Happiness scientists say relationships top the list for a good life

Many of the world’s leading happiness researchers say they consciously spend more time with loved ones after seeing the evidence from their own field, according to a new paper published in the Journal of Happiness Studies. The paper, titled “Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of Well-Being Science from Several of Its Pioneers,” was co-authored by Lara Aknin, a professor of social psychology at Simon Fraser University, Säde Stenlund of Harvard University, and Kelsey O’Connor, a senior researcher at Luxembourg’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. It captures the collective reflections of thirteen international leaders in well-being science who gathered earlier this year on a Zoom call to discuss what their roughly 600 combined years of happiness research—and their own lived experiences—reveal about living a good life.

“Happiness emerges from a symphony of factors, but if I had to pinpoint one secret to happiness, relationships with other people might be it,” Aknin says in the paper’s accompanying release. “Having relationships is one of the most reliable predictors of happiness that has emerged from a robust body of evidence spanning the social sciences.” She adds that having just one person to count on is extremely consequential, and that having more relationships and more communities to feel part of compounds that sense of well-being. Several researchers on the call reported that the evidence from their own studies had changed their personal behaviour, prompting them to deliberately invest more time in family and friends.

The discussion also addressed the relationship between money and happiness. The researchers agreed that a comfortable income and financial security are important foundations, but that once basic needs are met, additional income has less impact on happiness. Meaningful work emerged as another strong contributor: happiness, they noted, comes from doing work and activities that feel worthwhile and aligned with one’s values. Several participants described applying findings from happiness science to their own lives, including expressing gratitude, savouring positive experiences, investing in relationships, listening more deeply, volunteering, and being more socially engaged.

The researchers were careful to frame happiness not as a constant positive state. Well-being, they argued, grows when people shape their lives around their values, strengths and relationships, and learn to adapt when circumstances change. Generally happy people are not constantly happy, and happiness is not reserved only for people with ideal lives, perfect circumstances, or a natural sense of optimism. Instead, Aknin says, it can be developed through conscious choices, self-awareness and adaptation, even when life gets hard—a view the authors describe as understanding well-being as a journey rather than a fixed destination.

Some of the leading models in the field suggest that roughly 10 per cent of a person’s happiness is attributable to life circumstances—things that are large and relatively difficult to change, such as where you live, your age, your employment status or your relationship status. As much as 40 per cent, by these models, is related to “volitional activities,” meaning how people choose to spend their time. “That leaves a lot of opportunity for people who may be more innately pessimistic to start practising research-backed strategies like meditation or gratitude that might help them see the world in a more positive way,” Aknin says.

The paper also looks backward and forward for the discipline itself. Aknin, who co-edits the annual World Happiness Report, notes that today’s field of well-being science was “just a twinkle in the pioneers’ eyes” when it first found its footing in the 1970s. As a growing number of scholars take well-being research in their own directions, she says there is a sense among the pioneers that the field has become fractured. Yet the call participants also shared a united aim: to ensure that this work can be practically applied, rigorously tested, and used to improve people’s lives.

Aknin acknowledges that, with many large and threatening realities unfolding in the world, the pursuit of happiness can seem trite. But she says one reason she remains committed to the scientific study of happiness is that happiness itself predicts a number of valuable outcomes, including the motivation to help other people. “When people feel they are doing well, they have the ability, the capability, and the motivation to engage in world affairs—to take care of the people they love and take care of their communities,” she explains. When people invest in others, she adds, that investment is passed along and returned, summarising the point with a simple observation: “Generosity is not zero-sum.”

Subject of Research: Well-being science pioneers reflect on what their collective research reveals about happiness, relationships, income and intentional habits

Article Title: Global happiness researchers reveal keys to a good life

Article References: Global happiness researchers reveal keys to a good life. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

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Keywords: happiness research, well-being science, Journal of Happiness Studies, relationships, social psychology, Simon Fraser University, World Happiness Report, life satisfaction, positive psychology, volitional activities, Global, happiness