How to be happier: What does the (good) science say?

The pursuit of happiness is a quintessentially American pursuit, as enshrined in the Constitution. Since the 1990s, psychologists have intensively studied this pursuit. In psychology, happiness is also called “subjective well-being” (SWB) and is usually defined as a combination of high life satisfaction, high positive affect, and low negative affect. Research has explored the determinants of happiness and whether and how happiness can be increased. Many of these findings have been widely published and have become part of the culturally inherited wisdom on how to be happier: expressing gratitude, being more sociable, laughing more, looking on the bright side of things, meditating, helping others, seeking new experiences, limiting social media, etc.

Unfortunately, until recently, such studies have been scarce, primarily due to small sample sizes and the problem of “p-hacking” – where scientists run statistical tests on a set of data until they find a statistically significant result, often by chance. As a result, much of the published and widely-publicized research on how to improve happiness may be poorly founded in science.

A recent (2023) literature review by Dunnigan Falk and Elizabeth Dunn of the University of British Columbia attempted to address this concern. First, the authors focused only on experimental studies, which are the gold standard in science in terms of finding causal relationships. Second, they only reviewed pre-registered experiments, a way to prevent p-hacking by declaring in advance the research question, hypotheses, methodology, and analyses to be performed. Overall, the authors analyzed 48 papers containing 65 individual studies. Their main findings were intuitive, surprising, and sobering.

Thanks:

You’ve probably heard by now that expressing gratitude can make you feel better. The authors found two registered experimental studies on the impact of gratitude on happiness. The review concluded that these studies “provide strong evidence for the immediate benefits of expressing gratitude in American samples.” However, these studies “do not provide evidence that the benefits continue beyond a day after the gratitude practice ends.” In other words, gratitude increases happiness in the very short term. Its usefulness for increasing happiness in the long term is unclear.

Be more sociable:

It’s hard to be happy when you’re disliked and lonely. So being more sociable might increase your happiness. The authors looked at three preregistered experiments on this issue. “Taken together, these three studies provide compelling support for the idea that being more sociable increases positive emotions,” they conclude.

Acting happy:

Earlier research suggested that happiness behaviors, especially smiling, lead to feelings of well-being. These findings have been controversial. But the authors note, “Two large-scale cross-cultural studies provide evidence that spontaneous smiling reliably improves mood immediately.”

Novelty:

A known obstacle to increasing happiness is the process of “hedonic adaptation,” which occurs when people become accustomed to pleasant experiences over time. It stands to reason, then, that introducing novelty into your life should increase your happiness. The authors reviewed four studies testing this hypothesis and found that indeed, “a novel approach to familiar experiences increases happiness.”

Let’s look at the bright side:

One way to cope with an unfortunate experience is to reframe it by finding the silver lining in the clouds (“My house was destroyed, but at least no one was hurt.”) Two of the studies reviewed concluded that “advice to look on the bright side may help people feel better about specific stressors, but may not have a lasting effect on overall mood.”

meditation:

According to a survey of media articles on increasing happiness, practicing meditation “is one of the most frequently recommended strategies for becoming happier.” But does it work? “Two small, preregistered studies found no evidence that meditation is good for mood.” The authors again urge “larger, preregistered experiments on the topic, given the enthusiastic response (perhaps premature) that meditation has garnered as a strategy to increase happiness.”

Help others:

Humans are a social species. Our survival depends heavily on relationships. Therefore, helping behaviors may have evolved to bring us joy and satisfaction. Could helping others also lead to your own happiness? The authors reviewed a total of 19 registered experiments that examined whether helping others promotes happiness. They concluded that “the benefits of prosocial behavior are real, but relatively small.” Furthermore, existing evidence comes mainly from experiments that ask participants to donate money for others. Interestingly, this literature has yet to provide clear evidence to support the general idea that participating in volunteer work or practicing acts of kindness promotes happiness.

Avoiding thinking about a better future:

Happiness may be increased by the additive process of adopting new behaviors and habits; but it may also be increased by the subtractive process of ceasing certain harmful behaviors. In a rapidly changing world, attachment to the new things we can obtain may diminish our ability to enjoy what we already have. The three studies (and two additional replications by the authors) conclude that “remaining ignorant about exciting future technologies may help us to enjoy current versions more, but it remains to be seen whether this strategy can be exploited in everyday life.”

Eliminate unpleasant routine tasks:

Another strategy for reducing happiness is outsourcing unpleasant activities (e.g., paying someone to mow your lawn). The authors reviewed two experiments and concluded that “eliminating unpleasant routine tasks by buying time may be an effective way to increase happiness for busy working adults in wealthy countries, but this insight may not generalize well to economically constrained people.”

Social Media Reduction:

Mental health professionals and researchers have recently been talking about the link between social media and cell phone use and mental health. Seven preregistered experiments tested the potential well-being benefits of reducing smartphone and social media use. The studies concluded that reducing smartphone use is “not inherently beneficial for SWB,” but may “increase opportunities to enjoy rewarding social situations, such as dining out with friends.” They also concluded that abstaining from social media for an extended period of time (e.g., a month) “may ultimately lead to increased life satisfaction.”

Providing cash assistance:

Can money buy happiness? This question has been debated for a long time, but this study stands out in the happiness literature due to its high quality (precise preregistration, effective intervention, long-term follow-up, diverse sample, large sample size). The review of nine experiments concludes that “taken together, the above collection of studies provides compelling evidence that increases in wealth lead to increases in SWB. Small cash transfers equivalent to a week or a month’s income do not necessarily produce benefits, but recipients of larger amounts of cash experience durable improvements in SWB. Moreover, cash appears to be as or more effective than other interventions with similar costs, such as psychotherapy or vocational training.”

The authors conclude: “A survey of preregistered experiments points to the value of expressing gratitude, being more sociable, acting happy, and spending money on others. In contrast, we find surprisingly little support for many strategies commonly recommended to promote happiness, such as practicing meditation, compassionate behavior, and volunteering.” Furthermore, “it may also be possible to improve happiness by removing some of our daily habits. Specifically, individuals may benefit from abstaining from social media use for an extended period of time or from forcing themselves to perform unpleasant daily tasks.” Finally, “a growing body of rigorous research highlights that governments and organizations may be able to enhance SWB by providing financial support to disadvantaged people.”