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Abstract
According to the hedonic treadmill model, good and bad events temporarily affect happiness,
but people quickly adapt back to hedonic neutrality. The theory, which has gained
widespread acceptance in recent years, implies that individual and societal efforts
to increase happiness are doomed to failure. The recent empirical work outlined here
indicates that 5 important revisions to the treadmill model are needed. First, individuals'
set points are not hedonically neutral. Second, people have different set points,
which are partly dependent on their temperaments. Third, a single person may have
multiple happiness set points: Different components of well-being such as pleasant
emotions, unpleasant emotions, and life satisfaction can move in different directions.
Fourth, and perhaps most important, well-being set points can change under some conditions.
Finally, individuals differ in their adaptation to events, with some individuals changing
their set point and others not changing in reaction to some external event. These
revisions offer hope for psychologists and policy-makers who aim to decrease human
misery and increase happiness.
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Numerous studies show that happy individuals are successful across multiple life domains, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health. The authors suggest a conceptual model to account for these findings, arguing that the happiness-success link exists not only because success makes people happy, but also because positive affect engenders success. Three classes of evidence--crosssectional, longitudinal, and experimental--are documented to test their model. Relevant studies are described and their effect sizes combined meta-analytically. The results reveal that happiness is associated with and precedes numerous successful outcomes, as well as behaviors paralleling success. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that positive affect--the hallmark of well-being--may be the cause of many of the desirable characteristics, resources, and successes correlated with happiness. Limitations, empirical issues, and important future research questions are discussed.
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