New psychology research untangles the links between valuing happiness and well-being

A recent study published in Psychological Science explored the relationship between how much people value happiness and their overall well-being. The research found that those who placed a high value on happiness generally experienced greater well-being, as reflected in higher life satisfaction and more positive emotions. However, increases in prioritizing happiness over time did not lead to further improvements in life satisfaction.

Happiness has become a major life goal for many people, and public interest in the topic has surged over the past few decades. As the pursuit of happiness gains momentum, researchers have been keen to explore whether striving for happiness actually improves well-being. The intuitive assumption is that people who focus on being happy will naturally experience more happiness in their lives.

However, previous studies suggest this might not always be the case. Some research has found that placing too much emphasis on happiness can backfire, leading to greater disappointment when people fail to achieve their desired emotional state. This phenomenon may even reduce well-being.

Earlier studies on the relationship between valuing happiness and well-being have produced conflicting results, often using small samples or one-time surveys that make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions. In his new study, Kuan-Ju Huang aimed to address these limitations by using data from a large, population-based sample that followed participants over several years.

“We have witnessed substantial growth in the public discourse around happiness and well-being. As noted in the paper, there is mixed cross-sectional evidence on the association between valuing happiness and well-being. So I believe it is important to provide causal evidence of this effect,” explained Huang, a PhD candidate in social and cultural psychology at Kyoto University.

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To investigate how valuing happiness affects well-being over time, Huang analyzed data from the Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences (LISS) panel, a longitudinal survey of 8,331 adults in the Netherlands. The survey ran from 2019 to 2023, gathering information on how much participants valued happiness as well as several indicators of well-being, including life satisfaction, positive emotions, and negative emotions.

Participants were asked to rate the importance of happiness “as a guiding principle” in their lives. They also completed standardized measures that assessed their life satisfaction and emotional experiences. Life satisfaction was measured using questions such as “I am satisfied with my life,” while positive and negative emotions were assessed using scales that asked participants to rate how often they felt emotions like pride, excitement, distress, or nervousness.

The results showed that people who valued happiness more highly tended to have better overall well-being. Specifically, participants who placed a greater emphasis on happiness reported higher life satisfaction, more frequent positive emotions, and fewer negative emotions. This finding aligns with the idea that setting happiness as a life goal can help people feel more content and experience more joy in their day-to-day lives.

However, the study also found that increasing one’s focus on happiness over time did not lead to corresponding increases in life satisfaction. In other words, while people who valued happiness were generally more satisfied with their lives, becoming more focused on happiness over the course of the study did not result in a significant boost to life satisfaction a year later.

The emotional effects of valuing happiness were more complex. While valuing happiness did lead to increases in positive emotions, such as excitement and pride, it also resulted in higher levels of negative emotions like distress and nervousness. This suggests that the pursuit of happiness may have a bittersweet quality: while it can help people experience more joy, it may also heighten their sensitivity to negative emotions, especially when they fall short of their happiness goals.

“My takeaway is that constantly thinking about happiness may not be beneficial,” Huang told PsyPost. “Happiness should be the end goal, not the means. If you want to live a happier life, focus on positive activities that have been proven to be beneficial, such as spending time with loved ones or friends, exercising, or engaging with nature.”

Huang also examined whether personality traits or demographic factors, such as gender or age, moderated the relationship between valuing happiness and well-being. Interestingly, they found little evidence that these factors influenced the overall pattern of results.

“It is interesting that the effects were robust across the Big Five personality traits,” Huang explained. “I expected that people who were more extroverted, more agreeable, and less neurotic would benefit more from valuing happiness, but this was not supported by the data. A possible explanation could be that it’s more about how, rather than who, tries to achieve happiness.”

While the findings are illuminating, the study also has some limitations. One limitation relates to the cultural context of the study. The research was conducted in the Netherlands, and while the findings may apply to many Western societies, they may not generalize to other cultures.

“We relied on high-quality longitudinal data from the Netherlands to make causal inferences,” Huang noted. “However, previous studies have shown divergent cross-sectional correlations between valuing happiness and well-being across cultures (Ford et al., 2015). So, the findings may not be generalizable to other cultural contexts, such as in East Asia, where happiness may be pursued more through achieving balance and harmony rather than through hedonism.”

Additionally, the study’s findings raise important questions about the strategies people use to pursue happiness. It’s possible that not all happiness goals are created equal. Prior research suggests that people who seek happiness through social engagement, for instance, may fare better than those who chase happiness through solitary or material pursuits. Future research could investigate how different approaches to seeking happiness affect well-being and whether certain strategies are more likely to succeed in the long run.

“This study reported an overall causal effect, but the pursuit of happiness is a complicated process that may succeed in some situations but fail in others,” Huang said. “I think the next step is to clarify how people think about and pursue happiness differently, and to unravel the complexity of pursuing happiness goals.”

The study, “Does Valuing Happiness Lead to Well-Being?“, was published online on August 20, 2024.