What Makes You Happy?

What Makes You Happy? One of the most popular psychological studies is the study of happiness. Thousands of renowned intellectuals have been thoroughly studying this subject for decades. Also known as Hedonists, these people that study the pursuit of happiness have thought of some very valid points. Happiness ranges from comparing the potential happiness between two completely different organisms and specifically finding the solution to happiness for one certain person. The topic that will be discussed in this synthesis is simply the question “What makes an individual in today’s society happy?” This question will be answered simply by comparing experiential happiness and materialistic happiness. Or is it so simple? When someone says that money does not buy happiness, they are wrong. Studies show that the direct relationship between money and happiness is blatantly clear. Although, yes, money does buy happiness, it does not buy as much as one might think. It is true that, to a degree, the more money a person has, the more they can afford to make themselves happy. For example, wealthier people can afford better nutrition, medical care, as well as more leisure time with people they love. This is not even including all the more material items a wealthier individual could obtain, but that will be mentioned later. Knowing that this is true, is there a cap on how much money can make someone happy? Or is it simply the wealthier someone is, the happier they are? To save the suspense, there actually is a limit on the correlation between wealth and happiness. Research shows that a yearly wage of 75,000 dollars or more is all the same. In other words, someone that makes 75,000 dollars a year has the same happiness potential as someone that makes 20 million. One might not agree with this thinking “the more money someone has the more they can buy, therefore more happiness.” It sounds that simple but, sadly like everything else in the world, it is not.

Cited: Dunn, Elizabeth; Gilbert, Daniel; and Wilson Timothy “If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy, Then You Probably Aren’t Spending It Right” Reading and Writing across the Curriculum. Ed. Sara Gordus. New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. 247-249. Print. Clark, Josh. "What makes people happier --objects or experiences?" 04 June 2009. HowStuffWorks.com. 04 October 2013.