15 checked facts

Happiness

Everything on this site about happiness — each one naming the study behind it.

You are happier when you stay busy.
In a 2010 study, participants who were assigned a task were significantly happier when they had to perform it, even if…
You only notice how much you have when it disappears.
The adaptation-level phenomenon suggests that people experience significant hedonic adaptation, but individuals often …
You think that thing matters more than it does.
A 1998 study found that people overestimate how much a single change, like moving to California, impacts their long-te…
You think life changes more based on one factor.
People systematically overestimate the impact of a single variable on their overall life satisfaction.…
You exaggerate the importance of your current life focus.
The focusing illusion occurs when you place too much weight on one aspect of life while ignoring others.…
You overvalue the impact of one life change.
The focusing illusion is a cognitive error where, when prompted to consider a specific factor's impact on life satisfa…
You fixate on one detail while ignoring the context.
Focalism is the tendency to focus on a single event when predicting its impact on future well-being while neglecting o…
You focus on one problem and ignore the broader reality.
The focusing illusion causes you to overestimate the importance of a single factor on your overall well-being.…
Nothing is as important as you think it is.
A 1998 study showed that students believed living in a sunny climate would significantly boost happiness, despite data…
You focus on one event while ignoring context.
A 2000 study showed that people overestimate the impact of a single focal event on their overall happiness.…
The silver medalist is sadder than the bronze.
A 1995 study found that Olympic silver medalists showed significantly less happiness than bronze winners.…
Your mood depends entirely on what you track.
Nothing in life is as important as you think it is while you are currently thinking about it.…
Nothing is as important as you think it is.
People misjudge the long-term impact of life events because they focus too heavily on them at the moment.…
Thinking about an object makes its importance grow.
In a 1998 study published in Psychological Science, Schkade and Kahneman demonstrated that people fall victim to a 'fo…
Moving to a warmer climate rarely improves long-term happiness.
A 1998 survey found that while Midwesterners expected Californians to be happier, there was no significant difference …