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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: happiness

happiness stories: 22 news summaries

1 - 20 of 22 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Studies Agree: Happiness Comes With Age 

Mental health keeps improving even into one's '90s

Aug 8, 09 8:52 AM CDT
(Newser) - Greater happiness and better mental health may be the big payoff for aging. Exceptions abound, of course, but people generally get happier as they get older because they've learned how to tune out all the negative stuff, say researchers. A spate of new studies suggests that older people have better... More »

MORE ABOUT:
dementia • aging • psychology • American Psychological Association • emotion • happiness

Women of the Future: Powerful, Stressed

Women feel overworked amid gains in economic clout

Aug 6, 09 5:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Women are gaining economic clout, but they’re also feeling overburdened, a survey of 12,000 women in 21 countries finds. Women spend some 70% of consumer dollars globally and are set to produce 70% of household income growth in the next 5 years—meaning entrepreneurs who can help them... More »

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women • study • business • power • stress • market • survey • happiness • economy

(Newser) - If you think blogs are useless, think again: Scientists have developed a “hedonometer,” or happiness gauge, that analyzes personal online statements to pinpoint the overall contentment of the US population on a given day, the Discovery Channel reports. The program looks at sentences beginning with “I feel”... More »

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blogosphere • Internet • computer programming • blogging • blog • scientific study • happiness • Twitter

(Newser) - Americans are embracing the no-frills attitude necessitated by the recession, USA Today reports. One-third say they are spending less and plan to keep up the practice as their “new, normal” way of living, according to a study. A whopping 47% of Americans say they have all they need,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
United States • consumer goods • recession • consumerism • happiness • possessions • conspicuous consumption • things

ANALYSIS

 Uncertainty, Not 
 Poverty, Behind 
 Recession Blues 

It's not the lack of funds, it's the lack of knowing that brings us down

May 21, 09 8:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - Americans are worrying more than they were last year, and happiness is down while sadness is up, writes Daniel Gilbert in the New York Times. But it’s not the lightness of our pocketbooks that’s weighing on us; it’s the uncertainty of the times. While most of us... More »

MORE ABOUT:
depression • recession • psychology • happiness • Great Depression • financial crisis • recession depression

 Kids May Inherit Parents' Joy 

Life experiences could change the genes passed on

May 14, 09 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - Kids with a sunny disposition may have inherited that attitude from happy parents, a scientist hypothesizes based on research showing that personal experiences can change the traits parents pass on to their kids. This could mean that parents’ pre-conception mental state influences the child, he contends. If that proves true,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
genetics • personality • happiness • hypothesis

(Newser) - The secret to a happy life? It's ... complicated. Joshua Wolf Shenk of the Atlantic examines an extraordinary and still continuing 72-year study of 268 Harvard men—JFK and Ben Bradlee are two of the well-known participants—designed to shed light on how to lead a successful life. The subjects were... More »

MORE ABOUT:
psychology • Harvard • happiness • George Vaillant

Utah, Hawaii Happiest States; W. Va. Not So Much: Poll

Happiness poll links bliss to wealth

Mar 11, 09 4:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Money can't buy happiness? Tell that to 350,000 Americans surveyed in a Gallup study. The jolliest congressional districts were also among the wealthiest, the gloomiest among the poorest. Researchers also attributed contentment to factors like outdoor recreation and a young population, the AP reports. Utah, Hawaii, and Wisconsin ranked... More »

MORE ABOUT:
wealth • income • Americans • survey • happiness

 Fast Thinking 
 Makes People Happy 

Rapid thoughts can make people feel happier

Feb 25, 09 9:16 PM CST
(Newser) - Happy people think fast thoughts, say researchers at Princeton and Harvard. They asked two groups to perform the same tasks—problem-solving, reading, and watching TV—at different speeds. Those forced to move along briskly felt more elated, creative, even powerful, Scientific American reports. The findings suggest a crossword puzzle or... More »

MORE ABOUT:
brain • psychology • dopamine • scientific study • happiness • mood

Stop Shopping, Spend $$$
on Good Times: Study

You'll be happier buying experiences

Feb 14, 09 3:02 PM CST
(Newser) - Can you buy happiness? Maybe, but don't try buying it at the mall, according to a new study, which concludes that spending money on experiences—like a vacation or a night out—will make you happier than spending it on shoes. Researchers say that’s likely because experiences tend to... More »

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shopping • study • vacation • happiness

