Ruut Veenhoven (born 1942) is a Dutch sociologist and a pioneer on the scientific study of happiness, [1] [2] [3] in the sense of subjective enjoyment of life. His work on the social conditions for human happiness at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands has contributed to a renewed interest in happiness as an aim for public policy. He has shown that happiness can be used a reliable measure to assess progress in societies [4] which was one of the sources of inspiration for the United Nations to adopt happiness measures as a holistic approach to development. [5] Veenhoven is the founding director of the World Database of Happiness and a founding editor of the Journal of Happiness Studies . [6] He has been described as "the godfather of happiness studies", [7] and "a leading authority on worldwide levels of happiness from country to country", [8] whose work "earned him international acclaim". [9]
Veenhoven was born in The Hague in the Netherlands in 1942. He graduated in 1962 from the Nederlands Lyceum in The Hague and received a master's degree in sociology (specializing in public management) from Erasmus University in Rotterdam (1969). Subsequently, he completed a PhD in the Social Sciences also at Erasmus, with a dissertation on "The Condition of Happiness". He was also registered as a social-sexologist (1994–2000). [10] Between 1970 and 1990 Veenhoven was a leading advocate of abortion law reform and in promoting acceptance of voluntary childlessness in The Netherlands. [11]
Since 2001 he was a special professor at North-West University in South Africa. After his retirement in 2007 he joined the Erasmus Happiness Economics Research Organization (Ehero). Since 1985 he has been director of the World Database of Happiness at Erasmus University Rotterdam. [12] From 1995 until 2002 he was extraordinary professor of Humanism at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands (Piet Thoenes chair). [13] His contribution to the field of happiness studies was described in the Festschrift The Pope of Happiness. [14]
In 1984 Veenhoven earned his doctorate on the dissertation ‘Conditions of Happiness’ that synthesized the results of 245 empirical studies on happiness. On that basis he developed the World Database of Happiness, [15] which now covers some 40,000 research findings taken from 8,000 empirical investigations. Veenhoven is mentioned in the top 5% of authors in his field (December 2012). [16]
The International Society for Quality of Life Studies (ISQOLS) has awarded Veenhoven several times:
His main research subject is happiness in the sense of subjective enjoyment of life. His main aim is to add to happiness for as much people as possible, by allowing individuals and organizations to make better informed decisions. Worldwide he is seen as a pioneer in that field. [18] [19] [20]
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns".
Daniel Kahneman is an Israeli-American author, psychologist and economist notable for his work on hedonic psychology, psychology of judgment and decision-making. He is also known for his work in behavioral economics, for which he was awarded the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. His empirical findings challenge the assumption of human rationality prevailing in modern economic theory.
Happiness is a positive and pleasant emotion, ranging from contentment to intense joy. Moments of happiness may be triggered by positive life experiences or thoughts, but sometimes it may arise from no obvious cause. The level of happiness for longer periods of time is more strongly correlated with levels of life satisfaction, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. In common usage, the word happy can be an appraisal of those measures themselves or as a shorthand for a "source" of happiness. As with any emotion, the precise definition of happiness has been a perennial debate in philosophy.
Positive psychology studies the conditions that contribute to the optimal functioning of people, groups, and institutions. It studies "positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions... it aims to improve quality of life."
Economic materialism can be described as either a personal attitude that attaches importance to acquiring and consuming material goods or as a logistical analysis of how physical resources are shaped into consumable products.
The Satisfaction with Life Index was created in 2007 by Adrian G. White, an analytic social psychologist at the University of Leicester, using data from a metastudy. It is an attempt to show life satisfaction in different nations.
The economics of happiness or happiness economics is the theoretical, qualitative and quantitative study of happiness and quality of life, including positive and negative affects, well-being, life satisfaction and related concepts – typically tying economics more closely than usual with other social sciences, like sociology and psychology, as well as physical health. It typically treats subjective happiness-related measures, as well as more objective quality of life indices, rather than wealth, income or profit, as something to be maximized.
