and Importance L 2: Measuring Happiness

Objectives • Show various types of happiness are measured • Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the approaches • Understand the limitations of measurements

Are you Happy? • A simple and a complicated question • How we go about answering it depends on what we take ‘happiness’ to mean • Or, it depends on how the question is asked

How Can I Find Out How Happy You Are? • Indirectly – Look at your wealth/income – Look at your capabilities or your quality of life indicators • (More) Directly – Observe your behaviour – Brain scans – Ask you

Looking at Your Income • Used by: – Some economists & politicians – Most of us as an indicator of ‘national progress’ • Income is an indicator of ability to satisfy preferences (and thereby make yourself happy)

Margin of Discontent • Gap between what we have and what we want • Two solutions: 1) ‘Sages’ solution: • “Give up wanting” – Hard & boring? 2) ‘Economic growth solution: • “People satisfy their wants by increasing their possessions, thus becoming happier”

Looking at Your Income • Used by: – Some economists & politicians – Most of us as an indicator of ‘national progress’ • Income is an indicator of ability to satisfy preferences (and thereby make yourself happy) • Benefits: Easy to calculate and compare on large scale • Problems…

Does $$ Make Us Happy? 1) Reducing the margin of discontent makes people happier 2) Economic growth helps consumers to reduce their margin of discontent • If 1. and 2. are both true, then why have we gotten richer… but not happier? • Evidence?

Materialism Doesn’t Pay Very High

Adaptation • • Lottery winners return to pretty much the same level of happiness after 1 year (contested) The more we have: – The more we want and – The more we think we need • Evidence?

So, Does $$ Make Us Happy? • So, unless you are materialistic, more $$ makes very little difference to our happiness – much less than: – – – A loving relationship Volunteering A rewarding job • But materialistic people seem to have a pretty strange idea of happiness • Having said all this… who would not want to win lotto?

Discussion • Can money not buy happiness or are we just spending it on the wrong things? • Is it possible to avoid adapting to new things that bring us happiness? • Has anyone sacrificed money for happiness? How did it go?

Looking at Your Capabilities/Qo. L Indicators • Used by: – Some economists & politicians – Often encouraged by NGOs • Income, access to education, healthcare, clean environment, employment, political freedoms etc. • Benefits: Not too hard to calculate and compare on large scale • Problems…

Aren’t We all Capable of Happiness? • People from all walks of life report themselves as happy, even those whose circumstances look dire to us • Adaptation (again) • Relativity of happiness • Determinants of happiness – Evidence?

Determinants of Happiness

Discussion • What is more important, freedom, education, or happiness? • Which is better, a long life of medium happiness or a medium life of great happiness? • Should we focus on genetic technology and cognitive behavioural therapy instead of circumstances?

Observe Your Behaviour • Used by: – A few academics – Just about all of us! • By observing body language and behaviour we can tell how happy someone is • Benefits: easy to do, especially with people you know well • Problems: impractical on large scale and…

Smile! • Smiling is the main way to tell if someone’s happy… but only if they are real smiles • Duchenne (real) smiles can be noticed by the ‘sparkle’ in the eyes

Scanning Your Brain • Used by: – A few academics • Activity in specific areas of the brain are measured and compared to the other direct measures of happiness

Cute baby = Left side

Deformed baby = Right side

Causing (Ratty) Pleasure

Scanning Your Brain • Used by: – A few academics • Activity in specific areas of the brain are measured and compared to the other direct measures of happiness • Benefits: becoming increasingly accurate • Problems: very impractical on large scale and still mysterious

Discussion • If happiness has a biological cause in the brain, then we will be able to influence it with drugs, surgery, bionics etc… but should we? • If our brains show equal ‘happiness activity’, then are we equally happy? How can we know this?

Asking You • Used by: – Psychologists – Occasionally by economics academics • You think about and answer a question regarding your happiness. After all, who could be better than you at judging how happy you are? • Benefits: Not too hard to calculate and (possibly) compare on large scale • Problems… depend on the question…

3 Types of Questions I Can Ask You (3 Levels of Happiness) 1) How are you feeling right now (from 1 to 7)? – Introspection 2) All things considered, how happy are you these days (from 1 to 7)? – Introspection, comparative judgement 3) On the whole, how good do you think your life is (from 1 to 7)? – Introspection, comparative judgement, relative to conception of ‘the good life’

Level One Happiness: Feeling Happy in the Moment • How are you feeling right now? – Introspection • Level One Happiness (Nettle) – Mood – Pleasure – Joy – Absence of pain and suffering (negative feelings) • Fear, Anger, Sadness, Disgust, Pain

Level One Happiness: Feeling Happy in the Moment • Is there really such a thing? • How good are we at getting it right? – Introspection – Smiling. – Brain scans • How good is it to have?

Level Two Happiness: Judging Your Happiness • All things considered, how happy are you these days? – Introspection, comparative judgement • Level Two Happiness (Nettle) – – Total net Level One happiness (Kahneman) Well-being Satisfaction Judgement about feelings • Can be distorted by biased judgements

Level Two Happiness: Judging Your Happiness • Is there really such a thing? • How good are we at getting it right? – Appraisal biases – Aspirational biases • How good is it to have?

