Comments on: Money and happiness http://whyy.org/cms/news/health-science/behavioral-health-health-science/dr-dan-gottlieb-on-morning-edition/2009/08/17/money-and-happiness/14790 News and Information from WHYY in Philadelphia Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:54:03 -0400 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Nick http://whyy.org/cms/news/health-science/behavioral-health-health-science/dr-dan-gottlieb-on-morning-edition/2009/08/17/money-and-happiness/14790/comment-page-1#comment-541 Nick Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:14:35 +0000 http://whyy.org/cms/news/?p=14790#comment-541 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 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

]]> By: Eric Hamell http://whyy.org/cms/news/health-science/behavioral-health-health-science/dr-dan-gottlieb-on-morning-edition/2009/08/17/money-and-happiness/14790/comment-page-1#comment-512 Eric Hamell Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:33:01 +0000 http://whyy.org/cms/news/?p=14790#comment-512 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. 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.

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