23 Sep Happiness versus Fulfillment
Happiness research is becoming the new religion in social science. Out with the psychoanalysts, in with the hedonists. Instead of finding out what makes you “tick,” the “High Priests of Happiness” merely seek to tickle your fancy. The new worship of happiness, ushered in by the positive psychology movement, emphasizes all the ways that we can maximize our feelings in moments of joy, elation, and pleasure. Survey follows upon survey as the wave of bliss thermometers continues to rise through the populace. You’ve probably read the results of at least one of these surveys in your news and Twitter feeds. The findings are easily summed up in 6-word headlines or 140 character tweets: “Midlife Adults Least Happy” and “Most Black Americans Say They’re Happy,” to name two that come to mind.
Now, I suppose that to avoid sounding like a negative psychologist (which I most decidedly am not), I should hop right on the bandwagon and tout the virtues of happiness studies. My own research, on personal fulfillment, sounds like it’s probably got a strong dose of the happiness factor. Sorry to say, though, that happiness research leaves a lot to desired. Its most striking flaw is the superficiality of happiness measures…
…read more of this interesting happiness article on Psychology Today – JUST CLICK HERE