Title
Variety is the Spice of Happiness: The Hedonic Adaptation Prevention (HAP) Model
Files
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Description
"By now, it has become a bromide that the U.S. constitution and culture are built on the pursuit of happiness (Myers, 1992). According to this political philosophy, government should allow citizens to strive towards their own conception of happiness, and should assist them as much as possible to reach this goal. In return, citizens ought to make the most of the opportunity, ultimately contributing to the common good of all. The enduring appeal of this American ideal rests on the very plausible assumption that happiness is the fundamental objective of all human effort and activity, in all cultures, whether people are aware of it or not. By taking action, humans aim towards more positive conditions and feelings than they currently experience, or towards more positive future feelings than what they might otherwise experience if they failed to act (Carver & Scheier, 1998). Accordingly, becoming happier is not only a hugely popular topic on the self-help shelves, it is increasingly becoming a stated policy goal of world governments, with the gross national happiness of the country (rather than its gross domestic product) as the primary quantity to be maximized "
ISBN
Oxford handbook of happiness
Publication Date
2012
Publisher
Oxford University Press
City
Oxford, UK
Keywords
happiness, sustainable happiness model, hedonic adaptation prevention model
Disciplines
Other Political Science | Other Psychology | Political Theory | Psychology | Quantitative Psychology
Recommended Citation
Sheldon, K. M., J. K. Boehm, & S. Lyubomirsky. (2012). Variety is the spice of happiness: The hedonic adaptation prevention (HAP) model. In S. David, I. Bonnywell, & A. C. Ayers (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of happiness (pp. 901-914). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Peer Reviewed
1
Copyright
Oxford University Press
Comments
In Susan David, Ilona Bonnywell, and Amanda Conley Ayers (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Happiness. Dr. Boehm's chapter begins on page 901.
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