People riding on a public bus had a more positive experience when they
talked to a nearby stranger than when they sat in isolation, and yet predicted
the opposite. This suggests that people may routinely choose to sit in
isolation because they mistakenly think it will be more pleasant than talking
to a nearby stranger.
Total discussion:
People misunderstand the consequences of social connection. People seem
to ignore strangers because they mistakenly think that forming a connection
with them would be systematically unpleasant, whereas isolation would be
pleasurable. Participants predicted that their socializing would come at a cost
to productivity. This was not found true. Either people do not get as much
done on the train sitting alone as they expect, or forming a new connection
comes to be defines as a reasonably productive use of time after having
done it.
One possible barrier is a widely shared belief that other people are not
interested in connecting comes from existing behavioral norms.
People could improve their momentary well-being by simply being more
social with strangers, trying to create connections where one might
otherwise choose isolation.
Conclusion: behaving equitably rather than selfishly or expressing gratitude
versus disdain pro-socially seems not only to benefit others, but also to
benefit oneself. Misunderstanding of social engagement could be
increasingly problematic.
THE EMOTIONAL REWARDS OF PROSOCIAL SPENDING ARE ROBUST AND
REPLICABLE IN LARGE SAMPLES
Prosocial spending feels good people who were randomly assigned to
spend 5-20 euros on other people were significantly happier than people
assigned to spend on themselves.
Self-determination theory: people are more likely to experience happiness
when they have the opportunity to make choices about their generous
spending and see how their actions have a positive effect on others.
, MONEY, SEX AND HAPPINESS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
Empirical study of the links between money, sex and happiness.
The effect of sex on happiness is statistically well-determines, monotonic and
large. This deems true for males and females both under and over the age of
40.
SEXUAL FREQUENCY PREDICTS GREATER WELL-BEING, BUT MORE IS NOT ALWAYS
BETTER
Association between sexual frequency and well-being is best described by a
curvilinear association, where sex is no longer associated with well-being at a
frequency of more than once a week.
For people having sex once a week or less, there was a significant linear
association between sexual frequency and satisfaction with life and between
sexual frequency and relationship satisfaction, but no significant association
for people having sex more than once a week.
At least for people in a romantic relationship, sexual frequency is no longer
significantly associated with well-being at a frequency greater than once a
week.
Although greater sexual frequency is associated with greater well-being,
more is not always better. Instead, sex may be like money, only too little is
‘bad’.
RELIGION, SOCIAL NETWORKS, AND LIFE SATISFACTION
Religion offers personal networks and support, social opportunities for social
interaction.
It matters how one is involved in a religious community, not what type of
religion.
Friendship in a congregation is significantly related to life satisfaction even
when the variables measuring general social resources are included.
It is not found that religion improves well-being. Social networks forged in
congregations and strong religious identities are the key variables that
mediate the positive connection between religion and life satisfaction. People
with religious affiliations are more satisfied with their lives because they
attend religious services regularly and build intimate social networks in their
congregations.
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