Category: Happiness

‘Unhappy’ cities have always been unhappy, new analysis of U.S. satisfaction with life finds.

New York, Pittsburgh and Louisville top the list of unhappiest cities in the U.S., according to a recent government study.

At the other end of the scale, the happiest metropolitan areas in the U.S. are Richmond-Petersburg, VA, Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA and Washington, DC.

The study by the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research, found that many people in ‘unhappy’ cities likely sacrifice their happiness in return for lower housing costs and higher incomes (Glaeser et al., 2014).

It relies on a large survey asking people across the U.S. about their satisfaction with life.

One of the study’s authors, Joshua Gottlieb of the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver School of Economics, said:

“Our research indicates that people care about more than happiness alone, so other factors may encourage them to stay in a city despite their unhappiness.

This means that researchers and policy-makers should not consider an increase in reported happiness as an overriding objective.”

There were also some fascinating trends across all the cities.

Unsurprisingly, people who lived in declining cities tended to be less happy — except that these cities were also unhappier in the past, even when they weren’t in decline.

It turned out that people who’d just moved to ‘unhappy’ cities were equally as unhappy as those who’d lived there for a long time.

Both of these trends suggest that some cities are unhappy places in the long-term.

Here are the unhappiest metropolitan areas with populations over 1 million:

1. New York, NY
2. Pittsburgh, PA
3. Louisville, KY
4. Milwaukee, WI
5. Detroit, MI
6. Indianapolis, IN
7. St. Louis, MO
8. Las Vegas, NV
9. Buffalo, NY
10. Philadelphia, PA

These are the happiest metropolitan areas with populations over 1 million:

1. Richmond-Petersburg, VA
2.  Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA
3. Washington, DC
4. Raleigh-Durham, NC
5. Atlanta, GA
6. Houston, TX
7. Jacksonville, FL
8. Nashville, TN
9. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL
10. Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ

Here are the unhappiest metropolitan areas with populations under 1 million:

1. Scranton, PA
2. St. Joseph, MO
3. Erie, PA
4. South Bend, IN
5. Jersey City, NJ
6. Johnstown, PA
7. Non-metropolitan West Virginia
8. Springfield, MA
9. New York, NY
10. Evansville-Henderson, IN-KY

Here are the happiest metropolitan areas with populations under 1 million:

1. Charlottesville, VA
2. Rochester, MN
3. Lafayette, LA
4. Naples, FL
5. Baton Rouge, LA
6. Flagstaff, AZ
7. Shreveport, LA
8. Houma, LA
9. Corpus Christi, TX
10. Provo, UT

Image credit: BKL

Tastes good? Despite how individual our emotions feel to us, the brain processes them in a remarkably similar way.

The brain translates emotions into a standard code that’s similar across people, a new study finds.

While happiness and sadness might feel quite different to us, the brain actually represents these emotions in a remarkably similar way (Chikazoe et al., 2014).

Cornell University neuroscientist Adam Anderson, senior author of the study, explains:

“We discovered that fine-grained patterns of neural activity within the orbitofrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with emotional processing, act as a neural code which captures an individual’s subjective feeling.

Population coding of affect across stimuli, modalities and individuals.”

This finding contrasts to the established view which is that there are specific, separate regions in the brain for positive and negative emotions.

In fact, the results of this study suggest, the picture is more subtle.

Anderson explains:

“If you and I derive similar pleasure from sipping a fine wine or watching the sun set, our results suggest it is because we share similar fine-grained patterns of activity in the orbitofrontal cortex.

It appears that the human brain generates a special code for the entire valence spectrum of pleasant-to-unpleasant, good-to-bad feelings, which can be read like a ‘neural valence meter’ in which the leaning of a population of neurons in one direction equals positive feeling and the leaning in the other direction equals negative feeling,”

To reach these conclusions they had participant rate pictures and tastes while inside a brain scanner.

What they found was that when someone liked a taste, for example, there were specific patterns of activity in the areas associated with taste, along with activity in the orbitofrontal cortices.

This means our sensory experience of the world is very tightly bound up with our emotional response at a fundamental level.

They also found that across different people, there were similar patterns of activation in the orbitofrontal cortices associated with positive and negative emotions.

Anderson thinks this suggests the brain has a standard way of representing the emotions that’s common to different people.

He concludes:

“Despite how personal our feelings feel, the evidence suggests our brains use a standard code to speak the same emotional language.”

Image credit: Image courtesy of Cornell University

New study shows that everyone knows what wearing red means, so watch out!

Red is very much in fashion in psychology at the moment.

Last year PsyBlog reported on the exciting news that women are more likely to wear red or pink dresses at the most fertile time of the month.

On the other side, as it were, other research has shown that men think that women wearing red is a sign of sexual receptivity.

Still, vital questions have been left unanswered.

