science-of-happiness-p-2 (2)
TRANSCRIPT
NON-CONFIDENTIAL AND NON-PROPRIETARY, ENTIRELY SHAREABLE Purpose+, Amstel 95, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Science of HappinessInternal research project, P+
At the moment, just ~17% of our European population meets the criteria for flourishing: living a positive, engaged and meaningful life
Source: Huppert & So (Cambridge, 2007) in the European Social Survey
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Portugal Russian Federation
Slovakia Bulgaria Ukraine Poland
Slovenia France Estonia
Spain Belgium
Germany Netherlands
UK Cyprus
Sweden Ireland
Norway Finland Austria
Switzerland Denmark
Percentage flourishing
Percentage of people flourishing in top-20 countries, average (global) percentage is 17%
17% average
Situation as is
Happier people significantly outperform less happy people in many different areas of life…
Proven benefits of being happier… Area ▪ Higher individual employee output ▪ Higher levels of creativity ▪ More effective leadership ▪ Better job performance ▪ Higher salary per employees
▪ Better evaluations by supervisor ▪ Less burnouts ▪ Less sick days ▪ More time focused on actual work ▪ Perceived as more helpful/friendly
▪ Better resilience during tough periods ▪ Better performance on average ▪ Less likely to choke ▪ More enthusiastic ▪ More inspiration
▪ Higher levels of resilience ▪ Less PTSS ▪ More Post Traumatic Growth ▪ Lower suicide rates ▪ Improved social ‘fitness’
▪ Higher grades ▪ Better conduct ▪ Less anxiety to perform ▪ More sociable behavior
▪ Longer life ▪ Higher levels of energy ▪ Lower chances of depression ▪ Lower anxiety levels ▪ Better (and longer) marriage
▪ Higher quality network of friends ▪ More altruism ▪ Lower levels of jealousy ▪ More positive emotions
Source: Jessica Pryce-Jones, Happiness at Work: Maximizing your Psychological Capital for Success, 2010; HBR What’s the Hard Return on Employee Wellness Programs, 2010; Oxford Handbook of Happiness, 2013; Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology, 2011; The Energy Strategy case studies. iOpener Institute case studies.
▪ Better team bonding ▪ Significantly better team performance
Companies
Sports
US Army
Schools
General public
Performance link
Our level of happiness are not fixed, and is partly within our own control...
DNA: 50%*
Circumstances: 10%
Intentional activity: 40%
Amount of variance in happiness explained by the three most important factors
Source: Sonja Lubyomirski, University of California
Influence
...since psychological traits are never fully inheritable
Source: Bouchard et al., 1990, Sources of Human Psychological Differences: The Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart.
Psychological trait Estimated heritability
Extraversion 0.54
Agreeableness (linked to aggression) 0.42
Conscientiousness 0.49
Neuroticism 0.48
Openness 0.57
Intelligence (age 5) 0.22
Intelligence (age 10) 0.54
intelligence (age 18) 0.82
Intelligence (age 50) 0.85
Schizophrenia 0.80
Major depression 0.37
Panic disorder 0.30-0.40
Generalized anxiety disorder 0.30
Phobias 0.20-0.40
Alcoholism 0.50-0.60
Antisocial behavior (children) 0.46
Antisocial behavior (adults) 0.41
Conservatism (under age 20) 0.00
Conservatism (over age 20) 0.45-0.65
Religiousness (16-year olds) 0.11-0.22
Religiousness (adults) 0.30-0.45
A score of 0,0 indicates that genes do not contribute to observed individual differences; a score of 1,0 would mean genes are the only reason
Personality traits
Intelligence
Psychiatric illnesses
Social attitudes
Influence
People are notoriously bad at predicting their own happiness in the future – which tends to normalize after most events (1/2)
6.8
6.9
7
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
7.7
7.8
