Sonja Lyubomirsky thinks so.
Or at least that seems to be her argument in a recent op-ed in the New York Times, where she suggests that people (What people? Most people? Her friends? She doesn’t say…) aren’t panicking due to the depression/recession that we’re in. That most people aren’t really that unhappy in these difficult economic times.
Of course, I have to raise an eyebrow whenever a commentator makes a claim such as this which goes against conventional wisdom and is supported by zero evidence.
Instead, she cites research into our individual happiness, which says nothing about society’s collective happiness in tough economic times such as these:
Research in psychology and economics suggests that when only your salary is cut, or when only you make a foolish investment, or when only you lose your job, you become considerably less satisfied with your life. But when everyone from autoworkers to Wall Street financiers becomes worse off, your life satisfaction remains pretty much the same.
Indeed, humans are remarkably attuned to relative position and status. As the economists David Hemenway and Sara Solnick demonstrated in a study at Harvard, many people would prefer to receive an annual salary of $50,000 when others are making $25,000 than to earn $100,000 a year when others are making $200,000.
Which is true, individually. But really has little to do with providing any evidence that indeed we’re all still collectively “happy” when we’re losing our jobs, explaining to our children why Santa had to cut way back this year, and why we might lose our house (or have already been kicked out). Does the author honestly think the tens of thousands of people who have lost their homes are comforted by the fact that Jay Leno might have to forgo buying his 81st car?
While people are attuned to their rank in the pecking order, such rank becomes meaningless across socioeconomic groups. The key is that we are most sensitive to our rank within our “peer group,” meaning, people like us. And while we might feel like we’re not doing too badly if we can afford our current home’s mortgage, I suspect most of us would feel immediately unhappy if we lost our homes (even if everyone else in our subdivision was also losing their home), shelter being one of the basic human needs.
I don’t think “we’re still happy.” I think we’re trying to make the best of a horrible situation that very few people understand, much as Americans did during the Great Depression of the 1930s. We pull together when we’re kicked down, and American optimism finds a way to shine through. But I wouldn’t equate such optimism with being happy.
Read the article: Why We’re Still Happy
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In the coming year, take it easy and get back to the basics » A Division by Zer0 (1/2/2009)
7 Comments to
“Collectively, Are We Still Happy in a Depression?”
I can relate with the foolish investment. I recently got screwed by an unscrupulous business partner who was a con artist. I invested nearly $10,000 of my own money to build a marketing agency only to be screwed left and right. He ended up taking that money out of the company bank account to jump on the coltan bandwagon. After further investigating him, I found out that he owes more than $150,000 to the IRS in back taxes, and is in arrears in child support for two children in Georgia. To top it all off, he would prefer to smoke pot rather than run a business legally. So I created Galt Mile Media with the sole intent to compete against him.
John, could I make an editorial suggestion? Retitle your article “…during an economic depression.”
I want to talk about Depression. Mom is in depression now. My dad is died last year this day. I’m missing him. I want to get better My mom.. I love my mom n my dad.. Sorry 
Sorry i forgot. Many happy returns of the day!
It’s especially difficult to be happy when you fear losing your job and a another person is getting paid $180 million to play baseball.
Wendy Aron, author of Hide & Seek: How I Laughed at Depression, Conquered My Fears and Found Happiness
http://www.wendyaron.com
first of all, let me say, both the author of this article and the author he sites make good points. true, the present does suck, and it may seem as if general morale & spending are down. however bad the economy may seem, it has most likely created a sense of learned hopelessness or “there’s nothing i can do about it” attitude. with this in mind, i feel that the population over-all has maintained positive spirits. when we view ourselves in the light of “keeping up with the jones’s” individuals of society can still regard themselves as “happy” due to the fact that in comparison, the “jones’s” have also suffered an economic slap in the face. so while, yeah, shelter is a basic human need, i feel that we can be just as happy in a small apartment as we can be in a 2 story condominium (research has shown that happiness levels are equal in people who have randomly found a dime in the copy machine than in those who have won the lottery).
second of all, not to attack, but the rest of the comments tend to reflect more on societal/personal comforts vs. the actual content of this article.
Happiness can be achieved regardless of our circumstances. Whether we are in an economic depression, going through a divorce, grieving from the death of a loved one, or whatever - happiness (as the cliche goes) is really a choice. It doesn’t mean we have to be laughing, joyous, and “positive” all the time. It means we can still be grateful for what we have and focus on what’s positive in our lives. I know that’s not always easy. That’s what http://www.behappy101.com is all about.
…Jimmy DeMesa, M.D.
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