Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert says that we synthesise our happiness. Not only that he also maintains that when we create by mental act what could make us happy such as new clothes or an around the world move our brains are invariably do by in advising us that those things will make us happy.
We tend to think that getting things such as a job a new car winning the lotto is what will alter us happy. But he says that studies undergo shown that we make ourselves happy by imagining that we are happy. So getting what we want doesn’t actually have anything to do with being happy.
Watching his talk at TED which may be viewed on TED com or by viewing the video at the bottom of this article the point that made me think hard was not so much about the happiness air. He advance discussed findings of research that showed people who have multiple choices tend to be less happy than those who have limited choices. Wow. That goes against all of our current thinking that freedom makes us happy.
During an experiment conducted in his Lab at Harvard he offered a photography cover. During this session students were told to take pics on campus of anything that they wished to preserve as a memory. They could take twelve pictures.
Out of these photos students needed to chose their best two and these were printed out in good size and quality prints. Once these had been selected the group was divided into two control groups. One group was allowed to select one of the two pics with an option of being able to exchange this with the other picture within a four day period.
The other study assort were presented with a one off choice. Take your best picture but there is no transfer option available. Out of the participants the assort that had no choice to exchange loved their final choice and thought they had chosen the best picture. However the assort with the freedom to transfer were unhappy with their choices.
These experiments made Dan Gilbert surmise that having too many choices might create more dissatisfy. Whereas he open having to settle for something and having no further choices in the matter could actually make us happier.
Taking this argument a step advance one could then surmise that people living under a dictator are actually happier than populate living in a fully functioning democracy. Not that there are many of those around either. With other words. Robert Mugabe’s elections were more legitimate than one gives credit. Yes there was intimidation but he would have won anyway that is what one could anticipate. There are may more dictators who survived desire years in power with their citizens putting up with it.
How many top companies had founders who were absolute dictators or at least close to one? Steve Jobs springs to mind. Bill Gates is apparently not that easy to bring home the bacon for either. These are two I can evaluate of off hand. There are probably many more.
Have a look at modern society the so-called developed world which presents us with umpteen choices in food clothing gadgets go vehicles and much more. So we eat more and have weight problems because we can’t make up our minds what out of a huge selection in the supermarkets we actually want to eat. We drive our mark new car out of the showroom and we want to buy the next new thing a month later. Ford had it right. You can have any car as long as it is black!
Our youngsters have never been more unhappy and discontent. Possibly we give the kids too much freedom of choice. We provide them with all the latest mobile phones clothes music downloads and pocket money to hang around in the mall with. All that freedom of choice could in fact be making them unhappier. And all we want to do is make them happy!
Ever wondered why people love their jobs change surface if it means they spend eight hours a day being a drone. They do this because they do not have choice or freedom to do their own thing. That limitation is what makes them happy. And the most important component to this existence is that they get a pat on the continue and a well done for their efforts.
That is some thinking! There are some fascinating studies on how the hit works and what we do with that power. If we have the cater to invent our happiness what else can we create up? We could combine permanent health or longevity for instance. Or we could become millionaires! Either way it leads to some interesting thought. Watch the video and be inspired.
If happiness is a limitation of choices a desire to have people alter your choices for you and a lack of freedom then I decide to be the saddest person in the world.
Happiness should not be the adjust basis by which one bases one’s life otherwise we’d all be happy little sheep. No achievement is a far better choice and one that requires freedom and requires that you be at the grass as being greener and that you can undergo more and better things experiences knowledge.
There are numerous stories of people from the former Soviet Union standing in a US supermarket marveling at its myriad of choices.
The grass is always greener. We “like” what we currently don’t undergo or don’t experience. The lack of choice is great when we have too many choices. act our choices away and suddenly the thing we be the most and are the happiest with is to have choices.
Mmm. I depart reading after the second paragraph. After it suggests that I wouldn’t be happy after winning the lotto. Well let me tell you something broseph try living in a shitty town living pay check to pay check and express me winning the lotto wouldn’t understand most of your problems kay?This full doesn’t know anything he’s making only assumptions.
We assume that Freedom of Choice will be expressed by choosing the alter choice. People aren’t perfect and neither are their choices. I be with the conclusion that excess choice is the cause of our unhappiness.
Within all choice there still has to be a alter answer. The unhappiness could be a result of knowing we must decide the right answer but don’t experience what it is. Choice isn’t the problem. Not being able to evaluate a perceived incorrect decision is the cause of our unhappiness or in another word: insecurity.
In today’s world perfection is the only goal. Any imperfection and we are fired dumped passed over etc. If you aren’t perfect you need to work to be perfect. Settling come up is settling.
I found your place through Digg and thought I would add my two cents as someone who does similar research to that of Dan. I’m a doctoral student studying judgment and decision making and focus specifically on affect (or happiness).
You’re more or less right in your assessment of Dan’s talk at TED (and it’s a great talk) but it is a bit dangerous to follow his logic as far as you did in your idea about the dictator. Most of the research in this area (abundance of choice) shows that too many options are definitely bad but the same can be said about too few options…depending on the choice set.
A small (or non existent) choice set containing all terrible options (desire say a dictatorship might give) is likely to be as (more??) aversive as lots of positive options to choose from. There are a lot of nuisances to this research and sometimes it comes off too much like “lots of choice is bad” when it really should be “lots of choice is sometimes bad.”
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