Illustration by Melanie Lambrick
People are willing to fork over a lot of cash in the pursuit of happiness. There are self-help books, wellness retreats, workplace summits, mindfulness apps, a deep bench of life coaches, an entire catalogue of Goop products – it all adds up to a multibillion-dollar industry in North America alone. But Canadian developmental psychologist Bruce Hood thinks we should just get back to basics. He argues that happiness can – and should – be taught in school, right alongside science and math.
In her new report, Globe and Mail feature writer Erin Anderssen explores the latest boom in the science of joy. She profiles Hood and his Science of Happiness course at the University of Bristol in Britain, and uncovers the types of happiness interventions that actually boost our mood. This feature kicks off a year-long dive into happiness for Erin, who’s reported extensively for The Globe on health policy, social issues and mental health. We spoke about her findings so far – and how I can keep my own crankiness in check.
What’s nature and what’s nurture when it comes to happiness? How much room do we really have to play with here?
That’s a subject of debate among positive psychology researchers, who study positive emotions rather than negative ones. Studies of twins clearly suggest there is a genetic component to our personalities and dispositions: Some babies just seem naturally happy. But, of course, our environments, experiences and life choices get mixed in there as well. Happiness levels also go up and down and back up again, and researchers see this as evidence that we have control over at least some of our happiness. As Bruce Hood points out, a certain amount of intelligence is genetic, but we know education can influence it. It’s the same, he says, with happiness.
I tend to fall on the crabbier side of the spectrum. How would Hood teach me to be a little more joyful?
I would say I also fall on the pessimistic side, prompting some jokes from my partner when he heard I was going to report on happiness for the next year. But Hood would remind us that happiness takes practice; we can’t just read a book and be done. He’d recommend all the usual interventions – practising gratitude, walks in nature, mindfulness – but his main advice is to get out of our own heads and invest in the people and relationships that give us purpose and joy.
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What does science say about the success of these interventions?
There’s limited research to show that these interventions create long-term happiness. Most research doesn’t follow people long-term. And the boost you get even in the short term isn’t massive. But as Dunigan Folk, a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia who studies the effectiveness of interventions, says – a boost is still positive. If we get better at practising the things that give us that boost, don’t we feel more moments of happiness? The good thing is that the practices that really seem to boost people’s happiness are also pretty healthy for our communities.
How do we actually measure happiness? Are we sticking people in MRI machines? Asking them to pick a number on a scale? Something else altogether?
Scientists are using brain scans to study happiness, as well as psychological measures that use scales, which have good evidence behind them. Most happiness findings are self-reported, but then happiness is relative and subjective. Since happiness goes up and down, these tests also capture people’s mood at the particular time they’re done. But since our brains naturally have a negativity bias, measuring happiness long-term – even if we just do it ourselves – might show that we are actually happier than we thought. That might help us see more potential for happiness in the future.
Why did you want to tackle the happiness beat?
To be honest, I did worry about the name for the beat, because happiness maybe seems like a fluffy term. But the pursuit of those positive emotions – joy, contentment, well-being, purpose and connection – is what drives so many of our individual and collective decisions, with mixed results. I’m especially interested in how we can look at many different areas of science – ecology, urban planning, economics, anthropology, history – from that perspective of improving the quality of our lives, and especially our communities. It seems especially timely when the world feels pretty angry. Also, even though I’m just getting started, it’s pretty hard to be grumpy talking every day to researchers, policy makers and others about what makes them happy.
What else do you want to look into?
The list is already so long. Can we be happy without backyards? How can we be inspired by orphaned otters? Also: smiling, parking lots, politics, climate change, Taylor Swift. I hope I look back on all these stories and see they’ve explored a way for the pursuit of our individual happiness to improve the world around us.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Also: Who’s the happiest person you know? To nominate a family member, friend or colleague, please go here or send an email with a brief description of them to Erin Anderssen at eanderssen@globeandmail.com.
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Why did you want to tackle the happiness beat?
To be honest, I did worry about the name for the beat, because happiness maybe seems like a fluffy term. But the pursuit of those positive emotions – joy, contentment, well-being, purpose and connection – is what drives so many of our individual and collective decisions, with mixed results. I’m especially interested in how we can look at many different areas of science – ecology, urban planning, economics, anthropology, history – from that perspective of improving the quality of our lives, and especially our communities. It seems especially timely when the world feels pretty angry. Also, even though I’m just getting started, it’s pretty hard to be grumpy talking every day to researchers, policy makers and others about what makes them happy.
What else do you want to look into?
The list is already so long. Can we be happy without backyards? How can we be inspired by orphaned otters? Also: smiling, parking lots, politics, climate change, Taylor Swift. I hope I look back on all these stories and see they’ve explored a way for the pursuit of our individual happiness to improve the world around us.
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