The Easterlin paradox is a finding in happiness economics formulated in 1974 by Richard Easterlin, then professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania, and the first economist to study happiness data. The paradox states that at a point in time happiness varies directly with income both among and within nations, but over time happiness does not trend upward as income continues to grow: while people on higher incomes are typically happier than their lower-income counterparts at a given point in time, higher incomes don't produce greater happiness over time. One explanation is that my happiness depends on a comparison between my income and my perceptions of the average standard of living. If everyone's income increases, my increased income gives a short boost to my happiness, since I do not realize that the average standard of living has gone up. Some time later, I realize that the average standard of living has also gone up, so the happiness boost produced by my increased income disappears. It is the contradiction between the point-of-time and time series findings that is the root of the paradox: while there is a correlation at a fixed point, there is no trend over multiple points. That is, in the short run, everyone perceives increases in income to be correlated with happiness and tries to increase their incomes. However, in the long run, this proves to be an illusion, since everyone's efforts to raise standards of living lead to increasing averages, leaving everyone in the same place in terms of relative income. Various theories have been advanced to explain the Paradox, but the Paradox itself is solely an empirical generalization. The existence of the paradox has been strongly disputed by other researchers.
Contentment is a state of being where one is satisfied with their current situation, and the state of affairs in one’s life as they presently are. If one is content, they are pleased with their situation and how the elements in one’s life are situated. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to be content with one’s life regardless of the circumstance, regardless of whether things are going as one expected or not.
Edward Francis Diener was an American psychologist and author. Diener was a professor of psychology at the University of Utah and the University of Virginia, and Joseph R. Smiley Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois, as well as a senior scientist for the Gallup Organization. He is noted for his research over the past thirty years on happiness, including work on temperament and personality influences on well-being, theories of well-being, income and well-being, cultural influences on well-being, and the measurement of well-being. As shown on Google Scholar as of April 2021, Diener's publications have been cited over 257,000 times.
Ikigai is a Japanese concept referring to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for living.
The trait of extraversion and introversion are a central dimension in some human personality theories. The terms introversion and extraversion were introduced into psychology by Carl Jung, though both the popular understanding and current psychological usage are not the same as Jung's original concept. Extraversion tends to be manifested in outgoing, talkative, energetic behavior, whereas introversion is manifested in more reflective and reserved behavior. Jung defined introversion as an "attitude-type characterised by orientation in life through subjective psychic contents", and extraversion as "an attitude-type characterised by concentration of interest on the external object".
Robert Biswas-Diener is a positive psychologist, author and instructor at Portland State University. Biswas-Diener's mother is Carol Diener and his father is Ed Diener, both psychologists.
Life satisfaction is the evaluation of a person's quality of life. It is assessed in terms of mood, relationship satisfaction, achieved goals, self-concepts, and self-perceived ability to cope with life. Life satisfaction involves a favorable attitude towards one's life—rather than an assessment of current feelings. Life satisfaction has been measured in relation to economic standing, degree of education, experiences, residence, and other factors.
Subjective well-being (SWB) is a self-reported measure of well-being, typically obtained by questionnaire.
Michael W. Fordyce was an American psychologist and a pioneer researcher in the field of empirical happiness measurement and intervention. As a forerunner who approached "happiness" as an applied science, he ushered-in the modern academic branch of Positive Psychology
The World Database of Happiness is a web-based archive of research findings on subjective appreciation of life, based in the Erasmus Happiness Economics Research Organization of the Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Netherlands. The database contains both an overview of scientific publications on happiness and a digest of research findings. Happiness is defined as the degree to which an individual judges the quality of his or her life as a whole favorably. Two 'components' of happiness are distinguished: hedonic level of affect and contentment.
Aversion to happiness, also called fear of happiness, is an attitude towards happiness in which individuals may deliberately avoid experiences that invoke positive emotions or happiness. Aversion to happiness is not a recognized mental health disorder on its own, but it can contribute to and/or exacerbate existing mental health issues.
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve is a Belgian economist and professor at the University of Oxford where he directs the Wellbeing Research Centre. De Neve is also the KSI Fellow and Vice-Principal of Harris Manchester College. He is best known for his research on the economics of wellbeing which has led to new insights into the relationship between wellbeing and income, productivity, firm performance, and economic growth. De Neve is also an editor of the World Happiness Report and co-founder of the World Wellbeing Movement.
The Journal of Happiness Studies: An Interdisciplinary Forum on Subjective Well-Being is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary scientific journal covering the study of happiness and well-being. It was established in 2000 by founding editors Ed Diener, Alex Michalos, and Ruut Veenhoven. It is published by Springer Science+Business Media, and is affiliated with the International Society for Quality of Life Studies (ISQOLS). The editor-in-chief is Antonella Delle Fave. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2020 impact factor of 3.852.
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