Does Money Buy Happiness - Essay Example

Money and Happiness Money and Happiness Does money buy happiness? This question is frequently exploited in mass media, popular psychology, philosophy and actual scientific studies. Some researchers argue that money always positively correlates with happiness. Other researchers insist of the fact that people do need money to feel happy in some situations; however, their happiness depends more on their family relationships, friendship and work satisfaction. Obviously, both theories have their followers and opponents. Still, their polemics does not resolve the issue and only creates more challenges on the way to understanding the value of money for happiness. Analyzing different studies it is possible to argue that money are necessary for happiness only for the poor because they cannot have all necessary things to survive and their poverty often negatively influences other sources of happiness in their lives. All people who live above the poverty line should seek for happiness in other domains of their lives. Most ordinary people, as well as researchers and philosophers, find it difficult to define happiness. In order to come to some compromise related to this definition, researchers use the term subjective well-being (SWB). According to Kesebir & Diener (2008), SWB is a term designed to “catch the lay meaning of happiness” on the basis of “cognitive judgments of satisfaction and affective appraisals of mood and emotions”. SWB consists of distinctive components which include general life satisfaction, satisfaction with separate life domains which are important for the individual, prevalence of positive emotions or positive affect and low levels of negative affect or random experiences of negative feelings, emotions and moods (Kesebir & Diener, 2008). Money influences all these components of SWB; however, the effect of money on happiness depends of individual perceptions, social norms, addictiveness of happiness and general conditions of life of each individual. Esterlin (1973) defines 3 factors people ray attending to with no regard to their culture when they think about happiness. They are represented by “economic matters, family considerations and health”. Among these three factors, economic matters become the most frequently cited by people because generally people feel happier individually when they have more money. Esterlin (1973) cites the 1970-s survey seeking for the facts to support his point of view and finds them easily. Only around 25% of the poor claimed to be very happy compared by 50% of the rich. At the same time, according to Esterlin (1973), if all people in one community have more money; the general level of happiness remains relatively the same. In other words, increased collective wealth does not improve individual perceptions of happiness. Esterlin (1973) explains this paradox by the fact that growing collective wealth results in the creation of new social norms and beliefs concerning a happy life. People resort to social comparison in order to estimate whether their life is appropriate or not. This social comparison changes every time when a nation becomes wealthier. As a result people feel no difference between their previous and current welfare according to Esterlin (1973). In other words, people care not about how my money they have but how they perceive their economic and social status. 20 years after the publication of Esterlin’s article, Lane (1993) addresses the same issue again. His argument opposes Esterlin’s point of view because Lane (1993) claims that country’s wealth is related to collective well-being and happiness accordingly. At the same time, the researcher revises the impact of money on individual happiness. Lane (1993) cites Freedman’s research which shows that rich are not happier than middle-class people. Following Freedman’s train of thought, middle class representatives are not much happier than the poor. In case of the last, the situation becomes quite different because money buy happiness for poor people. To understand this argument, there is a need to analyze what actually makes people happy. According to Lane (1993), income is included in this list, but it is far from the top. The first place in the list is given to family. If people are satisfied with their family life, they seem to be happier than others. Friendship goes next in the list and it is followed by work satisfaction and leisure. Finally, income becomes the next factor in the list. It is reasonable to ask why this factor matters a lot for the poor. According to Lane (1993) poor people can feel happier when they get more money because they improve their lifestyle. Most poor people cannot have the basics prescribed by their community. Moreover, “poverty and family misery go hand in hand” (1993). There is a domino effect caused by the lack of money and all other domains of individual life. The poor cannot afford comfortable housing or healthy eating. They cannot pay for higher education and, as a result, they cannot find permanent employment. They are forced to survive without money. When their income increases, they can afford stability which comes with things people often take for granted. They value comfort they can buy because this comfort improves their general life satisfaction. People who have enough money to support their life with comfort seem to have fewer problems; however, it is not true. According to Lane (1993), economic success does not deprive people from other issue in their life. Middle-class and rich representatives tend to care more about their family relationships or job satisfactions. Money cannot reduce worrying, but it can people change their focus. To add to the point, happiness has an adaptive nature. Even though people do not adapt quickly or completely to all conditions in their lives, they can experience happiness in any situation. Based on their external circumstance and internal disposition, people what they need to feel happy. The same circumstances shape people’s experiences of happiness. For instant, according to Kesebir & Diener (2008), extraverts are more open to happiness experiences than introverts. Extraversion and introversion exemplify internal disposition. External circumstances depend on family, culture, community, religion and many other factors which influence people from the life. Influenced by internal and external factors simultaneously, they balance pain and pleasure the way they find attractive and in this way they make up their hedonic calculus. If money does not make people significantly happy, it does not mean that people do not want to have more. Lane (1993) cites the research where most Americans agreed that 25% increase to their payment would make them happier. Unfortunately, this effect is not long-lasting. Increased income can make people happier for some period of time, but it tends to create a new standard of living very quickly and people want more money again. This process is called relative satiation and it does not happen in any other domain of human life. If people change their family status to the better, they enjoy the outcomes of this action in the long run. The same lasting effects of happiness are observed in case of friendship. Money does not make people happy forever because people always want more even when they have enough. The most solid and reliable sources of happiness cannot be bought for money. In a middle-class family, relationships between spouses are not related to money. People can make friends with no regards to their social status or bank accounts. People who feel happy have better health and tend to achieve more in their lives. Money is required to have the basics; the rest does not depend on money only. Kesebir & Diener (2008) cite McMahan who said that in modern era people define happiness “more as feeling good than being good”. If people have well-balanced lives where all necessary factors are present, they can experience actual happiness. In summary, money is a necessary factor which influences people’s experiences of happiness. If people do not have enough money to have the basic things in their lives, they treat money as a way to happiness. Middle- and upper-class representatives do not feel happier when they get more money because of the hedonistic treadmill phenomenon. When they get more money, they become used to it and as a result they want to get more. There are many more important factors which influence happiness. Family life, friendship and work satisfaction are required by all people to feel happy. Only in cases of extreme poverty money can buy happiness. However, they cannot become the only factor which makes people happy with their lives. References Easterlin, R. A. (1973). Does money buy happiness? Public Interest. 3-10. Kesebir, P., & Diener, E. (2008). In pursuit of happiness: Empirical answers to philosophical questions. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(2), 117-125. Lane, R. E. (1993). Does money buy happiness? Public Interest. 55-56. Read More