For example: do women notice that their man has noticed that another woman is wearing some red apparel and, therefore, get all protective and jealous?

I’m happy to say, thanks to a new study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, we now have the answers (Pazda et al., 2014).

They showed women pictures of other women dressed in dresses of either green or red (see above).

Then they tested for signs of either ‘derogation’ or ‘mate-guarding’.

The lead researcher, Adam Pazda, explains:

“Derogation [involves] speaking poorly of another person to make them seem inferior, undesirable, or unlikeable, while making oneself seem superior and more likable by contrast.

Mate-guarding is the act of protecting one’s own romantic partner from romantic or sexual encounters with others.”

The answer: yes, women were more likely to ‘derogate’ and ‘mate-guard’ when the target woman was wearing a red dress.

So there it is.

Evidence that we all know what red means: the people who wear it, those who see it and those who see them seeing it.

All you wearers-of-red have been warned about the ticking time-bombs you are draping over your bodies.

Better to play it safe and dress in gray, I say.

Image courtesy of Society for Personality and Social Psychology

Why the ‘local-ladder effect’ is so important for happiness.

Happiness comes from respect and admiration from others, not the size of your bank account, according to psychological research.

The conclusion comes from a study published in the journal Psychological Science of how different types of status are related to well-being (Anderson et al., 2012).

The study’s lead author, Cameron Anderson, from the University of California, Berkeley, said:

“We got interested in this idea because there is abundant evidence that higher socioeconomic status — higher income or wealth, higher education — does not boost subjective well-being (or happiness) much at all.

Yet at the same time, many theories suggest that higher status should boost happiness.”

Perhaps, they thought, it comes down to the type of social status that you have.

To investigate, in one study they gathered three bits of data about 80 college students:

1. Their income,
2. their social status as measured by themselves and their peers and how active they were socially,
3. and how happy they were.

It turned out that students who had a better social standing were happier, but those who were richer were no happier.

The ‘local-ladder’ effect

Dubbing these findings the ‘local-ladder effect’, the psychologists argue that what matters is how you are viewed by those in your local community.

The researchers replicated these findings in three other ways and each time reached the same conclusion.

In another study, a group of MBA students were followed over the period of their course.

Once again, the results suggested that happiness doesn’t come from money but from greater respect from those around you: whether it’s an athletic team or neighbours and friends.

Anderson commented:

“I was surprised at how fluid these effects were — if someone’s standing in their local ladder went up or down, so did their happiness, even over the course of 9 months.”

Anderson speculated on why social status is so important for happiness, whereas money makes much less difference:

“One of the reasons why money doesn’t buy happiness is that people quickly adapt to the new level of income or wealth.

Lottery winners, for example, are initially happy but then return to their original level of happiness quickly.”

As for social status:

“It’s possible that being respected, having influence, and being socially integrated just never gets old.”

Image credit: www.planetofsuccess.com

Take control, fight little hassles, get fair pay, receive feedback and more…

Lists of how to be happy at work often implicitly blame workers themselves.

If you’re not happy, they imply, it’s because you’re not prioritising properly or you need to smile more, or some other trite rubbish.

Don’t accept this: organisations are mostly to blame for unhappy employees.

Psychological research has shown what makes people unhappy at work, and it’s not lack of smiling.

Here are ten factors truly associated with being happy at work.

1. Get control

Psychologists have consistently found that people who work in jobs where they have little control find their work very stressful and consequently unsatisfying.

The more control people perceive in how they carry out their job, the more satisfaction they experience.

Look for ways of taking control of your job.

Even exerting relatively small amounts of control can make you feel happier with your work.

2. Fight little hassles

Coffee machine doesn’t work? That same information needs to be put into two forms?

People’s job satisfaction is surprisingly sensitive to daily hassles.

Those little hassles all add up.

People don’t mind working hard when the task is difficult, but when it seems like a pointless inconvenience, they get unhappy. Quickly.

Talk to your manager about getting rid of these little hassles.

Also, build a consensus with your colleagues that the little hassles are worth addressing.

3. Fair pay

The bigger the difference between what you think you should earn and what you do earn, the less happy you’ll be.

The question is, who do you compare yourself to: the other people in the office or other people with your job?

Both comparisons will likely affect how happy you are with your job.

It’s perceptions that are very important here, along with the absolute levels of pay.

You may be able to live with small differences, but big disparities tend to eat away at you.

If this is the case, it could be time to move on.

4. Address family problems

Having a child may be wonderful, but it’s also very stressful.

According to a study of almost 10,000 people in the UK, those who had children became significantly less satisfied with their jobs afterwards (Georgellis et al., 2012).

Professor Georgellis explained:

“People are less happy at work for up to five years after their first baby is born, though the effect seems to be stronger for women, especially those in the public sector.”

