Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
5-2006
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 policymakers who aim to decrease human misery and increase happiness.
Keywords
adaptation, coping, happiness, life satisfaction, subjective well-being
Discipline
Gender and Sexuality | Social Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
American Psychologist
Volume
61
Issue
4
First Page
305
Last Page
314
ISSN
0003-066X
Identifier
10.1037/0003-066X.61.4.305
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Citation
DIENER, Ed, LUCAS, Richard E., & SCOLLON, Christie N..(2006). Beyond the hedonic treadmill: Revising the adaptation theory of well-being. American Psychologist, 61(4), 305-314.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/921
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.61.4.305