Wilkinson and economists like Oswald and his compatriot Lord Layard are thinking about the policy implications of happiness research.
As happiness research over the past half century or so has shown, belonging is a strong a predictor of happiness.
Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky of the University of California (author of The How of Happiness) has conducted happiness research with thousands of men and women.
New research into happiness and coping offers proof of the value of finding a way to remain distanced from problems in order to tackle them effectively.
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The World Database of Happiness, which is run out of Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Holland, counts 7, 494 names in its Directory of Happiness Investigators--published academics or research groups every one.
But it's the happiness calculations that caught my eye, drawing on research that's been done on other major sporting events.
Research shows that experiences bring people greater happiness than material possessions, partly because the thrill of buying something new wears pretty fast, whereas the memories of an experience last much longer.
At least that's what new findings suggest from "The Millionaires Happiness Report" released by the Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute.
No, the problem is the inherent fallibility of social science research and it's inability to quantify intangibles like happiness.
Research by Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, shows that reversible, keep-your-options-open decisions reliably lead to lower levels of satisfaction than irreversible ones.
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And contrary to decades-old research on income and well being, it does appear to buy happiness, too.
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Folks in the dowdy world of academia have to be watertight with their research if they want their results to be credible, which is why typical studies into happiness will only target a few dozen people with lots of questions.
There is more academic research than you can shake a Havana cigar at saying there is no correlation between wealth and happiness.
Their research consistently shows that givers want not only appreciation for their gifts but also a little piece of the happiness recipients get out of them, says Jeremy Utley, a teacher at the institute.
My research since 1998 about the American Dream has shown its definition evolving away from material wealth and toward spiritual happiness (both secular and religious.) So this drop in belief hints that our economic and political problems are shaking American confidence about the future and even our way of life.
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