WHAT IS HAPPINESS? (ACCORDING TO PSYCHOLOGY) - GEOGRAFÍA - 2025

The happiness can be defined as a combination of satisfaction that a person has with his personal life (family, couple, work) and mental well - being feeling in the day.

Being happy means being in a state of mind of well-being composed of positive emotions, from joy to pleasure. The concept of happiness is diffuse and its meaning can vary for different people and cultures. Related terms are well-being, quality of life, satisfaction and fulfillment.

Have you ever tried to define happiness or have you looked up its definition in the dictionary? If the answer is yes, you may have noticed how difficult it is to find a definition of this concept that does not incorporate a synonym for the same word. As if that were not enough, it is also almost impossible for us to measure exactly the degree of happiness that a person feels.

What does happiness mean and what does it consist of?

At present and due to the great amount of unhappiness that exists with the development of the modern world, the science that studies happiness has gained great importance because who would not like to be happy?

Since the dawn of time, philosophers, religious leaders, writers, and famous thinkers such as Aristotle have asked themselves this question, which they have tried to answer. For him, happiness had two aspects: Hedonia (pleasure) and eudaimonia (a life lived).

In contemporary psychology, this concept becomes even more elaborate if we focus on the way Dr. Seligman (2011) understands it. For him, in addition to understanding happiness as a pleasant, meaningful and committed life, he also incorporates the ideas that happiness is also sustained by the quality relationships that a person has as well as by their successes and achievements.

On the other hand, we also know the mathematical formula or the factors that determine our happiness, "Subjective Well-being" or SWB its acronym in English:

• Our genes determine our happiness 50% out of 100.
• On the other hand, 10% is determined by the circumstances that surround us.
• And the remaining 40% is triggered by the activities we do on a daily basis (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon & Schkade, 2005).

From what has been said, we can come to the conclusion that our happiness is governed by these three elements and that although there is 60% of our happiness that we cannot control, we still have 40% of what if we are responsible in the activities that are part of our daily life.

Happiness according to the ancient and modern sages

An interesting way to better understand the concept of happiness is to observe what the ancient and somewhat more modern philosophers and sages said about it.

As you can see, there are numerous definitions and opinions of what this concept is. Some think that it depends on oneself, others that it does not take much to be happy, others that it depends on desire, others that with wisdom one is happy.

Some of the more interesting definitions are:

But… What is happiness according to Psychology?

A good start to define happiness may be to start with what we know it is not. For many people, happiness lies in having a good time with friends at a party or even enjoying a good meal or accompanied by the person you love.

These are wonderful experiences that make us feel great but it doesn't really give us a definition of the concept itself, since they define what pleasure is. Therefore, if happiness is not the same as pleasure, then what is happiness?

As we have seen in the ideas of Seligman, happiness is when our life fully satisfies our needs. That is, it comes when we feel satisfied and fulfilled. It is a feeling of satisfaction, in which it seems to us that life is as it should be. Perfect happiness, enlightenment, comes when all our needs are fully met.

This leads us to conclude what this concept could be in the words of Sonja Lyubomirsky, a positive psychology researcher, who conceives happiness as:

"The experience of joy, satisfaction or positive well-being, combined with a feeling that one's life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile."

Happiness and brain

Of course, neuronal connections, neurotransmitters and the functioning of the human brain are of fundamental importance when it comes to understanding happiness.

In this sense, serotonin is of fundamental importance, a neurotransmitter synthesized in the central nervous system with functions of vital importance for well-being and emotional stability.

The increase in this substance almost automatically produces a feeling of well-being, increased self-esteem, relaxation and concentration.

Serotonin deficiencies are associated with depression, suicidal thoughts, obsessive compulsive disorder, insomnia, and aggressive states.

What are our essential needs to be happy?

Once we know what happiness is and the factors that compose it, we can answer another question: What are the essential needs that I have to cover to be happy?

Our individual needs vary based on our genetics, the way we were raised, and our life experiences. That complex combination is what makes each one of us unique, both in our exact needs, and in all other aspects that make up the person we are today.

Each of us can become very complex, but we are all human and this provides the foundation on which we can discover our essential human needs.

