by Jeff T. Larsen & Amie R. McKibban.
Here's how the article begins:
[begin excerpt]
"Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have."
--Rabbi Hyman Schachtel (1954, p. 37)
Discrepancy theories of well-being contend that happiness depends on the extent to which people have what they want (e.g., Michalos, 1985). For instance, most people presumably want money, and those who make more money tend to be slightly happier (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999).
Moreover, the effect of income on happiness is strongest among those who are particularly interested in acquiring wealth (Nickerson, Schwarz, Diener, & Kahneman, 2003). Such findings are consistent with the hypothesis that people who have what they want are happier than others.
From Schachtel's (1954) perspective, however, individuals who acquire the wealth they seek may be happy not because they have what they want, but because they want what they have.
[end excerpt]
Here's how the article ends: "Some years ago, a popular bumper sticker in the United States declared, "He who dies with the most toys wins." Whatever rewards await those who die with the most toys, our results indicate that the American undergraduates who are happiest in this life are not necessarily those who amass great numbers of things. Rather, they are those who both have the things they want and want the things they have."
Here's the abstract: "Rabbi Hyman Schachtel (1954) proposed that "happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have" (p. 37). In two studies, we tested Schachtel's maxim by asking participants whether or not they had and the extent to which they wanted each of 52 material items. To quantify how much people wanted what they had, we identified what they had and the extent to which they wanted those things. To quantify how much people had what they wanted, we identified how much they wanted and whether or not they had each item. Both variables accounted for unique variance in happiness. Moreover, the extent to which people wanted what they had partially mediated effects of gratitude and maximization on happiness, and the extent to which they had what they wanted partially mediated the effect of maximization.
Results indicate that happiness is both wanting what you have and having what you want." The author note states that correspondence about the article may be addressed to Jeff T. Larsen, Department of Psychology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-2051, e-mail:.
Ken Pope 7 Fallacies in Psychological Assessment: The butterfly counts not years but moments and has time enough. -Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel laureate (1861-1941)
Here's how the article begins:
[begin excerpt]
"Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have."
--Rabbi Hyman Schachtel (1954, p. 37)
Discrepancy theories of well-being contend that happiness depends on the extent to which people have what they want (e.g., Michalos, 1985). For instance, most people presumably want money, and those who make more money tend to be slightly happier (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999).
Moreover, the effect of income on happiness is strongest among those who are particularly interested in acquiring wealth (Nickerson, Schwarz, Diener, & Kahneman, 2003). Such findings are consistent with the hypothesis that people who have what they want are happier than others.
From Schachtel's (1954) perspective, however, individuals who acquire the wealth they seek may be happy not because they have what they want, but because they want what they have.
[end excerpt]
Here's how the article ends: "Some years ago, a popular bumper sticker in the United States declared, "He who dies with the most toys wins." Whatever rewards await those who die with the most toys, our results indicate that the American undergraduates who are happiest in this life are not necessarily those who amass great numbers of things. Rather, they are those who both have the things they want and want the things they have."
Here's the abstract: "Rabbi Hyman Schachtel (1954) proposed that "happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have" (p. 37). In two studies, we tested Schachtel's maxim by asking participants whether or not they had and the extent to which they wanted each of 52 material items. To quantify how much people wanted what they had, we identified what they had and the extent to which they wanted those things. To quantify how much people had what they wanted, we identified how much they wanted and whether or not they had each item. Both variables accounted for unique variance in happiness. Moreover, the extent to which people wanted what they had partially mediated effects of gratitude and maximization on happiness, and the extent to which they had what they wanted partially mediated the effect of maximization.
Results indicate that happiness is both wanting what you have and having what you want." The author note states that correspondence about the article may be addressed to Jeff T. Larsen, Department of Psychology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-2051, e-mail:
Ken Pope 7 Fallacies in Psychological Assessment: The butterfly counts not years but moments and has time enough. -Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel laureate (1861-1941)
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