Hedonic capital, adaptation and resilience

Abstract

The paper sets out a theory of hedonic adaptation and resilience. By distinguishing between stocks and flows of psychological resources, it suggests a new way to think about the dynamics of human well-being or "happiness". Central to the analysis is a concept we refer to as hedonic capital. We build on the idea that the evolutionary function of happiness is as a motivating device. Our model successfully replicates the patterns routinely found in well-being data -particularly the empirical regularity of an approximately stable level of well-being and the adaptive tendency to return towards that level. The formal model provides a number of testable empirical predictions.

Can having internal locus of control insure against negative shocks? Psychological evidence from panel data

“…This would be more consistent with the idea of “hedonic capital,” or the theory that people with a large stock of psychological resources tend to be more resilient in general (Graham and Oswald, 2010; see also Powdthavee, 2014). In other words, it is possible that the moderation effects observed in our study are caused by long-run lagged impacts of early accumulations of these hedonic capitals rather than short-run contemporaneous impacts of internal locus of control, which has so far been our preferred interpretation of the estimated interaction effects.…”

“…There is little economic theory in this area. One notable exception is Graham and Oswald (2010), who sketched out a theory in which psychological resilience is conceptualized as a byproduct of how much stock of hedonic capital the individual has accumulated over the years. According to Graham and Oswald, the definition of hedonic capital may include

social relationships with partners, friends and colleagues; health … self-esteem; status; and meaningful work.

…”

Can Having Internal Locus of Control Insure Against Negative Shocks? Psychological Evidence from Panel Data

“…One notable exception is Graham and Oswald (2010), who sketched out a theory in which psychological resilience is conceptualized as a byproduct of how much stock of hedonic capital the individual has accumulated over the years. According to Graham and Oswald, the definition of hedonic capital may include social relationships with partners, friends and colleagues; health … selfesteem; status; and meaningful work.…”

The price of mobility

“…Therefore, the subjectively perceived amenity level at a destination is i a D , with i 20,1. This also mirrors aspects of hedonic adaptation (Frederick and Loewenstein 1999;Graham and Oswald 2010), where higher levels of adaptation allow individuals to recover faster from shocks to subjective well-being, thus plausibly lowering overall perceived costs of migration-related discomfort.…”

“…Individually discerned persistent dis-amenities or stressors in the accustomed environment, translating into lower levels of subjective wellbeing, might provoke a migratory reaction to provide relief (Nowok et al 2013). In this sense, migration then serves as remedy to regain a previously higher level of wellbeing within the process of hedonic adaption (Graham and Oswald 2010). Alternatively, migratory behaviour might be "initiated and perpetuated by an ex ante aspiration gap reflecting people's desire to realise economic, social, human or political opportunities" (Czaika and Vothknecht 2014, p. 3).…”