 Empty Nesters 
 Fly High 


Dec 4, 08 2:01 PM CST
(Newser) - With their children grown and gone, couples find their love lives more satisfying, new research reveals. Some of the 123 women in a long-term study switched partners and some remarried, but regardless, they were happier in their relationships after the child-rearing was complete. Marriages generally improve with time, and the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
marriage • children • parents • retirement • aging • happiness

 Unhappiest 
 Watch Boob 
 Tube the Most 

Happy people
socialize, pray,
in free time: study

Nov 23, 08 5:34 PM CST
(Newser) - Unhappy Americans watch more TV, or TV-watching makes Americans unhappier—a new study isn't sure which. But the survey of nearly 40,000 people shows that those who watch 30% more television are less happy than those who pass their time in other ways. Sex, sports, and playing or reading... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • depression • study • television watching • happiness

Bronze Medalists Happier Than Silver Winners

2nd place a letdown, 3rd is a thrill

Aug 18, 08 4:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - Newly minted gold medalists are ecstatic, second-place finishers slightly less so, and bronze winners the least happy—or so conventional wisdom would have it. But psychologists find that bronze medalists are usually happier than those who finish with silver, the Washington Post reports. Why does this Olympic paradox play out... More »

MORE ABOUT:
psychology • happiness • psychological research • gold medal • Olympic athletes • Olympics

glossies

 Are We Happier Without Kids? 

Childless Americans enjoy life more, studies say

Jul 5, 08 3:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - Little bundles of joy may not be delivering as much pleasure to their moms and dads as they're reputed to, Newsweek reports. Parents are about 7% less happy than the childless, one study says, while another concludes that "no group of parents reported significantly greater emotional well-being than people... More »

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study • children • mothers • family • father • survey • happiness

World Becomes a Happier Place

Despite everything, people (other than Zimbabweans) feel good, scientists say

Jun 30, 08 2:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - People around the world are getting happier, according to a new study. Researchers asked people in 52 countries how happy they were annually for an average of 17 years, and the world's happiness index has risen substantially, reports LiveScience. The team speculates that reasons include economic growth and increased social... More »

MORE ABOUT:
happiness

OPINION

 How Government 
 Can Buy You Happiness 

Economists need to start thinking about quality of life

Jun 19, 08 3:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - While the jury's still out on whether money can buy happiness, a higher gross domestic product certainly doesn't. In rich countries, well-being really does depend on non-material things like family stability, a friendly community, and job security—and economists should start incorporating quality-of-life issues into policy, John Cassidy writes in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
economic growth • economics • poverty • GDP • happiness

Righties More Likely to Rationalize Way to Happiness

Social, economic disparities weigh more heavily on liberals, study finds

May 7, 08 9:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - Conservative people are happier than liberal ones, a fact explained by righties’ ability to rationalize society's socioeconomic gaps, a study finds. Conservatives are more likely to express sentiments like, “It is not really that big a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than others.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
liberals • happiness • conservatives • rationalization

 Get Old, Get Happy 

Researchers find people get happier as they age

Apr 19, 08 5:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Happiness really does come with age, researchers have discovered in one of the widest-ranging studies ever of happiness in America. Measures of happiness steadily climbed among study participants into their mid-60s. Levels dipped only slightly after that, and people in their 80s still tended to be happier than people under... More »

MORE ABOUT:
elderly • aging • old age • happiness • senior citizens

Beauty and Beast Spark Good Lovin'

Couples fare better
if woman is more attractive: study

Apr 12, 08 10:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - Trophy wives, take heart. A recent study shows that marriages fare better if the wife is more attractive than the husband. The University of Tennessee survey of 82 couples showed that men place a high premium on a woman’s beauty while women value a caring, supportive husband over chiseled... More »

MORE ABOUT:
marriage • beauty • love • attraction • dating • relationship • happiness

 Bhutan to Measure Happiness 

Tiny nation calculates its Gross National Happiness

Mar 22, 08 10:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - The king of Bhutan decided 20 years ago to start measuring his people's well-being—dubbed Gross National Happiness—but he never quite figured out how to quantify the national mood. With the Bhutan's first democratic election on Monday, and modernization transforming the long-isolated country, a commission has been charged with... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bhutan • King Jigme Singye Wangchuck • happiness • democratic parliament • Karma Tshiteem • Democratic Constitutional Monarchy

1 - 20 of 22 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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