Level Three Happiness: Thinking You Have a Good Life • On the whole, how good do you think your life is? – Introspection, comparative judgement, relative to conception of ‘the good life’ • Level Three Happiness (Nettle) – Eudaimonia – Fulfilling potential – Quality of life • Doesn’t always require Level 1 or 2 happiness

Level Three Happiness: Thinking You Have a Good Life • Is there really such a thing? – Subjectively: yes – Objectively: interesting question • How good are we at getting it right? • How good is it to have?

Happiness ‘Continuum’ Level 1 - Momentary feelings - Mood - Pleasure or joy - Not suffering Level 2 Level 3 - Judgements about feelings - Net level 1 happiness - Well-being - satisfaction - Holistic evaluation of value of life - Flourishing - Needn’t include happiness More emotional, sensual, and reliable More cognitive, moral, and easily biased

Discussion • When (if ever) are our judgments about how we feel accurate enough to make decisions by? • For self- and governmental – assessment, which method of measuring happiness: – Provides the best gauge of actual happiness (most accurate/ reliable)? – Is the easiest to carry out? • Or, suggest another method

How to Find Out More • Further reading: – Happiness: The Science Behind Your Smile • By Daniel Nettle – Stumbling on Happiness • By Dan Gilbert • Multimedia info: – www. danweijers. com/happiness – http: //www. nationalaccountsof wellbeing. org/

Happiness: Its Meaning, Measurement and Significance L 3: Happiness and Public Policy?

Objectives • Use our previous learning (about what happiness is, how valuable it is and if we can measure it) to help us… • Decide what we should do about happiness regarding public policy

So What Should the Government Do? • Main goal of government? : – – Happiness Well-being High living standards $$$/freedom/rights • SWB/Happiness measures/studies? – No role – Directly inform policy (alone or with others) – Use to create objective measures

Unemployment • Raise taxes to make more public sector jobs? • Make it harder to fire people?

Commuting • Less time commuting could make us happier • Should the government encourage virtual workplaces?

Advertising • Rosser Reeves – Manager of a successful advertising company • While holding up two coins: – “[Making] you think that this quarter is more valuable than that one”

The Benefits of Advertising • Winston Churchill: • “Advertising nourishes the consuming power of men. It creates wants for a better standard of living… It spurs individual exertion and greater production. ” • Advertising improves our well-being

Does Advertising Make Us Dissatisfied? • Beautiful (photo-shopped) women are in adverts everywhere we look

Does Advertising Make Us Dissatisfied? • • Beautiful (photo-shopped) women are in adverts everywhere They make us unhappy/ dissatisfied Should we remove tax breaks for pictorial advertising? Should we ban pictorial advertising?

Policymaking Sustainability ↑ Well-being (WB) Subjective WB Overall Domain-Specific Justice Objective WB Quality of Life Indicators Traditional Economic Indicators HAPPINESS Mental state/ hedonism Life Satisfaction theories Objective List/ Flourishing • Survey • Pager • Day reconstruction • Survey • “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life? ” • Survey • Rate agreement “I have good friends” Fairness Equality Health/ healthcare Freedom Trust Safety Environment Education Equality Employment Happiness Income Wealth Production Brain scan Behavioural

Living Standards • Treasury vision: – “working for higher living standards for NZers” • Living Standards Framework (LSF) – Explain ‘living standards’ • Living Standards Tool – “assist policy analysts to consider the [LSF] in their day-to-day work”

Treasury’s Key Objectives • “working for higher living standards for NZers” 1. Improved economic performance 2. A high performing state sector that supports NZ’s international competitiveness 3. A stable and sustainable macroeconomic environment

Living Standards Framework

Living Standards Tool

My View

Policymaking Sustainability ↑ Well-being (WB) Subjective WB Overall Domain-Specific Justice Objective WB Quality of Life Indicators Traditional Economic Indicators HAPPINESS Mental state/ hedonism Life Satisfaction theories Objective List/ Flourishing • Survey • Pager • Day reconstruction • Survey • “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life? ” • Survey • Rate agreement “I have good friends” Fairness Equality Health/ healthcare Freedom Trust Safety Environment Education Equality Employment Happiness Income Wealth Production Brain scan Behavioural

SWB as “Crosscheck”

Measuring Progress

So What Should the Government Do? • Main goal of government? : – – Happiness Well-being High living standards $$$/freedom/rights • SWB/Happiness measures/studies? – No role – Directly inform policy (alone or with others) – Use to create objective measures

How to Find Out More • Further reading: – Happiness: Lessons from a New Science • By Lord Richard layard • Multimedia info: – www. treasury. govt. nz • Search for “living standards” – www. danweijers. com/happiness – http: //www. nationalaccountsofwellb eing. org/

Bhutan vs. New Zealand • In Bhutan, happiness (they define it more like peaceful serenity) is the most important driver of policy – Since the late 1980’s • In New Zealand, it’s often ‘the effect on the economy’ – On jobs or per capita incomes or GDP

Other Topics • • Foreign aid The media’s portrayal of progress Education Health