Journal article
Long-running German panel survey shows that personal and economic choices, not just genes, matter for happiness
Bruce Headey, Ruud Muffels, Gert G Wagner
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | NATL ACAD SCIENCES | Published : 2010
Abstract
Psychologists and economists take contradictory approaches to research on what psychologists call happiness or subjective well-being, and economists call subjective utility. A direct test of the most widely accepted psychological theory, set-point theory, shows it to be flawed. Results are then given, using the economists' newer "choice approach"--an approach also favored by positive psychologists--which yields substantial payoffs in explaining long-term changes in happiness. Data come from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1984-2008), a unique 25-y prospective longitudinal survey. This dataset enables direct tests of theories explaining long-term happiness.
Grants
Funding Acknowledgements
Support for this work was provided by the German Ministry for Education and Research and a Max Planck Society Fellowship (to G.G.W.).