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    Eduqas Myers and Diener

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    Myers and Diener reviewed literature on factors affecting happiness. They found myths around age, gender, race and money were dismissed, instead traits like optimism and relationships were more important. Cultural worldviews and having goals also predicted well-being. The research provided a framework to understand psychological well-being.

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    Eduqas Myers and Diener

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    bricksku
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    Myers and Diener reviewed literature on factors affecting happiness. They found myths around age, gender, race and money were dismissed, instead traits like optimism and relationships were more important. Cultural worldviews and having goals also predicted well-being. The research provided a framework to understand psychological well-being.

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    Myers and Diener reviewed literature on factors affecting happiness. They found myths around age, gender, race and money were dismissed, instead traits like optimism and relationships were more important. Cultural worldviews and having goals also predicted well-being. The research provided a framework to understand psychological well-being.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    2 views2 pages

    Eduqas Myers and Diener

    Uploaded by

    bricksku
    Myers and Diener reviewed literature on factors affecting happiness. They found myths around age, gender, race and money were dismissed, instead traits like optimism and relationships were more important. Cultural worldviews and having goals also predicted well-being. The research provided a framework to understand psychological well-being.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Myers and Diener (1995) ‘Who is happy?

    Methodology and procedures:


    The methodology used was a literature review, therefore there as correlations and observations to investigate factors affecting
    are no procedures. Myers and Diener selected the topic for their subjective well-being. Myers and Diener collated this research
    review (happiness) and searched the literature for relevant studies under different areas and wrote up their review, drawing conclusions
    (secondary sources). These studies used a range of methods such about factors affecting happiness.

    Findings:
    (Note: more detail can be found in the WJEC summary of this research.)

    Myths of happiness:
    Age Gender Race Culture Money
    No real difference Generally no difference No real difference Large differences found Moderate correlations
    A survey of roughly 170,000 80% of men and 80% of women said People of different nationalities Nations differ in happiness 75% of Americans beginning
    people from 16 different countries they were at least ‘fairly satisfied’ scored similarly on tests of self- even when income differences college said that ‘being very well off
    (Ingelhart, 1990) revealed that no with life (Ingelhart, 1990). esteem. are controlled. For example, in financially’ was a ‘very important’ life
    time of life is notably happier or Portugal, about 10% of people say goal and was ranked more important
    unhappier than others. they are very happy, whilst in the than ‘raising a family’ for example.
    Netherlands, 40% of people say the
    same.
    Happy people:
    Traits Relationships Flow Faith
    Self-esteem, personal control, optimism, Those with more friends are happier. People with greater work satisfaction have Religious people report higher levels of
    and extraversion. People who can name several friends are better life satisfaction. happiness.
    Happy people tend to like themselves and healthier and happier than people who have Work should help the individual reach a ‘flow’ Surveys have shown that people who are
    feel a sense of personal control. They are also few or no friends. Married people are more state, where one is so caught up in an activity strongly religious are twice as likely to say they
    optimists and are more extraverted. It is not likely to describe themselves as ‘very happy’ that the mind does not wander, one becomes are ‘very happy’. Faith seems to help people to
    known if these traits cause happiness or being than those who never married, are divorced or oblivious to surroundings and time flies cope with a crisis.
    happy leads to these traits. separated. (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).

    Conclusions:
    Myers and Diener used their research to develop ideas about a 2. Cultural worldview. An individual’s culture influences how They dismissed the idea that factors such as age, sex and money
    theory of happiness. It contained three elements. life events are interpreted, which in turn affects well-being. were important indicators of happiness, instead focusing on
    things like personality traits and relationships. They noted
    1. Adaptation. Only events within the last three months have 3. Values and goals. Having goals and making progress
    that the research on psychological well-being was a ‘welcome
    a significant effect on well-being as the response to either towards them can predict well-being. Therefore, things like
    complement’ to studies of depression and anxiety and
    positive or negative events fades over time. money are only important if they are relevant to a person’s
    believed that by researching who is happy, it could help people
    life goals.
    rethink their priorities and better understand how to build a
    world that enhances human well-being.
    Evaluation

    Ethical issues: Methodology and procedures:

    Risk of stress, anxiety, humiliation or pain: Culture-biased research:


    Some of the studies Myers and Diener used in the review may have Many of the studies were focused on Western cultures and used
    caused anxiety or stress to their participants by asking about their Western definitions of happiness when designing the questionnaires.
    well-being.

    Potential for researcher bias:


    Risk to the participants’ values, beliefs, relationships,
    A literature review involves researchers selecting previous research
    status or privacy: and pooling it together to draw conclusions. There is a possibility of
    Some of the studies Myers and Diener used in the review asked for researcher bias in selecting the studies and interpreting the results.
    personal information such as well-being, religion or relationship status.
    Revealing this may have been uncomfortable for some participants.
    Use of self-report data:
    The studies used in the literature review required individuals to
    report on their subjective well-being, meaning that their responses
    Social implications: were subject to validity issues like social desirability and demand
    characteristics.
    Socially sensitive research:
    Some of the findings and conclusions of Myers and Diener highlight Use of correlational studies:
    differences between groups in society. For example, the fact that Many of the studies used were correlational, for example those that
    religious people report higher levels of satisfaction or that there are looked at the relationship between income and well-being. Correlation
    cultural differences (like 10% of people in Portugal saying they are ‘very does not prove causation and there may be other factors involved.
    happy’, compared to 40% in the Netherlands).

    Benefits for society:


    In their conclusions, Myers and Diener note that the research could be
    used to help ‘better understand how to build a world that enhances
    human well-being’.

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