The Psychology of Happiness BUSMKT 1441 Consumer Behavior Exam 3 Study Guide The Pursuit of Happiness Psychology of Happiness Definition of happiness includes three evaluative components 1 More positive emotion 2 Less negative emotion 3 High life satisfaction cognitive Two types of happiness Temporal Focus 1 Calm happy preferred by those with a present focus e g older consumers 2 Excited happy preferred by those planning for the future e g younger consumers Indicative that different age groups prefer different types of happiness Positioning as in the business of happiness o Coca Cola Open Happiness o McDonalds happiness in a box o Nesquik you cant buy happiness but you can drink it Two Types of Happiness MP3 Study Participants listened to a calm an exciting version of the same song and were then asked to A indicate how happy each version made them feel and B choose which version they d like to receive as an MP3 file Condition 1 older participants Condition 2 younger participants A Rated Happiness o Calm happy resonates more with older Young were happier during exciting part of the song B Choice of MP3 o Young choose exciting Old choose calm o Age Segmentation Implications Need to talk about different types of happiness Convey info in ads based on targeted happiness Good for health and well being o Blood flows easily less likely to have a heart attack Enhances creativity problem solving o Happiness changes cognitive process o GOOGLE taking care of employee happiness Focus on positive information Side Effects of Being Happy Happiness S C V Happiness Set Point S o Can lead us to ignore negative and often essential information which can be detrimental Increases consideration set sizes Encourages broader more inclusive categories Increases interest in variety among positive choices o Prone to look for more variation relative to those who are unhappy and only focus on one The Happiness Formula 1 S happiness set point 2 C life circumstances 3 V voluntary or intentional activities Part of happiness is genetically pre determined o Minnesota Twin Studies followed identical exact same genetics and fraternal similar genetics twins for 30 years Identical twins were better predictors of each other s happiness even when not growing up together relative to fraternal twins raised together o Related to personality wired to genetic structure Low neuroticism High extraversion High conscientiousness responsible Estimated influence on happiness 50 o Significant portion of our overall happiness is out of our control Parts of happiness determined by life circumstance Good marriage best for happiness Divorce bad for happiness Bad marriage worst for happiness o Earnings ability to afford happiness For the first 10 years of a child s life isn t good on Mother s happiness Happiness is greater in the short term than long term o Prospect Theory overtime we adjust to things Less excited about a new car once it s a year old Estimated influence on happiness 10 Part of happiness is determined by what we do intentionally o Spending time with family friends o Exercise Endorphins o Religion Congregation strong social network Social support strong sense of meaning Critical to happiness o Certain types of spending Estimate influence on happiness 40 How to Buy Happiness Happiness Activities V Happiness Life Circumstances C o Marital status o Life events Buy experiences instead of materials o Role of Engagement in Happiness Reported happiness by people doing activities of different engagement levels Most happy when engaged Less happy when un engaged wandering mind o Role of Hedonic Adaptation tendency to return to a relatively stable happiness level despite major positive or negative events Long term happiness isn t significantly affected by impacting events The memory of a vacation grows happier overtime because you forget the downsides waiting in line heat being hungry getting lost o Relative to material goods experiences are More often remembered and memory is malleable Less easily compared Comparison makes us unhappy o Reading maximizers satisfiers More often shared with others Create bonds over shared experiences o Extraordinary VS Ordinary Experiences Degree of happiness is determined by age Spend money on others Extraordinary young Self definition extraordinary stories needed by the youth Ordinary older Replicate effects in terms of graduation o Ordinary brings more happiness to senior year students Role of Temporal Focus Implication affect the youth s perception of time to increase liking of ordinary products o Gift giving importance of social relationships o Donating to charity Benefits for self presentation selfish reasoning When others know you donated they see you as good which makes you happier o Buying things to share with others o Study participants were given 5 to spend on themselves or others Regardless of money those who purchased for others were happier o Role of Hedonic Adaptation buying Starbucks everyday leads to a different experiences i e seeing different people making it hard to adapt to a set level of happiness o Role of Mental Accounting indicates that we should segregate gains Impedes cognitive dissonance buyers regret reduction o Buy less product insurance extended return policies Buy many small pleasures instead of a few big ones Buy what others do and recommend o o o When given a chance to back out their overall satisfaction will decrease Implication make a decision and stick with it o We like to do what others do o Others can provide info on what we might like based on their observations Good friends notice things that you may not notice about yourself Overtime they note your preferences can determine what you would like better than you Implication read product reviews Happiness Takeaways Consumers desire happiness but don t always know how to achieve it Happiness Comes in 2 types role of temporal focus Leads to a variety of benefits Increased creativity problem solving improved well being focus on positive info increased consideration sets more flexible categorization increased interest in variety Happiness Genetics Situation Activities We can buy happiness through Buying experiences role of temporal focus Spending on others Buying small pleasures Buying less product insurance extended return policies Buy what others recommend o