Who Is Happy by Myers and Diener - Essay Example

Happiness Research There have several important researches in the recent years on the ive well-being (SWB) of individuals and Myers and Diener, in their article "Who is Happy", suggest that there is no relationship between happiness or satisfaction with life and the age, gender or financial security of an individual. According to them, happiness and life satisfaction are similarly available to the young and the old, women and men, blacks and whites, the rich and the working-class and they maintain that clues to well-being can be determined by knowing about the individual's traits, close relationships, work experiences, culture, and religiosity. Based on the appraisal-based theory of happiness, Myers and Diener maintain that one's personality traits, the characteristics of one's social milieu etc can determine one's happiness. Whereas a person's age, sex, race, and income etc cannot determine factors of happiness, "better clues come from knowing a person's traits, whether the person enjoys a supportive network of close relationships, whether the person's culture offers positive interpretations for most daily events, whether the person is engaged by work and leisure, and whether the person has a faith that entails social support, purpose, and hope." (Myers and Diener, 1995, p 17). In a reflective exploration of the arguments put forward by Myers and Diener, it becomes lucid that family support and family relations are two important factors that contribute to happiness or the subjective well-being of an individual. In their article, Myers and Diener offer crucial premises concerning the happiness or satisfaction with life and they suggest that personality traits, supportive network of close relationships, culture, work and leisure, social support, purpose, and hope etc can determine one's happiness. It is fundamental to investigate the premise by the authors that people who have strong family relations are happy and healthy. "Throughout the Western world, married people of both sexes report more happiness than those never married, divorced, or separated." (Myers and Diener, 1995, p 15). A reflective exploration of various studies relating to subjective well-being of individuals substantiate the arguments of these authors and it is essential to comprehend that family support and family relations are the major factors influencing one's happiness. Thus, in their important study titled "Family Support, Family Income, and Happiness: A 10-Year Perspective", North, Holahan, Moos, and Cronkite examined the role of income and social support in predicting coexisting happiness and change in happiness and the conclusions of their study support the premise of Myers and Diener that people who have strong family relations are happy and healthy. "Income had a small, positive impact on happiness, which diminished as income increased. In contrast, family social support, measured by 3 subscales, Cohesion, Expressiveness, and Conflict, showed a substantial, positive association with concurrent happiness, even after controlling for income." (North, Holahan, Moos, and Cronkite, 2008, p. 475). Therefore, it is essential to realize that family social support has a great influence on the happiness of an individual, as against income, and financial stability. The family support and family relations are among the most fundamental elements determining the well being of an individual and the organization of family life can influence the individual's happiness. Based on literature review on the topic, Myers and Diener maintain that the impoverished social connections in the ever more individualistic modern societies hinder happiness and well being of individuals. "Individualistic societies offer personal control, harmony between the inner and outer person, and opportunity to express one's feelings and talents, though with the risks of a less embedded, more detached self." (Myers and Diener, 1995, pp 14-15). The social support system as well as family support and relations can greatly help one in realizing happiness. The value of good health of the family members in achieving happiness is often emphasized and researches often highlight the role of family support and family relations in maintaining the well being as well as good health of individuals. "In line with the literature, individuals become unhappy when in poor health, controlling for the conventional determinants of happiness, including personal and household characteristics. They are also saddened by a spouse's poor health, suggesting some altruism in the association between health status and happiness. In particular, in some model specifications, people care more about a family member's health status than their own. Finally, the monetary value of compensation for poor health tends to be high." (Mello and Tiongson 2009, pp. 594-5). Therefore, there is important relationship among good health, happiness, and family support and family relations. Another major factor determining the well-being and happiness of individuals is their aspirations, along with attainments, for success and it is important to realize that family plays an important role in the shaping of aspirations and attainments of individuals. According to Anke C. Plagnol and Richard A. Easterlin, women are more likely than men to accomplish their material goods and family life aspirations early in the adult life. They also maintain that the shift over the course of the life cycle in the relative proportion of women and men in marital and non-marital unions is the major factor underlying the turnaround in fulfillment of aspirations. Essentially, they argue that "personal happiness depends in large part on how well one is doing with regard to family life and finances. Differences between women and men in the life cycle pattern of overall happiness are very largely what one would expect based on the domain satisfaction patterns." (Plagnol and Easterlin, 2008, p 609). Thus, the role of family relations and support in the well-being and happiness of individuals is highlighted by various scholars. Family household management is an important aspect of keeping the happiness of individuals and family members and it is often maintained that "marital happiness is a strong predictor of marital stability." (Mitchel, 267). Therefore, it is important that individuals make use of the various effective strategies of family household management in order to maintain marital stability and happiness of individuals. It is generally maintained that negotiation has become the overriding approach to family household management which affects the changing educational practices in Western families. Examining the idea of the negotiation model functioning as a directive, Vanobbergen, Vandenbroeck, Roose, and Bie (2006) emphasize the significance of "the autonomous self and its implications for family relations and family household practices" (Vanobbergen, Vandenbroeck, Roose, and Bie, 2006, p 423). In conclusion, the premises suggested by Myers and Diener concerning happiness or satisfaction with life have great implications in the understanding of well-being of individuals. According to them, happiness or satisfaction with life cannot be associated with age, gender or financial security. However, clues to well-being come from knowing about the individual's traits, close relationships, work experiences, culture, and religiosity. In short, family support and family relations are two important factors that contribute to happiness or the subjective well-being of an individual. References Mello, Luiz de. and Tiongson, Erwin R. (2009). "What Is the Value of (My andMy Family's) Good Health" KYKLOS. 62. (4). pp. 594-610. Mitchel, Barbara A. "Midlife Marital Happiness and Ethnic Culture: A Life Course Perspective." Journal of Comparative Family Studies. Myers, David G. and Diener, Ed. (1995). "Who Is Happy" American Psychological Society. 6 (1). p. 17. North, Rebecca J., Holahan, Charles J. Moos, Rudolf H., and Cronkite, Ruth C. (2008). "Family Support, Family Income, and Happiness: A 10-Year Perspective." Journal of Family Psychology. American Psychological Association. 22 (3). Pp. 475-483. Plagnol Anke C. and Easterlin, Richard A. (2008). Aspirations, Attainments, and Satisfaction: Life Cycle Differences Between American Women and Men. Springer Science and Business Media B.V. p 609. Vanobbergen, Bruno., Vandenbroeck, Michel., Roose, Rudi., and Bie, Maria Bouverne-De. (2006). "''We Are One Big, Happy Family'': Beyond Negotiation and Compulsory Happiness." Educational Theory. 56 (4). p 423. Read More