Latest Happiness Stories

According to a new study, happier orangutans are more likely to live longer. Researchers used a low cost method to measure the happiness of captive orangutans. The scientists found in a follow-up study seven years later that the happier primates were, the more likely they were to still be alive. The team asked the people who worked closely with each captive orangutan to participate in the study.  The researchers asked the keepers and carers to complete a questionnaire about individual...

In 1943, American psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed that all humans seek to fulfill a hierarchy of needs, which he represented with a pyramid. The pyramid's base, which he believed must come first, signified basic needs (for food, sleep and sex, for example). Safety and security came next, in Maslow's view, then love and belonging, then esteem and, finally, at the pyramid's peak, a quality he called "self-actualization." Maslow wrote that people who have these needs fulfilled...

NEW YORK, June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Although one of the simplest emotions, happiness can be hard to explain. The Harris Poll's annual Happiness Index is therefore useful as it uses standard and timeless questions to calculate Americans' overall happiness each year. As was the case last year, one third (33%) of Americans this year are very happy which is slightly down from the 35% who were very happy in both 2008 and 2009. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100517/NY06256LOGO...

Individualism a stronger predictor of well-being than wealth, says new studyFreedom and personal autonomy are more important to people's well-being than money, according to a meta-analysis of data from 63 countries published by the American Psychological Association.While a great deal of research has been devoted to the predictors of happiness and life satisfaction around the world, researchers at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand wanted to know one thing: What is more...

Many economists and sociologists have warned of the social dangers of a wide gap between the richest and everyone else. Now, a new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, adds a psychological reason to narrow the disparity "“ it makes people unhappy.Over the last 40 years, "we've seen that people seem to be happier when there is more equality," says University of Virginia psychologist Shigehiro...

Documentary follows students on three continents as they search for lasting happiness. DENVER, June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Oriental Theater will sponsor the Colorado premiere of PROJECT HAPPINESS, a new documentary that follows students on a quest for lasting happiness. The screening will be followed by a Q&A discussion with PROJECT HAPPINESS creator, Randy Taran, as well as a panel of local experts (TBA). A percentage of the profits from the evening will go to benefit...

Former international tennis player and businesswoman, Pia Balling, announces release of the book "The Perpetual Happiness Machine," that you can find at http://www.youramazingpower.com/change-your-life-with-the-perpetual-happiness-machine. For the past few years, many people have been suffering in the increasingly challenging economic climate, which, combined with a desire to give her loved ones a life changing happiness tool, drove Pia Balling to create this book on how to be happy and...

Patterns of receptive and creative cultural activities and their association with perceived health, anxiety, depression and satisfaction with life among adults: The HUNT study, NorwayMen who visit art galleries, museums, and the theatre regularly tend to enjoy better health and are more satisfied with life, reveals a study published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.The study found that both men and women who play musical instruments, paint or visit the theatre or...

Most people would probably agree that quality of life means more than just material welfare, and it is becoming increasingly common for politicians to be interested in letting people's subjective well-being guide policy. The economist Yonas Alem's research from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, a city of three million people, shows that decision-makers make widely differing guesses about what the citizens themselves consider to make them satisfied with life.Bhutan is a country that for decades has...

It seems like everyone wants to be happier and the pursuit of happiness is one of the foundations of American life. But even happiness can have a dark side, according to the authors of a new review article published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. They say that happiness shouldn't be thought of as a universally good thing, and outline four ways in which this is the case. Indeed, not all types and degrees of happiness are...