AIMS Video games provide opportunities for positive psychological experiences such as flow-like phenomena during play and general happiness that could be associated with gaming achievements. However, research has shown that specific features of game play may be associated with problematic behaviour associated with addiction-like experiences. The study was aimed at analysing whether certain stru...

The biological correlates of negative affect (e.g. depression and neuroticism) have been well studied, but very little research has focused on the biological correlates of positive affect (e.g. happiness and well-being). Cortisol has been shown to be a consistent marker for depression, but has yet to be studied with relation to happiness. High levels of morning cortisol have been linked to depr...

Understanding how having children influences parents' subjective well-being ("happiness") has great potential to explain fertility behavior. We study parental happiness trajectories before and after the birth of a child, using large British and German longitudinal data sets. We account for unobserved parental characteristics using fixed-effects models and study how sociodemographic factors modi...

Negative schizotypal traits may be related to anhedonia and/or amotivation; however it is unclear which of these symptoms is related to negative schizotypy to a greater extent. Moreover, the impact of schizotypal traits on overall subjective well-being remains uncertain. The present study examined these two questions in a non-clinical sample assessed for schizotypal traits (n = 138). Schizotypa...

Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness... Or Does It? A Reconsideration Based on the Combined Effects of Wealth, Income and Consumption The accepted view among psychologists and economists alike is that economic well-being has a statistically significant but only weak effect on happiness/subjective well-being (SWB). This view is based almost entirely on weak relationships with household income. The paper ...

Self-concordant work motivation arises from one's authentic choices, personal values, and interests. In the present study, we investigated whether self-concordant motivation may fluctuate from one work-related task to the next. On the basis of self-determination theory, we hypothesized that momentary self-concordance buffers the negative impact of momentary work demands on momentary happiness. ...

Research on happiness tends to follow a “benevolent dictator” approach where politicians pursue people’s happiness. This paper takes an antithetic approach based on the insights of public choice theory. First, we inquire how the results of happiness research may be used to improve the choice of institutions. Second, we show that the policy approach matters for the choice of research questions a...

Happiness and Economic Growth: Does the Cross Section Predict Time Trends? Evidence from Developing Countries Based on point-of-time comparisons of happiness in richer and poorer countries, it is commonly asserted that economic growth will have a significant positive impact on happiness in poorer countries, if not richer. The time trends of subjective well-being (SWB) in 13 developing countries...

The economics of happiness assesses welfare by combining economists’ and psychologists’ techniques, and relies on more expansive notions of utility than does conventional economics. The research highlights factors other than income that affect well-being. It is well suited to informing questions in areas where revealed preferences provide limited information – for example, the welfare effects o...

A major finding from research into the sources of subjective well-being is that individuals exhibit a “baseline” level of happiness. We explore the influence of genetic variation by employing a twin design and genetic association study. We first show that about 33% of the variation in happiness is explained by genes. Next, using two independent data sources, we present evidence that individuals...