The pursuit of happiness is an important goal for many people. However, surprisingly little scientific research has focused on the question of how happiness can be increased and then sustained, probably because of pessimism engendered by the concepts of genetic determinism and hedonic adaptation. Nevertheless, emerging sources of optimism exist regarding the possibility of permanent increases i...

happiness holds a central position in farabi and aquinas theory of  ethics and politics. both of these philosophers are considered aristotle-oriented and peripatetic. while both regard god’s countenance as real happiness, their methods to reach this goal are separated in a stage and a place. recognizing the insufficiency of intellect,aquinas affirms the necessity of faith and other theological ...

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between happiness (utility) and a host of socio-economic variables. The data set consists of a random sample of over 5,000 individuals from the Swedish adult population. Happiness is measured by a three-point categorical measure of overall happiness (not happy, happy sometimes, happy most of the time), and an ordered probit model is used to eco...

Modulation of the maternal-foetal immune response, designed to benefit the gestation of an individual whose genetic material is foreign to that of the mother, since 50% is of paternal origin, is a unique, highly complex biological process involving the father, mother and child. The first signals emitted by the seminal fluid already promote the beginning of immune adaptation, in which the antige...

Although the last decade has witnessed mounting research on the development and evaluation of positive interventions, investigators still know little about the target population of such interventions: happiness seekers. The present research asked three questions about happiness seekers: (1) What are their general characteristics?, (2) What do they purposefully do to become happier?, and (3) How...

Theoretical conceptions on happiness have generally considered two broad perspectives: hedonic enjoyment and eudaemonia. However, most research on how to improve people's happiness has focused primarily on the enhancement of hedonic happiness. In this longitudinal experimental study we test the differential impact of two positive exercises-Best Possible Selves and the Lottery Question-on hedoni...

On the basis of the theoretical distinction between self-centeredness and selflessness (Dambrun and Ricard, 2011), the main goal of this research was to develop two new scales assessing distinct dimensions of happiness. By trying to maximize pleasures and to avoid displeasures, we propose that a self-centered functioning induces a fluctuating happiness in which phases of pleasure and displeasur...

Global and school-related happiness were measured in 339 Finnish ninth graders, about 86% of whom had participated in a study on the happiness of sixth graders three years earlier. Students filled out two questionnaires, the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) and the School Children’s Happiness Inventory (Ivens, 2007). In addition, they chose items that they perceived would...