It’s a reminder that outside events affect how happy people are with their jobs, not just aspects of their jobs.

Are you sure it’s really your job that is getting you down? Perhaps there is a situation at home that needs dealing with.

5. Feeling of achievement

To feel happy in their jobs, people have to feel they are making some progress.

In some jobs achievement is obvious, but in others it’s not.

As smaller cogs in larger machines, it may be difficult to tell what we’re contributing.

That’s why the next factor can be so important…

6. Feedback

When it comes to job satisfaction, no news is bad news.

Getting negative feedback can be painful, but at least it tells you where improvements can be made.

On the other hand, positive feedback can make all the difference to how satisfied people feel.

If you’re not getting feedback, then ask for it.

The right feedback can help satisfy the need for achievement.

7. Seek complexity and variety

People generally find jobs more satisfying if they are more complex and offer more variety.

People seem to like complex (but not impossible) jobs, perhaps because it pushes them more.

Too easy and people get bored.

This won’t be possible for all employees, but look for ways to add complexity and variety to your job.

You might think more complex work is best avoided, but the challenge will likely make you happier.

8. Ask for support

Workers often complain that the big bosses communicate little about the overall direction of the company.

People want to know their organisation cares about them, that they are getting something back for what they are putting in.

We get this message from how the boss treats us, the kinds of fringe benefits we get and other subtle messages.

If people perceive more organisational support, they are happier with their job.

If this area is lacking, try asking your manager for more information and support, and point out why it is needed.

9. Honeymoons and hangovers

People experience honeymoon periods after a month or two in a new job when their satisfaction shoots up.

But then it normally begins to tail off after six months or so.

The honeymoon period at the start of a new job tends to be stronger when people are particularly dissatisfied with their previous job (Boswell et al., 2009).

But what about when the honeymoon period is long gone and you’ve entered a long hangover?

Sometimes the only way to be happier at work is to find new work.

10. Happy in life, happy at work

People who are generally happy find it easier to find happiness at work.

That’s according to an analysis of 223 studies on the connection between job satisfaction and life satisfaction (Bowling et al., 2010).

Lead author, Nathan Bowling said:

“…if people are, or are predisposed to be, happy and satisfied in life generally, then they will be likely to be happy and satisfied in their work.

However, the flipside of this finding could be that those people who are dissatisfied generally and who seek happiness through their work, may not find job satisfaction.

Nor might they increase their levels of overall happiness by pursuing it.”

This is worth remembering for those people who never seem to be happy with whatever job they are doing.

Sometimes the kind of happiness you are looking for cannot be achieved through work.

Image credit: SalFalko

The six domains of human growth that are vital to well-being.

Relationships have stronger associations with happiness than academic achievement, according to a recent study.

Whilst strong social relationships in childhood and adolescence were associated with happier adults, the associations with academic achievement were much lower.

The study used data from 804 New Zealanders who had been followed over 32 years to compare the relative importance of social connectedness and academic success (Olsson et al., 2012).

The researchers traced the pathways of both academic achievement and social relationships down the years.

Participants were assessed at ages 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, 21, 26, 32 and then again at 38.

They found that children who developed language early were more likely to achieve academic success, but this wasn’t particularly associated with adult well-being.

In contrast, those who were socially confident, rarely alone and socially connected through clubs and youth groups were more likely to grow up into happier adults.

What is happiness?

Central to studies like this one is the question: what is happiness?

The ancient Greeks came up with two approaches:

1. Happiness is a feeling of pleasure; it’s an emotion.
2. Happiness is about values like generosity, honesty and kindness. In other words: happiness is less an emotion and more of an idea.

Of course happiness is both, and modern theories try to encompass both.

In this study, the measures attempted to cover both ‘types’ of happiness: happiness as an emotion and an idea.

This is important because some people think of happiness mainly as an emotion, when really it is more than that.

One theory, put forward by Professor Carol Ryff, suggests there are six domains of human growth important to well-being:

1. self-acceptance,
2. the establishment of quality ties to other,
3. a sense of autonomy in thought and action,
4. the ability to manage complex environments to suit personal needs and values,
5. the pursuit of meaningful goals and a sense of purpose in life,
6. continued growth and development as a person.

So, in this study, when the authors find a connection between social relationships and happiness, it isn’t just that more socially connected people are out partying all the time and enjoying themselves, it goes much deeper than that.

On the other hand, it seems that all the education in the world won’t necessarily teach you much about what it means to be happy, in either the emotional or philosophical sense.

Image credit: Toni Blay

Study of over one billion status updates finds that positive emotions are more contagious than negative.

Emotions expressed online — both positive and negative — are contagious, concludes a new study from the University of California, San Diego and Yale University (Coviello et al., 2014).

One of the largest ever studies of Facebook examined the emotional content of one billion posts over two years.

