Happiness Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Happiness Research - Essay ExampleBased on the appraisal-based guess of gaiety, Myers and Diener maintain that ones personality traits, the characteristics of ones social milieu etc can determine ones happiness. Whereas a persons age, sex, race, and income etc cannot determine factors of happiness, better clues come from knowing a persons traits, whether the person enjoys a substantiative net profit of close relationships, whether the persons culture offers positive interpretations for most daily events, whether the person is engaged by work and leisure, and whether the person has a faith that entails social support, purpose, and hope. (Myers and Diener, 1995, p 17). In a reflective exploration of the arguments put forward by Myers and Diener, it becomes lucid that family support and family relations argon two important factors that contribute to happiness or the subjective well-being of an individual.In their article, Myers and Diener offer crucial premises concerning the happin ess or satisfaction with life and they suggest that personality traits, supportive network of close relationships, culture, work and leisure, social support, purpose, and hope etc can determine ones happiness. It is vestigial to investigate the premise by the authors that people who have strong family relations are happy and healthy. ... Thus, in their important study titled Family Support, Family Income, and Happiness A 10-Year Perspective, North, Holahan, Moos, and Cronkite examined the role of income and social support in predicting coexisting happiness and alter in happiness and the conclusions of their study support the premise of Myers and Diener that people who have strong family relations are happy and healthy. Income had a small, positive impact on happiness, which diminished as income increased. In contrast, family social support, measured by 3 subscales, Cohesion, Expressiveness, and Conflict, showed a substantial, positive association with concurrent happiness, even af ter controlling for income. (North, Holahan, Moos, and Cronkite, 2008, p. 475). Therefore, it is all important(p) to realize that family social support has a great influence on the happiness of an individual, as against income, and financial stability. The family support and family relations are among the most fundamental elements determining the well being of an individual and the organization of family life can influence the individuals happiness. Based on literature review on the topic, Myers and Diener maintain that the needy social connections in the ever more individualistic modern societies hinder happiness and well being of individuals. Individualistic societies offer personal control, harmony amidst the inner and outer person, and opportunity to express ones feelings and talents, though with the risks of a less embedded, more detached self. (Myers and Diener, 1995, pp 14-15). The social support system as well as family support and relations can greatly help one in realizi ng happiness. The value