When an event that provokes positive or negative emotions happens, at first we tend to experience its emotional influence at full depth. We feel a burst of enjoyment following such things as a marriage proposal, delivery of a child, acceptance to law college, an inheritance, and the like; as you may think, lottery winners expertise a surge of happiness after hitting the jackpot . Likewise, we experience a surge of misery following widowhood, a divorce, or a layoff from work.
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In the long term, nevertheless, we ultimately modify to the emotional new regular; the emotional influence of the event tends to erode, and we ultimately revert to our original baseline happiness ranges. Thus, what was at first an exciting lottery windfall or World Series championship eventually loses its luster and turns into the status quo (Figure 14.27).
Cliché Happiness Quotes & The (lack Of) Science Behind Them
Thus, lengthy-term happiness levels can and do change for some individuals. However, one thing much like sensory adaptation usually occurs when folks expertise emotional reactions to life occasions.
Indeed, dramatic life events have a lot less long-lasting influence on happiness than may be anticipated (Brickman, Coats, & Janoff-Bulman, 1978). Family and other social relationships appear to be key factors correlated with happiness. Happy people additionally report that their marriages are fulfilling (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005). In fact, some have advised that satisfaction with marriage and household life is the strongest predictor of happiness . Happy individuals even have a …