M.: 1981, Subjective Social Indicators, Objective Social Indicators and Social Accounting Systems (Academic Press, New York).Īntonovsky, A., Maoz, B., Dowty, N. To the extend that it depends on need-gratification, happiness is not relative.Īndrews, F. Contrary to acquired ‘standards’ of comparison these innate ‘needs’ do not adjust to any and all conditions: they mark in fact the limits of human adaptability. The overall evaluation of life depends also on how one feels affectively and hedonic level of affect draws on its turn on the gratification of basic bio-psychological needs. Yet overall hapiness does not entirely depend on comparison. ![]() Contentment is indeed largely a matter of comparing life-as-it-is to standards of how-life-should-be. ![]() It is argued that the theory happiness-is-relative mixes up ‘overall happiness’ with contentment’. It is shown that: (a) people tend to be unhappy under adverse conditions such as poverty, war and isolation, (b) improvement or deterioration of at least some conditions does effect happiness lastingly, (c) earlier hardship does not favour later happiness, (d) people are typically positive about their life rather than neutral. These sensational claims are inspected but found to be untrue. Happiness is reported to be as high in poor countries as it is in rich countries (Easterlin), no less among paralyzed accident victims than it is among lottery winners (Brickman) and unrelated to stable livingconditions (Inglehart and Rabier). ![]() Recent investigations on happiness (in the sense of life-satisfaction) claim support for this old theory. Together these inferences imply that happiness is both an evasive and an inconsequential matter, which is at odds with corebeliefs in present-day welfare society. On the basis of these postulates the theory predicts: (a) happiness does not depend on real quality of life, (b) changes in living-conditions to the good or the bad have only a shortlived effect on happiness, (c) people are happier after hard times, (d) people are typically neutral about their life. The theory that happiness is relative is based on three postulates: (1) happiness results from comparison, (2) standards of comparison adjust, (3) standards of comparison are arbitrary constructs.
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