TAG | “Be Happy” catching on around the world |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Monday, 01 September 2008 | |
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Page 1 of 3 The abstract to their paper states that its authors have generally disagreed with past studies on happiness in peoples within the world's countries. They stated, “Until recently, it was widely held that happiness fluctuates around set points, so that neither individuals nor societies can lastingly increase their happiness. Even though recent research showed that some individuals move enduringly above or below their set points, this does not refute the idea that the happiness levels of entire societies remain fixed.” Lead scientist on the project, American political scientist Ronald F. Inglehart, from the University of Michigan, states, "It's widely believed that it's almost impossible to raise an entire country's happiness level." [University of Michigan News Service: “Happiness is rising around the world: U-M study”] Inglehart added, "Most earlier research has suggested that happiness levels are stable. Important events like winning the lottery or learning you have cancer can lead to short-term changes, but in the long run most previous research suggests that people and nations are stuck on a 'hedonic treadmill.' The belief has been that no matter what happens or what we do, basic happiness levels are stable and don't really change." [University of Michigan] They further stated within the abstract, “Our article, however, challenges this idea: Data from representative national surveys carried out from 1981 to 2007 show that happiness rose in 45 of the 52 countries for which substantial time-series data were available. Regression analyses suggest that that the extent to which a society allows free choice has a major impact on happiness. Since 1981, economic development, democratization, and increasing social tolerance have increased the extent to which people perceive that they have free choice, which in turn has led to higher levels of happiness around the world, as the human development model suggests.” Inglehart's team analyzed data from the World Values Survey (WVS), by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, taken between the years 1981 and 2007 within fifty-two countries around the world. They actually ranked 97 countries, which contain 90% of the world’s population; however, only 52 countries contained sufficient data over more than 17 years. Within each country, the research team surveyed about 1,400 people, thus, totaling approximately 72,800 people. The Inglehart team asked two primary questions. Please read page two for more.... |
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