Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being defined by positive or pl

easant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.[1] Happy mental states
may also reflect judgements by a person about their overall well-being.[2] A var
iety of biological, psychological, economic, religious and philosophical approac
hes have striven to define happiness and identify its sources. Various research
groups, including positive psychology and happiness economics are employing the
scientific method to research questions about what "happiness" is, and how it mi
ght be attained.
The United Nations declared 20 March the International Day of Happiness to recog
nise the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals.
Contents [hide]
1
Definition
2
Research results
3
Religion
3.1
Terror management
3.2
Religious views on happiness
3.2.1 Buddhism
3.2.2 Judaism
3.2.3 Catholicism
4
Spirituality
5
Philosophical views
6
Economic and political views
7
Measures
8
Physical mechanisms
9
Correlation of precuneus gray matter volume, meditation and subjective h
appiness score
10
Health
11
At work
12
See also
13
References
14
Further reading
15
External links
Definition
Philosophers and religious thinkers often define happiness in terms of living a
good life, or flourishing, rather than simply as an emotion. Happiness in this s
ense was used to translate the Greek eudaimonia, and is still used in virtue eth
ics. There has been a transition over time from emphasis on the happiness of vir
tue to the virtue of happiness.[3] Since the turn of the millennium, the human f
lourishing approach, advanced particularly by Amartya Sen has attracted increasi
ng interest in psychological, especially prominent in the work of Martin Seligma
n, Ed Diener and Ruut Veenhoven, and international development and medical resea
rch in the work of Paul Anand.[citation needed]
A widely discussed political value expressed in the United States Declaration of
Independence of 1776, written by Thomas Jefferson, is the universal right to "t
he pursuit of happiness."[4] This seems to suggest a subjective interpretation b
ut one that nonetheless goes beyond emotions alone.[citation needed] In fact, th
is discussion is often based on the naive assumption that the word happiness mea
nt the same thing in 1776 as it does today, an error committed even by history p
rofessors such as Arthur Schlesinger, as cited in the previous source. In fact,
happiness meant "prosperity, thriving, wellbeing" in the 18th century.[5]
Nowadays, happiness is a fuzzy concept and can mean many different things to man
y people. Part of the challenge of a science of happiness is to identify differe
nt concepts of happiness, and where applicable, split them into their components
. Related concepts are well-being, quality of life and flourishing. At least one
author defines happiness as contentment.[6] Some commentators focus on the diff
erence between the hedonistic tradition of seeking pleasant and avoiding unpleas

ant experiences, and the eudaimonic tradition of living life in a full and deepl
y satisfying way.[7]

The 2012 World Happiness Report stated that in subjective well-being measures, t
he primary distinction is between cognitive life evaluations and emotional repor
ts.[8] Happiness is used in both life evaluation, as in How happy are you with your
life as a whole? , and in emotional reports, as in How happy are you now?,
and peopl
m able to use happiness as appropriate in these verbal contexts. Using these mea
sures, the World Happiness Report identifies the countries with the highest leve
ls of happiness.[citation needed]
Research results
See also: Positive psychology
A smiling Rebecca L. Felton
Since the 1960s, happiness research has been conducted in a wide variety of scie
ntific disciplines, including gerontology, social psychology, clinical and medic
al research and happiness economics. During the past two decades, however, the f
ield of happiness studies has expanded drastically in terms of scientific public
ations, and has produced many different views on causes of happiness, and on fac
tors that correlate with happiness,[9] but no validated method has been found to
substantially improve long-term happiness in a meaningful way for most people.
Sonja Lyubomirsky concludes in her book The How of Happiness that 50 percent of
a given human's happiness level is genetically determined (based on twin studies
), 10 percent is affected by life circumstances and situation, and a remaining 4
0 percent of happiness is subject to self-control.[citation needed]
Biological psychologist Meike Bartels also concluded that happiness is partly ge
netically based.[10][11]
The results of the 75-year Grant Study of Harvard undergraduates show a high cor
relation of loving relationship, especially with parents, with later life wellbe
ing.[12]
In the 2nd Edition of the Handbook of Emotions (2000), evolutionary psychologist
s Leda Cosmides and John Tooby say that happiness comes from "encountering unexp
ected positive events". In the 3rd Edition of the Handbook of Emotions (2008), M
ichael Lewis says "happiness can be elicited by seeing a significant other". Acc
ording to Mark Leary, as reported in a November 1995 issue of Psychology Today,
"we are happiest when basking in the acceptance and praise of others". Sara Algo
e and Jonathan Haidt say that "happiness" may be the label for a family of relat
ed emotional states, such as joy, amusement, satisfaction, gratification, euphor
ia, and triumph.[13]
It has been argued that money cannot effectively "buy" much happiness unless it
is used in certain ways.[14] "Beyond the point at which people have enough to co
mfortably feed, clothe, and house themselves, having more money - even a lot mor
e money - makes them only a little bit happier."[according to whom?] In the book
Lucky Go Happy : Make Happiness Happen!, Paul van der Merwe uses a graph to ill
ustrate that money cannot make people happy.[15] A Harvard Business School study
found that "spending money on others actually makes us happier than spending it
on ourselves".[16]
Meditation has been found to lead to high activity in the brain's left prefronta
l cortex, which in turn has been found to correlate with happiness.[17]
A smiling 95-year-old man from Pichilemu, Chile.
Psychologist Martin Seligman asserts that happiness is not solely derived from e

xternal, momentary pleasures,[18] and provides the acronym PERMA to summarize Po

sitive Psychology's correlational findings: humans seem happiest when they have
Pleasure (tasty food, warm baths, etc.),
Engagement (or flow, the absorption of an enjoyed yet challenging activity),
Relationships (social ties have turned out to be extremely reliable indicator of
happiness),
Meaning (a perceived quest or belonging to something bigger), and
Accomplishments (having realized tangible goals).
There have also been some studies of how religion relates to happiness. Causal r
elationships remain unclear, but more religion is seen in happier people. This c
orrelation may be the result of community membership and not necessarily belief
in religion itself. Another component may have to do with ritual.[19]
Abraham Harold Maslow, an American professor of psychology, founded humanistic p
sychology in the 1930s. A visual aid he created to explain his theory, which he
called the hierarchy of needs, is a pyramid depicting the levels of human needs,
psychological, and physical. When a human being ascends the steps of the pyrami
d, he reaches self-actualization. Beyond the routine of needs fulfillment, Maslo
w envisioned moments of extraordinary experience, known as peak experiences, pro
found moments of love, understanding, happiness, or rapture, during which a pers
on feels more whole, alive, self-sufficient, and yet a part of the world. This i
s similar to the flow concept of Mihly Cskszentmihlyi.[citation needed]
Self-determination theory relates intrinsic motivation to three needs: competenc
e, autonomy, and relatedness.
Cross-sectional studies worldwide support a relationship between happiness and f
ruit and vegetable intake. Those eating fruits and vegetables each day have a hi
gher likelihood of being classified as very happy,
suggesting a strong and positive co
rrelation between fruit and vegetable consumption and happiness.[20] Whether it
be in South Korea,[21] Iran,[22] Chile,[23] USA,[24] or UK,[25] greater fruit an
d vegetable consumption had a positive association with greater happiness, indep
endent of factors such as smoking, exercise, body mass index, or socio-economic
factors.