Adaptation and Subjective Well - being Yannis Georgellis ONS, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012 Adaptation and Subjective Well - being Yannis Georgellis ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012 Happiness Research Measuring National Well-being Subjective well-being: Stable

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“Adaptation and Subjective Well-being”

Yannis Georgellis

ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012

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Happiness Research
Measuring National Well-being
Subjective well-being: Stable or unstable?

– Set point theory – Adaptation

ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012

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ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012

Adaptation in Psychology

Baseline hypothesis and set-point theory
Wellbeing predetermined by personality traits.
Events/experiences affect wellbeing, but only temporarily (rapid adaptation)

Brickman, P., Coates, D., and Janoff-Bulman, R. (1978), "Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative?", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Lykken, D. and Tellegen, A. (1996), "Happiness is a stochastic phenomenon", Psychological Science.

Cross-sectional or experimental evidence, small samples

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ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012

Adaptation in Psychology and Economics

Large-scale panel data, longitudinal design

GSOEP : 40,000 obs., 20 years

Lucas, R., Clark, A., Georgellis, Y. and Diener, E. (2003), "Reexamining adaptation and the set point model of happiness: Reactions to changes in marital status", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Lucas, R., Clark, A, Georgellis, Y. and Diener, E. (2004), "Unemployment alters the set point of life satisfaction", Psychological Science. Clark, A., Diener, E., Georgellis, Y. and Lucas, R. (2008), "Lags and leads in life satisfaction: A test

f the baseline hypothesis", Economic Journal

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ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012

Adaptation in the GSOEP

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ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012

Adaptation in the GSOEP

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ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012

Adaptation in the GSOEP

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ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012

Adaptation in the GSOEP

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ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012

Adaptation in the GSOEP

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ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012

Adaptation: A challenge for economics A challenge for measuring well-being

„Weak link between long-run well-being and one’s circumstances or

pportunities, contravening economic intuition and doctrine‟

[Kahneman, D. and Krueger, A. (2006), "Developments in the measurement of subjective well-being", Journal of Economic Perspectives]

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ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012

Beyond the Hedonic Treadmill

Diener, Lucas & Scollon (2006)

Adaptation is not inevitable

[Lucas, R. (2007), "Adaptation and the set-point model of subjective well-being: Does happiness

change after major life events?", Current Directions in Psychological Science]

Heterogeneity
Adaptation – a nonlinear process
SWB does change!

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ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012

Carry on Measuring...

WHAT?

Social change and SWB

HOW?

Cohort studies(?)

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ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012

Happiness regressions Happiness = f(age, gender, income, education, marital status, health,

ther personal characteristics, country characteristics)

Carry on Measuring...

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Composite Happiness Index (Yannis’s Seven Secrets to Happiness)

1. Develop a happy personality (at childhood), if you can help it. 2. Learn to adapt. 3. Be inspired by the successes of others (ambition instead of jealousy). 4. Keep learning. 5. Stay healthy. 6. Keep giving (volunteering). 7. Always remember: income does not buy happiness but it helps.

ONS, Technical Advisory Group, 26 January 2012