Positive Clinical Psychology - Part II

by: Matthew Jacofsky, Psy. D.

Why Survive When You Can Thrive

by: Matthew Jacofsky, Psy. D.

It should come as no surprise that one of the most sought after goals of peoples’ lives is to be happy. However, what does happiness mean? It is strange that despite the central place it takes in our lives, as well as the countless hours we spend pursuing it, happiness is not easy to put into words.Indeed, nowadays there seems to be almost as many definitions of happiness as there are avenues to achieve it. However, this leaves us with many unanswered questions. Are all forms of happiness the same? Depending on what type of happiness one pursues, are there different ramifications for individuals and society?

Can money buy happiness?

To answer these questions we first must look at how both the public and professionals define happiness. People often define happiness as having one’s needs and desires satisfied, while simultaneously being largely free from unpleasant events. In contrast, another definition, especially used by happiness researchers, is subjective well-being.

Subjective well-being can be broken down into two separate parts. First, is affect balance. Affect balance looks at the whether an individual experiences more pleasant moments, as oppose to unpleasant moments, not only throughout the day but also in general. Second, is life satisfaction. Life satisfaction is defined as one’s overall beliefs about their life in general, as well as in specific areas such as, love, work, and play.

Taken together, affect balance and life satisfaction can be combined together to measure one’s overall sense of happiness. Based on this notion of happiness a person can still consider himself or herself to be very satisfied and happy even when they do not constantly experience an endless flow of pleasant emotions and circumstances. This makes sense given that an individual’s level of affective happiness can be influenced by their biology (i.e., some people are simply more cheery or sad by nature).

Moreover, since one’s happiness is “subjective,” ironically it does not even have to match the more “objective” external circumstances surrounding the individual. This is why some people can view themselves as extremely happy while simultaneously making those around them miserable. Or why some people are able to experience happiness even under the most trying circumstances such as poverty, war, family discord, etc.).

The following entry is Part 2 of a series on Positive Clinical Psychology. Please click here to read Part III.