A £33,000 salary, five good friends and two children – the scientific formula fo.note¶
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A £33,000 salary, five good friends and two
children – the scientific formula for a happy
life
Neuroscientists from UCL have discovered happiness lies in lowering your expectations – but other
factors can also lead to contentment
27 May 2021 • 9:31am
Some researchers think our happiness levels are down to genetics Credit: Letizia McCall
What is the secret to happiness? It is a question that has plagued philosophers since the dawn of
time. For some, it is a coveted sports car; for others, it is a lockdown puppy. But, according to a team
of neuroscientists from University College London, the answer could lie in the following equation:
(t)=w0 +w1∑j=1tγt −jCRj +w2∑j=1tγt −jEVj +w3∑j=1tγt −jRPEj.
In layman’s terms, it roughly translates to mean that to be happy we should lower our expectations –
but not so low for so long that it makes us unhappy. The equation was developed using a crowd-
sourced gaming project called The Happiness Project, the results from which were released on May
- and say how they
thought they would perform. The data, collected from 18,420 people, was collated alongside MRI
scans of people’s brains. It found that happiness depended not on how well they were doing, but on
whether they were doing better than they expected. In practice, this means having high expectations
about a situation – such as thinking you are going to have an amazing meal at a restaurant or
absolutely love your new job – can sometimes be a problem; to intensify happiness, it may be
necessary to play down the anticipation, and anticipate that your meal will be below average.
It’s a fine line though; according to the research, constantly lowering your expectations can actually
make you more unhappy in the lead up to an event you were looking forward to.
The researchers also found that happiness is fleeting. “You might think that there is something wrong
with you if you don’t feel lasting happiness about a promotion, but time-limited joy is an adaptation
that helps your brain adjust to your circumstances so you are ready to make your next move,” says
researcher Robb Rutledge, honorary associate professor at UCL.
Still chasing that elusive feeling of happiness? Read on to find out what else science says on how to
achieve it…
The ideal salary
By Alice Hall
It launched a mobile app that encouraged players to make risky decisions
We know that money can’t buy happiness, but it can certainly help. Last year, researchers from
financial services Company Raisin UK found that British people need to earn a salary of £33,864 to
be happy. They came to the conclusion after analysing data from the ONS and Happy Planet Index to
see where around the UK people are happiest.
Outside Britain, the picture is different; the top 10 happiest countries in the world have an average
salary of £64,057.28. Yet a study undertaken in the US found that earning more than $75,000
(£50,000) a year did nothing to boost people’s happiness.
Working hours
The pandemic has made many of us rethink our work/life balance. But long before lockdown, debate
was raging over what the ideal working week looked like. In March, researchers from Cambridge
University found that the happiest people are part time employees who work one to two days a week.
“The traditional model, in which everyone works around 40 hours a week, was never based on how
much work was good for people,” said Senhu Wang, one of the co-authors of the report. “Our
research suggests micro-jobs provide the same psychological benefits as full-time jobs.”
And a happier workforce is known to be a productive workforce: after carrying out a number of
experiments to see if happy employees work harder, economists at the University of Warwick found
that happiness made people about 12 per cent more productive.
Five good friends
An 80-year study undertaken by the University of Harvard found that close friends are key to
happiness. And this has a knock-on-effect on others, too; according to the researchers, a friend living
within a mile of a happy friend has a 25 per cent increased chance of becoming happy. A friend of
that friend experiences a nearly 10 per cent chance of increased happiness, and a friend of that
friend has a 5.6 per cent increased chance.
This is even the case for those who typically believe themselves to be introverted; in 2007, a study
into this subject found that friendship variables accounted for 58 per cent of the variance in people’s
happiness.
Evolutionary psychologist Dr Robin Dunbar at Oxford University once worked out the maximum
number of friends humans can deal with is 150. Of those, 100 are in the tenuous friendship category,
35 are less close but good friends, with a further 10 friends making up our most important social
network, and five very close friends who Dunbar refers to as our ‘support clique’.
The right number of children
Anyone who has children will know that stress and happiness tend to go hand in hand. One US study
suggests that a second or a third child didn’t make parents happier. According to the study’s author:
“If you want to maximise your subjective wellbeing, you should stop at one child.” Another study
found that two children was the ideal number, and having more didn’t bring parents extra joy.
Yet science is conflicted on the matter, especially in sunnier climates. A study undertaken in Perth
found that parents with four or more children are the happiest. Dr Bronwyn Harman, the study’s lead
author, acknowledged that large families report stressors like chaos, noise and financial difficulties.
However, she said this was outweighed by the joy a large family brings.
'Happy genes'
Some researchers think our happiness levels are down to luck of the draw. A 2011 study found
evidence that people who have a gene known as 5-HTTLPR – a type of serotonin transporter –
reported higher life satisfaction than those without it. A more recent study by Yale University found
that a genetic variation that affects oxytocin, known as the GG genotype, made people happier in
marriages. The study examined 178 married couples, and found that the gene trait was common
among those whose marriages were most secure.
Experiences over possessions
Although people often think that expensive possessions will make them happier, science suggests
the opposite. In 2010, psychologists Leaf Van Boven and Thomas Gilvoch found that experiences
actually make people happier than their belongings. This could be down to guilt; the study found that
when people buy things, they tend to suffer from buyer’s remorse (such as regretting splashing out
on a new pair of shoes), and often compare their material assets with others. However, it is usually
more difficult to compare people’s experiences with your own.
That’s not to say we should stop buying things forever, though. A 2014 study published in the Journal
for Consumer Psychology found that products that helped buyers create an experience – experiential
purchases, such as books and bicycles – were as effective at providing happiness as life
experiences.
Staying single
A study that spanned 40 years, undertaken by the University of Michigan, found that married couples
are not much happier than those who are divorced or single. Out of the 7,532 people who were
surveyed, the married group responded with a four out of five when answering how happy they were.
Consistently single people answered with a 3.82 on average and people with a varied history
answered with a 3.7.
In a talk at the Hay Festival in 2019, happiness expert Paul Donlan echoed this idea. He said that
while men benefited from marriage because they “calmed down”, women often ended up unhappier:
“You take fewer risks, you earn more money at work, and you live a little longer. She, on the other
hand, has to put up with that, and dies sooner than if she never married. The healthiest and happiest
population subgroup are women who never married or had children.”
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