05 Jul Money can’t buy happiness
Money can’t buy happiness, survey finds
July 02, 2007 11:34am
CHILDREN, friends and pets are more likely to make us smile than a big wad of cash, according to a new survey.
THE ACNielsen survey for Centro Properties Group, which runs the Smile with Centro survey in conjunction with a photographic competition, polled 1471 Australians to find out what made them smile.
The saying that “money can’t buy happiness” was confirmed in the survey which revealed 94 per cent of Australians rated factors other than money as things that make them smile most, Centro Properties Group spokeswoman Lisa Charter said.
The survey found that children and babies made 33 per cent of people smile, followed by family and friends (28 per cent), then pets and animals (22 per cent), nature (8 per cent), while money only made 6 per cent of Australians smile, she said.
Dr Timothy Sharp from the Happiness Institute said the results indicated people gained more happiness from relationships.
“It (smiling) is a natural human expression that elevates the senses and boosts the level of serotonin in the brain,” Dr Sharp said.
“The findings support my theory that happy people have more and better quality relationships than those who don’t smile, because it is an important non-verbal sign we give to others as a way of sharing and eliciting positive emotions,” he said.
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