Software was used to analyse the emotional content of each post.

Then they needed something random which would affect people’s emotions as a group and could be tracked in their status updates — this would create a kind of experiment.

They hit upon the idea of using rain, which reliably made people’s status updates slightly more negative.

Then they looked to see whether people’s slightly more negative emotions were transmitted through their Facebook updates to friends who lived in cities where it wasn’t raining.

(In fact, any status updates actually about the weather were removed to avoid contaminating the results.)

The results showed that their emotions were contagious. Lead author of the study, James Fowler explained:

“Our study suggests that people are not just choosing other people like themselves to associate with but actually causing their friends’ emotional expressions to change.”

Similarly, positive emotions also spread through Facebook updates.

In fact positive emotions spread more strongly, with positive messages being more strongly contagious then negative.

They found that each additional positive post led to 1.75 more positive posts by their Facebook friends.

The authors think, though, that even this may be an underestimation of the power of emotional contagion online.

Fowler continued:

“It is possible that emotional contagion online is even stronger than we were able to measure.

“For our analysis, to get away from measuring the effect of the rain itself, we had to exclude the effects of posts on friends who live in the same cities.

But we have a pretty good sense from other studies that people who live near each other have stronger relationships and influence each other even more.

If we could measure those relationships, we would probably find even more contagion.”

The authors of the study conclude:

“These results imply that emotions themselves might ripple through social networks to generate large-scale synchrony that gives rise to clusters of happy and unhappy individuals.

And new technologies online may be increasing this synchrony by giving people more avenues to express themselves to a wider range of social contacts.

As a result, we may see greater spikes in global emotion that could generate increased volatility in everything from political systems to financial markets.”

So, the next time you’re about to post a social network update, pause and think about the effect it will have on others.

Your emotions may travel further than you think.

Image credit: mkhmarketing

Data from over 178,000 Americans in 2013 reveals the happiest and saddest states in the US.

North Dakota is the happiest state in the US while West Virginia is down at the bottom of the list.

The data comes from interviews with 178,000 Americans across all 50 states conducted by Gallup and Healthways in 2013.

In the following image, darker green means happier people:

The scores are averages made up of five different factors, three of which have a more psychological aspect:

• Purpose: Liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals
• Social: Having supportive relationships and love in your life
• Community: Liking where you live, feeling safe and having pride in your community

The other two relate to physical and financial matters:

• Financial: Managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security
• Physical: Having good health and enough energy to get things done daily

Here are the average scores across all five factors for the top 10 states:

And here are the bottom 10 states:

The Midwestern and Western states did best, with 9 of the 10 highest scoring states being in these areas.

Overall the Gallup survey found that national happiness across the US has been at around the same level since the index began in 2008.

Image credits: Antoine Robiez & Gallup

Children become 30 times more helpful after making music compared with listening to a story.

Both singing and playing a musical instrument can improve young children’s behaviour, according to a recent study.

The study found that children who’d been making music were more helpful to each other and had better problem-solving skills than those who’d listened to a story (Davies et al., 2013).

The results shed light on an age-old question: is music just a happy byproduct of the human mind or does it serve some purpose?

Dramatic results

To reach this conclusion, the study randomly allocated 24 four-year-olds to two different groups:

• Music: in this group they played percussion and sang.
• Story: children in this group sat quietly and listened to a story.

Afterwards the children were given tests of both cooperation and helping behaviour.

Some of the results were dramatic: children who’d been in the music group were over 30 times more likely to be helpful than those in the story group.

The findings were also dramatic for cooperation. Children who were in the music group were 6 times more likely to cooperate when tested afterwards.

The study’s lead author, Rie Davies, said:

“This study highlights the need for schools and parents to understand the important role music making has in children’s lives in terms of social bonding and helping behaviours.  Music making in class, particularly singing, may encourage pupils with learning differences and emotional difficulties feel less alienated in the school environment.”

The prosocial function of music

These results support a previous study which also found beneficial effects of music on young children’s behaviour (Kirschner & Tomasello, 2010).

The authors of that study argue that this evidence suggests music is more than just an interesting byproduct of the human mind–in fact it serves important functions:

“One of these functions could have been the maintenance of social bonds and prosocial commitment among the members of individual social groups, ultimately increasing cooperation and prosocial ingroup behavior.” (Kirschner & Tomasello, 2010).

They conclude by saying:

“…human children today have an innate proclivity to produce and to enjoy musical behaviors like the ones used in our study. This proclivity together with music’s efficiency in coordinating voice and action — thereby highlighting the shared intention of acting together as a “we” unit — encouraged the children in our study to behave more cooperatively and pro-socially towards each other.”

→ Read on: 10 Magical Effects Music Has On the Mind & Music and Memory: 5 Awesome New Psychology Studies

Image credit: Philippa Willetts