The adventure of a lifetime

Hi,

I started another book the other day called :59 seconds by Prof. Richard Wiseman and something struck me during the first 30 pages. He was talking about happiness and materialism and if money can really make us happy. What I love about this book is that its conclusions are based from actual scientific research.

Here is what he found out, I think you will find this interesting.

We all know that money can’t buy you happiness, so what can?

Well according to Lyubomirsky et al (2005) 50% of the overall sense of happiness is genetically determined and thus can not be changed. 10% is said to be general circumstances such as education levels, money, married etc. The remaining 40% is said to be every day life, the way you think and treat other people. This can be changed.

Richard goes on about certain exercises that have shown evidence to work for creating a sense of happiness such as gratitude attitude. But the most interesting part of this topic  is the research conducted from psychologists Leaf Van Boven and Thomas Gilovich. In one experiment they created two groups, one to think of a object they just bought and the other group to describe a purchase which involves a experience, a holiday for example. Results are noted according to their current mood. Results clearly showed that buying experiences made people feel happier than buying products. Paper

Of course this seems like common sense, we all know that material possessions loose their shine but are we happy? Not trying to go into a big philosophical debate about happiness am just pointing out evidence that suggests experience can help create happiness. Am sure most of you can relate to this and am sure this will strike a cord to the adventurers reading this.

Another interesting part was the research conducted into giving. Dunn et al (2008) conducted a national survey investigating the relationship between income, spending and happiness. After a series of studies the results were clear that those who spent a higher percentage on others were far happier than those who spent it on themselves.

This is also supported via neuroscience, William Harbaugh conducted a experiment by giving volunteers $100 (virtual money) and asked them certain questions such as would you like to spend your money on yourself, new shoes maybe or would you like to give it away. This was conducted in a MIR scan and the results where noted. Two regions of the brain became active when volunteers gave money to others – the caudate nucleus  and the nucleus accumbens. These regions of the brain are active when our basic needs are met, eating food, valued by others suggesting a neuro link between happiness and helping others.

So there you have it, I thought it was pretty interesting anyway r

Tags: Geek, health, stories