Category Archives: Happiness

How can I Reduce my Compulsive Spending Habits?

Last week I wrote about how a lack of money management predicts individuals’ compulsive spending, regardless of their personality, gender, age, and income. These results were based on a study (Sadness, Identity, and Plastic in Over-shopping) published in the Journal of Economic Psychologywhich was conducted with two students of mine former … Continue reading

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Money and Happiness: The Costs and Benefits of Living for Now

Psychologists describe people who focus attention on the activities and events happening in the present as having a present hedonistic time perspective. We were interested in identifying the costs and benefits of “living for now.” In this study we measured people’s … Continue reading

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The First International Day of Happiness

“On this first International Day of Happiness, let us reinforce our commitment to inclusive and sustainable human development and renew our pledge to help others. When we contribute to the common good, we ourselves are enriched. Compassion promotes happiness and will … Continue reading

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Money and Happiness: Materialists Not Happier When Purchasing Life Experiences

Every day more and more people are trying to understand the relationship between money and happiness. Numerous studies have shown that spending money on life experiences, compared to material possessions, improves psychological well-being. However, not everyone feels happier when purchasing life experiences. Psychologists … Continue reading

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How do positive psychologists really measure happiness?

Last weekend, for three days in a row, we had unseasonably beautiful weather in San Francisco. If you are not familiar with the weather patterns for San Francisco, they can be rather cold and foggy. However, last weekend we had … Continue reading

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Older Really Is Wiser

Late-night TV advertisements often paint a picture of older adults as terminally bewildered. The advertisements depict seniors trying to make sense of their health care options, insurance plans, retirements accounts, etc. - and failing miserably. These TV seniors are invariably … Continue reading

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Sticks and stones may break our bones, but some words make us materialistic!

Simply referring to people as “consumers” rather than “individuals” caused people to be less generous, accept less responsibility, and to view others as competitors rather than allies. Continue reading

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Does Your Attitude Toward Time Affect Your Spending Habits?

The old adage has it that time is money, and it is certainly the case that when we go to work, or when we pay others for their work, we are often engaging in a direct exchange of time for … Continue reading

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Finding Flow this weekend.

Anyone who watches sports is familiar with the concept of being “in the zone.” Whether it is Kobe Bryant flying around and through defenders with seeming ease, Tom Brady knifing perfect spirals into tiny openings in the defense, Serena Williams … Continue reading

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Creating a better economic future: The Economics of Happiness

Economic localization is the key to sustaining biological and cultural diversity – to sustaining life itself.  The sooner we shift towards the local, the sooner we will begin healing our planet, our communities, and ourselves.” – Helena Norberg-Hodge, director and … Continue reading

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