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happiness
You think life changes more based on one factor.
People systematically overestimate the impact of a single variable on their overall life satisfaction.
When asked to rate the happiness of residents in different climates, participants incorrectly assumed those in sunny regions were significantly happier. The focus on one specific aspect of life obscured the many other factors that actually determine day-to-day well-being.
The one thing you think will fix your life will not.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Schkade and Kahneman (1998)
- What the check found
- The claim correctly identifies the 'focusing illusion' described by Schkade and Kahneman regarding how people exaggerate the impact of specific factors on life satisfaction.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.