Based on what Dr. Seligman understands by happiness and the basic needs that are proposed in Maslow's pyramid. We have made a list of the main essential needs that human beings can have and that, if they are fully met, will lead them to be happy:

• Have wellness. Understood as the connections that are made between the body and the mind and that affects our state of mind and vice versa. We will not be able to feel good if we do not satisfy our first and essential basic need, the physiological one (Vázquez and others, (S / F).

• Live in a suitable environment. It refers to external factors, such as security, food availability, freedom, weather, beauty, and your home. Human beings need to feel protected in order to be happy.

• Pleasure. All human beings have to live temporary experiences such as joy, sex, love and food to feel good.

• Have relationships. On the other hand, given that we are a social species, the social relationships that we have will be the basis for the construction of our personality and, as Seligman (2011) says, they must be positive.

• Eagerness to excel. We need to have goals and the motivation to fight for them and achieve them. That is, we have to live adventures, make plans and be curious with the world around us.

• Commitment. Our interior needs to be involved in the activity that it is doing by paying attention to its internal attitudes and not based only on external circumstances. Therefore, to be happy you have to be actively involved in what you do.

• Success and achievement. Every person needs to set goals with which to pursue their dreams and also feel competent and autonomous. Thanks to them we can continue to grow as people and even professionally. For this, self-confidence will be very important.

• Esteem. As we already know, we also need to be loved and felt loved in order to have a positive assessment of ourselves and our professional work. If we do not get it, it can affect our self-esteem and therefore our happiness. (Vázquez and others, S / F).

• Flexibility. We also have to have the ability to adapt to the changes that life brings our way and know how to overcome them in a positive way.

Can you measure happiness?

Happiness is immaterial, it cannot be put in a pocket and put away to use whenever we feel like it. But, do you think it can be measured and studied scientifically? Well, according to some scientists, if we can be capable of it.

A 2015 study published in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry measured student happiness and psychological well-being in a sample of 403 from a secondary school.

The general state of health, happiness, self-efficacy, perception of stress, hope and satisfaction with life were evaluated in the students through written questionnaires.

It was concluded that there was a significant relationship between happiness and psychological well-being. According to this study, "Those students with good relationships and those who had reported enjoying attending social events indicated a better state of mental health."

Under the direction of Dr. George Vaillant, another study was conducted with some men, who are now 90 years old and are still being studied today. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, researchers from the Harvard Adult Development Study began studying the health and well-being of the 268 most promising male students at Harvard University.

Called the "Grant Study," it examines the lives of these men through war, career, marriage, and divorce, as well as parenthood and grandparenting and old age. Some of the preserved contents of the study have been published in The Atlantic.

A recent and similar social study is the BBC documentary for children of our time. The documentary is presented by Professor Robert Winston and plans to examine the first 20 years of the lives of 25 British children born in 1999/2000.

Some tips to be happy (infographic)

Although happiness encompasses much more, these tips can help you achieve it and feel more well-being in life.

Scientific curiosities about happiness

-Temperature matters: Research has shown a clear link between warmer climates and better mood. Both too hot and too cold are detrimental to well-being.

-In part it is inherited: several investigations have shown that genes are responsible for at least 50% of how happy a person is.

-What you smell is important: "Flower smells can make you happier by encouraging social interactions" according to Dr. Jeannette Haviland-Jones, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University.

-Being good at something helps to be happy: be it playing an instrument or learning chess, being good at a skill helps to be happy. Although it is tough at first and can be stressful, in the long run it pays off.

Types of happiness

According to psychologist Martin Selingman, there are 5 different types of happiness:

• Positive emotions or pleasant life.
• Commitment or committed life.
• Relations.
• Meaning or meaningful life.
• Success and sense of accomplishment.

See full article.

Conclusions

As we have seen throughout this article, there is little that is currently known about the concept of happiness.

However, we still have a long way to go to finish understanding it and even define it exactly. On the other hand, we also have to continue working to measure this sentiment, although at the moment the studies that are being carried out have no waste.

References

1. Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K, M. and Schkade, D. (2005): Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change. Review of General Psychology, 9, no. 2, 111 131.
2. Seligman, Martin EP (2011): Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well – being. New York: Free Press.
3. Vázquez Muñoz, MP, Valbuena de la Fuente, F. (S / F). Abraham Maslow's Pyramid of Needs. Faculty of Information Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid.