Measure Happiness

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Measure Happiness
Try These Tests Yourself

Ancient Instrument to measure the universe

Happiness , like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder

How do scientists measure happiness? There are lots of tools out there, but they all take 3 basic approaches. Try these happiness tests yourself to explore what makes you happier.

Scientists have a challenge measuring happiness because, to some extent, happiness is like beauty- it is in the eye of the beholder. Feelings like happiness are subjective and we can never really know if other people experience happiness the way we do. Dr. Daniel Gilbert, a happiness researcher in positive psychology and the author of the book Stumbling on Happiness, acknowledges this. He explains that individual responses vary, but large numbers of people tend to respond in similar ways. So, if a person thinks she is happy, she probably is. This leads to the first approach to happiness tests:

1. Ask People How Happy They Are

There are lots of tools that use this approach the measure happiness. One of the most common is the life satisfaction survey. This is a short series of questions that ask people to rate their satisfaction with life on a scale of 1 to 7 or 1 to 10. Much of the information collected on the circumstances that lead to happiness was gathered using this approach. This approach can

One way to measure happiness is to ask people how happy they are.

also be used to test many other characteristics of happiness. You can try a simple example by writing a number on a piece of paper from 1 to 10 to represent your level of happiness at that moment. Then engage in an activity or think about something else for a while before asking yourself the same question. If you answered differently after the activity, then you have just measured a change in your happiness level based on what you did in between. On his website, www.authentichappiness.com, Dr. Martin Seligman , one of the founders of the positive psychology movement, has several free happiness tests. You can even track differences in your scores over time and your results become part of his research.

2. Observe Happy People

A Genuine Smile

Some of the early happiness research is based on a study that followed women from the 1960 Mills College year book. The researchers studied the pictures and picked out the women who had “genuine” smiles that involved the muscles around their eyes as well as their mouths, then followed all the women through their lives. The women with the genuine smiles were more likely to be happily married, they lived longer, and they consistently reported themselves as happier than the women who didn’t smile. This is just one of many examples where researchers use direct observation to measure happiness levels. This works because much of our body language is unconscious and connected to our thoughts. For example, the muscles around the eyes are very difficult to control voluntarily, but crinkle automatically when a person is genuinely happy. You might observe this approach to measure happiness yourself if you happen to see a picture or video of yourself during a happy period. Or, you might use this approach to judge someone else’s happiness. When people walk with a bounce in their step and a smile on their face we observe that they are happy.

3. Measure Physiology

Biofeedback device from the Institute of Heart Math used to help develop a happy state.

Scientists have observed common physical side effects of happiness. From brain waves, to hormone levels, to heart rate and blood pressure, happiness carries markers in the body.

One simple tool that uses this approach is a mood ring. The rings change color with the temperature of your fingers. Warmer hands track to a happier and more relaxed mood. Some companies also make biodots- little stickers you can put on your body to change color with skin temperature.

The Institute for Heart Math has developed an accurate and reasonably priced biofeedback devive called the EM Wave that measures the regularity of heart beats, a proven sign of the physiological state of happiness. This particular machine is very helpful for those who want to learn how to induce a happy state through meditation or skill. There are many forms of biofeedback machines from simple mood rings to machines costing $1000’s and only available through therapists.

Now that you know how to measure happiness, try these techniques to be happier now and see how much of an effect you can have. You can use these happiness tests to find out what works best for you.

For more ways to measure happiness, try these quotes on happiness.

Or, Try our Happy Words Survey to discover your own definition of happiness .

For more on the Elements of Happiness-

Elements of Happiness The happiness formula and the things we can and can not control that determine our overall level of happiness.
Definition of Happiness A Lucky 7 Definitions of Happiness
Why Happiness Why happiness is important to us personally and to society.
Measure Happiness Three tests for happiness you can do yourself.
Ways to Happiness The circumstances that impact our happiness and the surprising ones that do not.
Emotinoal Happiness Emotions that trigger happiness.
Happiness Thoughts How our thoughts can improve our happiness levels.
Creating Happiness How our actions can improve our happiness levels.

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