HEALTH

&
HAPPINESS
 Happiness is a positive
emotional state that is
defined individually or
subjectively.
Happiness
Within the scientific
community there is little
consensus on the meaning
of happiness.
What is happiness?
1.A state of mind- It is fundamentally the study of certain mental states.
In form of life satisfaction, pleasure, or a positive emotional condition
2.A life that goes well for the person leading it- more commonly, well
being, welfare, utility or flourishing. “Happiness” in this sense
concerns what benefits a person, is good for her, makes her better off,
serves her interests, or is desirable for her for her sake.
 Affective definitions

Cognitive definitions
Definition of
happiness
Attitudinal definitions

Mixed definitions
Components of Happiness
 Hedonic View-
Two views of
happiness
Eudaimonic
View
 need/goal satisfaction
theories

Theories of
process/activity theories
Happiness
genetic/personality
predisposition theories
 Happiness as Satisfaction

Need/Goal Put forward by leaders of various

schools of psychotherapy
Satisfaction
Theories Freud = reduction of tension leads
to happiness
Maslow = satisfaction of needs
leads to happiness
 ❖Engaging in particular life activities =
Happiness

Process/Activity ❖Mike Csikszentmihaly

Theories - flow = engagement in interesting activities that
match of challenge one’s skills
- engagement produces happiness
 Happiness as stable

Personality as the source of happiness

Genetic/Personality
Predisposition Genetics influence:
Theories • -up to 40% of positive emotionality
• - up to 55% of negative emotionality
(about 50% not explained via biology!)
NEED/GOAL SATISFACTION
THEORIES
• The reduction of tension
or the satisfaction of
needs leads to happiness.
• We are happy because we
have reached our goals.
• See happiness as
changing with life
conditions.
PROCESS/ACTIVITY THEORIES
• Engaging in particular life
activities generates happiness.
• Csikszentmihalyi proposes that
people who experience flow (i.e.,
engagement in interesting
activities that match or challenge
task-related skills) in daily life tend
to be very happy.
• Csikszentmihalyi’s theory of flow
suggests that engagement in
enjoyable activity produces
happiness.
• View happiness as changing with
life conditions.
GENETIC/PERSONALITY
PREDISPOSITION THEORIES
• Genetic and personality
components of happiness are
seen as stable.
• Two Big 5 Factors of Personality,
extraversion and neuroticism,
have been found to be closely
related to the characteristics of
happiness.
• Researchers have found that up
to 40% of positive emotionality
and 55% of negative emotionality
are genetically based.
 ◦ Ed Diener- Professor of Happiness
◦ Diener defines subjective well-being as a
combination of positive affect (in the absence of
negative affect) and general life satisfaction. Diener
uses the term subjective well-being as synonymous
with happiness.

Subjective ◦ Subjective well-being is considered to by the

subjective evaluation of one’s current status in the

Well-Being world. It is a combination of positive affect (in the

absence of negative affect) and general life
satisfaction
◦ Well-being involves our experience of pleasure and
our appreciation of life’s rewards.
 Psychologists who support the hedonic
perspective view subjective well-being and
happiness as synonymous.
Happiness +
Meaning = Alternatively, the scholars whose ideas about
well-being are more consistent with Aristotle’s
Well-Being views on eudaimonia believe that happiness
and well-being are not synonymous.

In this latter perspective, eudaimonia is

comprised of happiness and meaning. Stated
in a simple formula, well-being = happiness +
meaning.
 ◦ Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, and Schkade propose that a
person’s happiness level is governed by 3 major factors:
◦ A genetically determined set point for happiness,
21st Century ◦ Happiness-relevant circumstantial factors, and
◦ Happiness-relevant activities and practices.
Definitions of They propose that genetics account for 50% of

Happiness population variance for happiness, whereas life

circumstances (both good and bad) and intentional
activity (attempts at healthy living and positive change)
account for 10% and 40% of the population variance for
happiness, respectively.
Seligman- Theory of Happiness
◦ Seligman’s conclusion is that happiness has three dimensions that
can be cultivated:
◦ The Pleasant Life
◦ The Good Life
◦ The Meaningful Life
Seligman- Theory of Happiness
◦ The Pleasant Life is realised if we learn to savour and appreciate such basic pleasures as companionship,
the natural environment and our bodily needs.
◦ The second stage is the Good Life, which is achieved through discovering our unique virtues and
strengths, and employing them creatively to enhance our lives. Life is only genuinely satisfying if we
discover value within ourselves. Yet one of the best ways of discovering this value is by nourishing our
unique strengths in contributing to the happiness of our fellow humans.
◦ Consequently the final stage is the Meaningful Life, in which we find a deep sense of fulfilment by
employing our unique strengths for a purpose greater than ourselves.
◦ Seligman’s theory is that it reconciles two conflicting views of human happiness, the individualistic
approach, which emphasises that we should take care of ourselves and nurture our own strengths, and
the altruistic approach, which tends to downplay individuality and emphasizes sacrifice for the
greater purpose.
Seligman- View of Happiness
◦ Pleasure- An individual leading a life of pleasure can be seen as maximizing positive
emotions, and minimizing negative emotions.
◦ Engagement- An individual leading a life of engagement constantly seeks out
activities that allow her to be in flow. Flow, coined by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, is a
state of deep, effortless involvement. It occurs most frequently when we concentrate
our undivided attention on activities that are moderately challenging to us. When you
are in flow, it may seem that your sense of self vanishes and time stops. Seligman
recommends that in order to achieve flow, you must identify your signature strengths,
or strengths that are deeply characteristic of yourself, and learn how to practice them.
◦ Meaning- An individual leading a life of meaning belongs to and serves something
that is bigger than himself. These larger entities could be family, religion,
community, country, or even ideas.
 PERMA adds two more elements of well-being to the
Orientations to Happiness:
Accomplishment and Positive Relationships.

A new theory: The five elements of the theory form the acronym:
P(leasure)
P.E.R.M.A E(ngagement)
R(elationships)
M(eaning)
A(ccomplishment)
 ◦ Accomplishment- Accomplishment involves the
pursuit of success, winning, achievement and
mastery, both as end-goals and as processes.
Seligman argues that many people would pursue
accomplishment for its own sake, even when it is

Accomplishment devoid of positive emotions or meaning. We look at

politicians, and we know this is true.
and Positive
Relationships ◦ Relationships- Seligman believes that the need and
tendency towards relationships is biologically and
evolutionarily ingrained in us. Positive
relationships is especially powerful because it plays
a role in supporting the other four components of
well-being.
Complete State Model of
Mental Health
Top 3 Happiest countries in the world
Country Happiness Rank Happiness Score 2021 Population
◦ Finland* 1 7.809 5,548,360
◦ Denmark 2 7.646 5,813,298
◦ Switzerland 3 7.56 8,715,494
◦ India 139 3.80 1,392,700,000

◦ *(4 times in a row)