CAN MONEY BUY HAPPINESS?
L. Etherington, H. Gwilt & S. Phylaktou
Overview• Introduction
• Research Paper 1: Money and mental wellbeing(Gardner, J. & Oswald, A. J., 2006)
• Research Paper 2: Money matters, but less than people think(Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I. & Dunn, E. W., 2009)
• Suggested Improvements
• Other research
• Conclusion
Introduction• Money is power• People = Risk Aversive
• Loss = Painful (activates anterior insula, associated with pain and disgust)
• Changing population• Increase of women in work: doubled since 1950’s• Family size decreasing: 1.8 children per couple• Caldwell (1976): children = economic liabilities
• University studies – why are we here?
Dillow (2012), Livesey & Lawson (2008), Heathfield, USA GOV (2003)
Paper 1: Lottery Wins and Wellbeing
Aims•Aimed to see effect of lottery wins on wellbeing
Method•Longitudinal Study •137 medium-sized lottery wins between 1998-2001•Compared to 2 control groups; small wins and no wins•Used GHQ scores from the BHPS to gain an objective measure of mental wellbeing
Gardner, J. & Oswald, A. J. (2006)
Results•On average, mental stress
increases in year of win•Mental wellbeing increases
after two years (1.4 drop in GHQ)•Similar increase for both sexes,
men slightly larger
Conclusions•Winning the lottery is associated with improved mental wellbeing
Gardner, J. & Oswald, A. J. (2006)
Critique Suggested Improvements
Objective measurement of well being –GHQ score
N/A
Experiment using control groups - increased validity
N/A
Culturally dependent Multi-cultural sample
Small sample – only 137 Larger Sample
Concluded increase in wellbeing was result of lottery winning - presumption?
Need to measure other life factors. Should have explicitly asked.
Unable to measure adaptation to money over long period
Should have followed up
Boundaries between medium sized wins and small wins are too small
Should have boundaries that are more separate
Paper 2: Money matters, but less than people thinkPart 1: Predicting wellbeing of others based on household income
Aims•Examine the accuracy of laypeoples intuition about relationship between household income and wellbeing of others
Method•429 Americans reported annual income from list of categories•“How would you rate your life overall these days?”•Consider 10 different household incomes, asked to predict the life satisfaction of someone at each income level
Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I. & Dunn, E. W. (2009)
Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I. & Dunn, E. W. (2009)
Results•People on higher incomes reported
greater happiness •Accurately estimated higher levels
of household income with greater
happiness •Overestimated the unhappiness of
those in lower income households
Part 2: Predicating wellbeing of oneself based household income
Aims•Test validity of part 1 – i.e. should still wrongly predict the association between money and happiness
Method•315 Americans reported annual income from list of categories•“How would you rate your life overall these days?”•Consider 10 different household incomes, asked to predict the life satisfaction of themselves at each income level.
Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I. & Dunn, E. W. (2009)
Study 2: Money matters, but less than people think
Aknin, L. B., Norton, M. I. & Dunn, E. W. (2009)
Results•Showed consistency when predicting
their own and others happiness•Results support findings of Study 1
Conclusions•Vastly overestimate emotional cost associated with being poor… i.e. money matters, but less than people think
CritiqueCritiques Suggested Improvements
Rewards for participation – increased motivation
N/A
Used consistent methodology across both parts of study
N/A
Culturally dependent Multi-cultural sample
Subjective measurement of wellbeing
Need standardized, objective measurement
2 Different Samples Within subjects design
Other Research• Diener et al. (2010) - conducted a study on wealth and
happiness. Used worldwide sample of 136000 subjects and found that long term income changes are more related to positive life evaluations not feelings.
• The ONS has found that being married is 20 times more important to a person’s well-being than their earnings, so the increase in wellbeing in the lottery study may have been due to other factors such as getting married.
• P. Brickman, D. Coates, & R. Janoff-Bulman (1978) – lottery winners were not happier than controls and took significantly less pleasure from a series of mundane events. Found not to be due to pre-existing differences. Evidence for adaption level theory.
Adaptation Level Theory vs. Assimilation Contrast Theory
Helson, H (1947), American Journal of Psychology
Investigating within the student environment• May get a different relationship between wealth and
happiness among students compared to middle aged adults.
• Use an anonymous questionnaire to gain info such as:• Amount of debt they will be in after graduating• How much money they are given each month from parents• Whether they receive more than the standard loan or any loan at
all
• Use a previous measure for rating happiness/wellbeing such as the GHQ measure.
Evidence that winning big doesn’t lead to a better life or happiness:
• Michael Carroll nicknamed ‘lotto lout’ won £9.7million on the lottery
• Blew all his winnings on drugs, prostitutes and cars
• Been in court over 30 times and jailed for the drug offences
• Now works in a biscuit factory earning £6 an hour
• Claims he is now happier
Papworth (2013)
Conclusions• Evidence for and against money buying happiness• Paper 2 more in favor of Adaptation Level Theory• Paper 1 more in favor of Assimilation Theory – needs to
be longer?• Happiness is very subjective • Maybe it buys happiness up to a certain extent, but there
are other more influential factors that should be considered i.e. marriage
• Maybe if you actually earn the money, as opposed to being handed it (i.e. the lottery), you have a greater respect for it and therefore it makes you happier for longer – further research?
"It is pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness; poverty and wealth have both failed" - Kin Hubbard
“If you want to feel rich, count the things that money can’t buy”
“There are people who have money, and people who are rich” – Coco Chanel
“Wealth without work, one of the seven deadly sins” – Ghandi
“If you realise that you have enough, you are truly rich” – Lao Tzu
ANY QUESTIONS?
ReferencesAknin, L. B., Norton, M. I. & Dunn, E. W. (2009). From wealth to well-being? Money Matters, but less than people think. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 523-527.Brickman, P., Coates, D., Janoff-Bulman, R. (1978). Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 917-927. Diener, E. et al. (2010). Wealth and Happiness Across the World: Material Prosperity Predicts Life Evaluation, Whereas Psychosocial Prosperity Predicts Positive Feeling. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 52-61. Dillow, C. (2012, January). Lost money? You should forget about it. Retrieved from:http://www.ezonomics.com/blogs/lost_money_you_should_forget_about_it/Gardner, J. & Oswald, A. J. (2006). Money and mental wellbeing: A longitudinal study of medium-sized lottery wins. Journal of Health Economics, 26, 49-60. Heathfield, S. Women and work: Then, now, and predicting the future for women in the workplace. Human Resources.Helson, H. (1947). Adaptation-Level as Frame of Reference for prediction of psychophysical data. The American Journal of Psychology, 60, 1-29.
ReferencesLivesey, C. & Lawson, T. (2008). Family Households. AS Sociology for AQA. 2; 64-76. Retrieved from:
http://www.sociology.org.uk/sc_shop_pdf/sc_AS4AQA_family_e.pdf
Papworth, A. (2013). Norfolk lottery winner Michael Carroll now earns £6 an hour. EDP 24. Retrieved from: http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/norfolk_lottery_winner_michael_carroll_now_earns_6_an_hour_1_2268736
Swinford, S. (2013, May). Marriage makes people happier than six figure salaries and religion Marriage. Retrieved from:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10090130/Marriage-makes-people-happier-than-six-figure-salaries-and-religion.html
USA GOV (2003). Achievements in public health: Family Planning. CDC. 48; 1073-1080. Retrieved from:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4847a1.htm
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