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CAN MONEY BUY HAPPINESS?

CAN MONEY BUY HAPPINESS?. L. Etherington, H. Gwilt & S. Phylaktou. Overview. Introduction Research Paper 1: Money and mental wellbeing (Gardner, J. & Oswald, A. J ., 2006) Research Paper 2: Money matters, but less than people think ( Aknin , L. B., Norton, M. I. & Dunn, E. W ., 2009)

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CAN MONEY BUY HAPPINESS?

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  1. CAN MONEY BUY HAPPINESS? L. Etherington, H. Gwilt & S. Phylaktou

  2. Overview • Introduction • Research Paper 1: Money and mental wellbeing (Gardner, J. & Oswald, A. J., 2006) • Research Paper 2: Money matters, but less than people think (Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I. & Dunn, E. W., 2009) • Suggested Improvements • Other research • Conclusion

  3. Introduction • Money is power • People = Risk Aversive • Loss = Painful (activates anterior insula, associated with pain and disgust) • Changing population • Increase of women in work: doubled since 1950’s • Family size decreasing: 1.8 children per couple • Caldwell (1976): children = economic liabilities • University studies – why are we here? Dillow (2012), Livesey & Lawson (2008), Heathfield, USA GOV (2003)

  4. Paper 1: Lottery Wins and Wellbeing Aims • Aimed to see effect of lottery wins on wellbeing Method • Longitudinal Study • 137 medium-sized lottery wins between 1998-2001 • Compared to 2 control groups; small wins and no wins • Used GHQ scores from the BHPS to gain an objective measure of mental wellbeing Gardner, J. & Oswald, A. J. (2006)

  5. Results • On average, mental stress increases in year of win • Mental wellbeing increases after two years (1.4 drop in GHQ) • Similar increase for both sexes, men slightly larger Conclusions • Winning the lottery is associated with improved mental wellbeing Gardner, J. & Oswald, A. J. (2006)

  6. Paper 2: Money matters, but less than people think Part 1: Predicting wellbeing of others based on household income Aims • Examine the accuracy of laypeoples intuition about relationship between household income and wellbeing of others Method • 429 Americans reported annual income from list of categories • “How would you rate your life overall these days?” • Consider 10 different household incomes, asked to predict the life satisfaction of someone at each income level Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I. & Dunn, E. W. (2009)

  7. Results • People on higher incomes reported greater happiness • Accurately estimated higher levels of household income with greater happiness • Overestimated the unhappiness of those in lower income households Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I. & Dunn, E. W. (2009)

  8. Study 2: Money matters, but less than people think Part 2: Predicating wellbeing of oneself based household income Aims • Test validity of part 1 – i.e. should still wrongly predict the association between money and happiness Method • 315 Americans reported annual income from list of categories • “How would you rate your life overall these days?” • Consider 10 different household incomes, asked to predict the life satisfaction of themselves at each income level. Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I. & Dunn, E. W. (2009)

  9. Results • Showed consistency when predicting their own and others happiness • Results support findings of Study 1 Conclusions • Vastly overestimate emotional cost associated with being poor… i.e. money matters, but less than people think Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I. & Dunn, E. W. (2009)

  10. Critique

  11. Other Research • Diener et al. (2010) - conducted a study on wealth and happiness. Used worldwide sample of 136000 subjects and found that long term income changes are more related to positive life evaluations notfeelings. • The ONS has found that being married is 20 times more important to a person’s well-being than their earnings, so the increase in wellbeing in the lottery study may have been due to other factors such as getting married. • P. Brickman, D. Coates, & R. Janoff-Bulman (1978) – lottery winners were not happier than controls and took significantly less pleasure from a series of mundane events. Found not to be due to pre-existing differences. Evidence for adaption level theory.

  12. Adaptation Level Theory vs. Assimilation Contrast Theory Will you always need more? • Adaptation Level Theory: Contrast + Habituation = No increase Vs. • Assimilation Contrast Theory: Original Judgment + Attitude = Anchor = Increase Helson, H (1947), American Journal of Psychology

  13. Investigating within the student environment • May get a different relationship between wealth and happiness among students compared to middle aged adults. • Use an anonymous questionnaire to gain info such as: • Amount of debt they will be in after graduating • How much money they are given each month from parents • Whether they receive more than the standard loan or any loan at all • Use a previous measure for rating happiness/wellbeing such as the GHQ measure.

  14. Evidence that winning big doesn’t lead to a better life or happiness: • Michael Carroll nicknamed ‘lotto lout’ won £9.7million on the lottery • Blew all his winnings on drugs, prostitutes and cars • Been in court over 30 times and jailed for the drug offences • Now works in a biscuit factory earning £6 an hour • Claims he is now happier Papworth (2013)

  15. Conclusions • Evidence for and against money buying happiness • Paper 2 more in favor of Adaptation Level Theory • Paper 1 more in favor of Assimilation Theory – needs to be longer? • Happiness is very subjective • Maybe it buys happiness up to a certain extent, but there are other more influential factors that should be considered i.e. marriage • Maybe if you actually earn the money, as opposed to being handed it (i.e. the lottery), you have a greater respect for it and therefore it makes you happier for longer – further research?

  16. “Wealth without work, one of the seven deadly sins” – Ghandi “If you want to feel rich, count the things that money can’t buy” “If you realise that you have enough, you are truly rich” – Lao Tzu “There are people who have money, and people who are rich” – Coco Chanel "It is pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness; poverty and wealth have both failed" - Kin Hubbard

  17. ANY QUESTIONS?

  18. References Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I. & Dunn, E. W. (2009). From wealth to well-being? Money Matters, but less than people think. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 523-527. Brickman, P., Coates, D., Janoff-Bulman, R. (1978). Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 917-927. Diener, E. et al. (2010). Wealth and Happiness Across the World: Material Prosperity Predicts Life Evaluation, Whereas Psychosocial Prosperity Predicts Positive Feeling. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 52-61. Dillow, C. (2012, January). Lost money? You should forget about it. Retrieved from:http://www.ezonomics.com/blogs/lost_money_you_should_forget_about_it/ Gardner, J. & Oswald, A. J. (2006). Money and mental wellbeing: A longitudinal study of medium-sized lottery wins. Journal of Health Economics, 26, 49-60. Heathfield, S. Women and work: Then, now, and predicting the future for women in the workplace. Human Resources. Helson, H. (1947). Adaptation-Level as Frame of Reference for prediction of psychophysical data. The American Journal of Psychology, 60, 1-29.

  19. References Livesey, C. & Lawson, T. (2008). Family Households. AS Sociology for AQA. 2; 64-76. Retrieved from: http://www.sociology.org.uk/sc_shop_pdf/sc_AS4AQA_family_e.pdf Papworth, A. (2013). Norfolk lottery winner Michael Carroll now earns £6 an hour. EDP 24. Retrieved from: http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/norfolk_lottery_winner_michael_carroll_now_earns_6_an_hour_1_2268736 Swinford, S. (2013, May). Marriage makes people happier than six figure salaries and religion Marriage. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10090130/Marriage-makes-people-happier-than-six-figure-salaries-and-religion.html USA GOV (2003). Achievements in public health: Family Planning. CDC. 48; 1073-1080. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4847a1.htm

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