Money and happiness
Monday, August 17th, 2009
By: Maiken Scott
mscott@whyy.org
With the economy in a recession, there is a lot of talk about things people can and can not afford – vacations, cars, homes. And we hear a lot about the stress financial worries put on individuals and families. But how much does money impact happiness in life?
New research suggests it’s a mixed bag. WHYY’s Behavioral Health reporter Maiken Scott spoke with Dan Gottlieb about the relationship between money and happiness:
Listen:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Hi Maiken,
interesting thoughts!
I believe that it’s not possible to make a general statement on whether money makes people more or less happy. Money comes with a whole set of new elements that may have good or bad impact on our happiness, and depending on how susceptible we are to every one of them, the conclusion will go one way or the other (i.e. different from person to person).
I recently made an effort to provide a more comprehensive picture of what these ad- and disadvantages are. I invite you to have a look at http://www.spreadinghappiness.org/2009/08/money-how-much-should-we-strive-for-it-to-become-happy/ and tell me what you think!
Thank you,
Nick
I find myself increasingly irritated by the way WHYY handles mental health news. Once again, a new study is the purported reason for another interview with Dan Gottlieb, yet he tells us virtually nothing about said study, and instead just uses it as an opportunity to spout his personal philosophy.
I couldn't readily find the study in question, but a fairly recent web page from Dr. Diener says, "Life satisfaction, pleasant emotions, and unpleasant emotions are separable, different components of happiness and unhappiness." This defines satisfaction as a component of happiness, whereas Gottlieb tried to present them as entirely distinct.
Other pages about Diener's work confirm that he says money does contribute to happiness on average, even if it doesn't guarantee it. This again contradicts the impression Gottlieb tried to give listeners.