HEALTH & WELLNESS
n the near future , when you stroll through the campus of Sacramento State , you might stumble upon a happiness booth . If you can spare a few minutes , a volunteer will give you a specific “ assignment ” that — according to research — is likely to boost your happiness .
The booths , which are still in the planning phase ( with a rollout TBD , pending the pandemic ), are the brainchild of Meliksah Demir , Sacramento State ’ s first-ever professor in happiness . Demir has been studying the science of happiness for over two decades . He remembers the day it began . In 1998 , when he was a psychology student in Turkey , at the time just an undergraduate freshman , the instructors showed the class how to use a new technology called the “ internet ” to search for scholarly articles on common psychological topics like depression , anxiety and phobias .
“ How about happiness ?” asked Demir . Blank stares . At the time , happiness was a fringe topic in psychology . This is no longer the case . The number of academic papers on happiness has exploded , from 300 in 2000 to roughly 1,300 in 2016 ( the most recent year of the analysis , from the American Psychological Association database ). Demir is part of this new branch of research , conducting studies on the role of relationships and happiness . The focus of Demir ’ s work , at heart , is to answer this foundational question : Is it possible to become happier ? Is this something that ’ s within our power to change , proactively and willfully ?
The answer has relevance for all of us , both in our personal lives and the workplace .
Happy pie
Imagine your happiness as a pie chart . Each slice of the pie is a factor that explains your potential for happiness . The cumulative body of happiness research , Demir explains , has broadly shown that the pie contains a few big wedges : Your genetics and personality account for roughly 50 percent of happiness ( it ’ s the biggest slice of the pie ), life circumstances account for 10 percent , and “ intentional activities ” account for the remaining 40 percent . These are not hard numbers , just estimates . Regardless of the exact
“ When we talk about happiness and becoming happier , some people might get the idea that , ‘ Oh , my God ! I should be happy all the time !’ It doesn ’ t work that way . And it shouldn ’ t .”
MELIKSAH DEMIR Professor in happiness , Sacramento State
percentage breakdowns , there are two crucial takeaways : Life circumstances account for less than you would think ( just 10 percent !), and — most importantly — there is a large pie slice of happiness that is within your control .
Another way to look at this is that our genes give us what researchers call a certain “ set point ,” or baseline , of happiness . “ The idea has been that human beings are really good at adapting to circumstances ,” explains Demir . After things happen to us in life , good or bad , we tend to revert to that original set point . If we get a promotion ? Then we ’ ll enjoy a short-term burst of happiness , but then , eventually , the euphoria fades , and we ’ ll return to the happiness baseline . If we tear an ACL when skiing ? This might bring a slump of sadness , but it ’ s likely we ’ ll eventually return to our set point .
This tendency to revert back to our happiness set point , or baseline , gave rise to a framework called the hedonic adaptation model . This theory suggests that perhaps nothing can make us happier in the long run , as we will eventually , inevitably , adapt to our new conditions . Trying to become happier , this rather glum theory says , is as futile as trying to become taller .
“ I don ’ t subscribe to this argument ,” says Demir , who speaks quickly and with passion , using big hand gestures . ( On our Zoom call , he looks , well , happy .) Demir believes in our power to become happier not out of wide-eyed optimism , but because he sees it in the data . Over the years , researchers have tested the efficacy of a range of “ happiness interventions .” These interventions generally ask a group of volunteers to perform some kind of action ( such as practicing random acts of kindness ), and then compare that to a control group . The researchers then measure the happiness levels through questionnaires before the intervention , after , and then weeks or months later to see if it truly sticks .
These studies have consistently shown the same thing : Interventions can work . “ The effect sizes are small to medium , but they definitely make a difference ,” says Demir . Take the happiness intervention of gratitude . One 2005 study published in American Psychologist , for example , asked participants to write a letter to someone in their life that they are grateful for , and then to read that letter aloud to them . Researchers observed an
54 comstocksmag . com | August 2021