Psychology | Happiness

The Secret to Happiness, According to Science

New research explores the basis for happiness and how to promote it.

Photo by D Jonez on Unsplash

What makes people happy? Is happiness the result of internal personality traits or from external factors such as relationships, health, and job satisfaction?

Researchers explored this question in a study recently published in Nature Human Behaviour.

Their goal was to better understand the source(s) of happiness in order to develop better public policy approaches and programs to improve happiness at a societal level. “We have to understand the sources of happiness to build effective interventions,” said first author Dr. Emorie Beck, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis.

If happiness is primarily attributed to external factors, then public policy approaches to improve happiness should target improving factors such as health and economic stability. However, if happiness is primarily driven by internal factors such as personal qualities and attitudes, policy approaches to improve happiness should focus on improving mental states through practices such as therapy, meditation, and/or mindfulness.