Happiness Is a Stochastic Phenomenon

Abstract

Happiness, or sllbjecti~'e Il'ell-beillg, Il'as measllred on a birth-record-based sample of serernl thousand middleaged twins IIsing the Well-Being (WB) scale of the MlIltidimensional Personality Questionnaire. Neither socioeconOlllic staillS, edllcational attainlllell1, family income, marital stallls, nor an indicant of religious cOllllllitmell1 could account for more than abollt 3% ofthe variance in WB. From 44% to 52% ofthe variance ill WB, hOll'ever, is associated Il'ith genetic variation. Based on the retest ofsmaller samples oftll'ins after ill1ervals of 4.5 and IO years, we estimate that the heritability of the stable component of subjective Il'ell-being approaches 80%.Happiness depends. as Naiure shows, less on exterior things than most suppose.-William CowperAre those people who go to work in suits happier and more fulfilled than those who go in overalls? Do people higher on the socioeconomic ladder enjoy life more than those lower down? Can money buy happiness? As a consequence of racism and relative poverty, are black Americans less contented on average than white Americans? Because men still hold the reins of power, are men happier than women? The survey in this journal by Myers and Diener (1995) indicated that the answer to these questions, surprisingly, is "no." These authors pointed out that people have a remarkable ability to adapt, both to bad fortune and to good, so that one's life circumstances, unless they are very bad indeed, do not seem to have lasting effects on one's mood.Vet some people do seem to be happier on average than other people are. Although people adapt surprisingly quickly to both good news and bad, the set point around which happiness varies from time to time apparently differs from one person to another. Myers and Diener considered personal relationships, religious faith, and the "flow" of working toward achievable goals as possible determiners of individual differences in the happiness set point.We had already collected demographic and questionnaire data on a large sample of adults, and it seemed appropriate to try to replicate and perhaps extend some of Myers and Diener's findings. The Minnesota Twin Registry (Lykken, Bouchard, McGue, & Tellegen, 1990) is a birth-record-based registry of middle-aged twins born in Minnesota from 1936 to 1955. We know how far these twins went in school, their approximate family income, their marital status, and their socioeconomic status (SES), based on their occupations. These twins provide an unusually representative sample of the white population (during the 20 birth years searched, fewer than 2% of Minnesota births were to African or Native Americans). Some of the twins Address correspondence to David Lykken, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0344. did not reach the eighth grade, whereas others have doctorates' they live on farms, in small towns, in big cities, and in foreigl ands; their socioeconomic levels are representative of Minnesota-born adults. METHODA self-rating questionnaire was administer...

Subjective well-being and exercise in the second half of life: a critical review of theoretical approaches

“…This set point describes a relatively stable intensity level and contains a strong genetic component (e.g., [33]). At times, the state aspect of SWB varies strongly around this individual set point as an outcome of interactions between situational stimuli (e.g., exercise) and personality (e.g., extraversion).…”

How stable is happiness? Using the STARTS model to estimate the stability of life satisfaction

“…In one of the strongest statements against the possibility for change, Lykken and Tellegen (1996) suggested that "trying to be happier [may be] as futile as trying to be taller" (p. 189). These authors based this statement on evidence from behavioral genetic studies.…”

Expressão do afeto e bem-estar subjetivo em pessoas casadas

“…Em relação aos fatores que influenciam o BES, convém lembrar que este construto sofre influência tanto cultural (experiências compartilhadas que formam a base de uma maneira similar de ver o mundo) como da hereditariedade (Albuquerque & Tróccoli, 2004;Lykken & Tellegen, 1996). O sentido das experiências dos indivíduos é construído socialmente por meio de crenças, pressuposições e expectativas sobre o mundo ligadas também à transmissão que ocorre no âmbito da família.…”