T-4 T-3 T-2 T-1 T T+1 T+2 T+3 T+4
Men
Women
Life satifaction (1-10)
Time
Source: Clark, Diener, Georgellis, Lucas (2003) – Lag and Leads in Life Satisfaction: A Test of the Baseline Hypothesis
Marriage
Influence
6.4
6.6
6.8
7
7.2
7.4
7.6
7.8
8
8.2
8.4
T-4 T-3 T-2 T-1 T T+1 T+2 T+3 T+4
Men
Women
Life satifaction (1-10)
Time
Source: Clark, Diener, Georgellis, Lucas (2003) – Lag and Leads in Life Satisfaction: A Test of the Baseline Hypothesis
Child birth
People are notoriously bad at predicting their own happiness in the future – which tends to normalize after most events (2/2)
Influence
...and can therefore specifically be improved per sub-dimension through a toolbox of interventions
• Reflect on Peak Experiences
• Anticipate Good Things
• Capitalize on the Good
• Be Present in Good Times
• Three Good Things Diary
• Three Funny Moments Diary
• Random Act of Kindness
• Gift of Time • Secret Good Deed • Reflect on Play
History
• Discover Your Unique Strengths
• Ask for Strengths-Based Feedback
• Use Your Strengths in New Ways
• Map your Flow triggers
• Mindfulness Meditation
• Mindful Consumption
• Body Scan • Walking Meditation
• Build Love Maps • Active Constructive
Responding • Find Energisers • Deepening key
relations • Gratitude Letter • Gratitude Call • Gratitude Visit • Daily Appreciation • Say Thanks • Loving Kindness
Meditation • Compassion
Meditation
• Write Your Meaning maker Story: Three Questions
• Forgiveness Letter • Death bed
visualization • Lifelines Exercise
• Presentations of ‘three circles’
• Set Self-Concordant Goals
• SMART Goals with Rituals
• Best Reflected Self • Learning from
Challenges • Measure and Build
GRIT
• Eat Well • Design a healthy
Week • Design an exercise
Ritual • Design a
Relaxation Ritual
Positive emotions Engagement Relationships Meaning Accomplishment Vitality
Source: Purpose+, Building Positive Organisations (Ter Weijde, 2015)
Influence
PERMA dimensions of well-being with the underlying toolkit to improve each dimension
Well-being can be assessed relatively easily on a personal level...
Source: Example questions taken from the Flourish Inventory; Tayyab Rashid, University of Toronto
I feel joyful. _______ Others say I look happy. ________ I laugh heartily. ________
I know my strengths. _______ I pursue activities which use my strengths.________ I use my strengths to solve my problems. ________
I feel connected to people with whom I interact regularly._______ I feel close to my loved ones.________ During though times, there is always someone I can turn to for support________
I feel that my life has a purpose._______ I do things that contribute to a larger cause.________ I use my strengths to help others.________
I have done many things well in life._______ When I set a goal, I’m able to accomplish it.________ I am an ambitious person.________
8,8*
9,2*
9,9*
8,5*
9,1*
0 = Never, 1 = Rarely, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Frequently, 4 = Almost Always
* Note: Dutch averages taken from a sample (N = 400); norm for flourishing would be 9,6
Example questions below each category PERMA dimension Average NL*
Engagement
Positive emotions
Relationships
Meaning
Accomplishment
Assessment
...although more complex composite measurements also exist for systems, like countries or organisations...
Well-Being*
‘Objective’
GDP
Health
Employment
Literacy
Poverty
‘Subjective’
Evaluative
Life Satisfaction survey
Subjective Happiness survey
PERMA Profiler
Personal Well-being Index
Flourish survey
Fordyce survey
Real time
Happiness tracker (app)
Keyboard strokes analysis
EEG headbands
Sociometer
Fitbit step-o-meter
Heart variability tool
Source: Purpose+ team * Optional: factor well-being scores with life expectancy to get the ‘amount of happy years lived’
Assessment