In the Pursuit of Happiness In the Pursuit of Happiness : A Review of Positive Psychology and Research on Happiness

Abstract

As Lyubominsky, Sheldon, and Schkade (2005) pointed out, over the course of a few decades, various surveys have consistently shown that most people frequently think of happiness and how to pursue it. Despite the importance we give happiness, the term itself is unclear, leaving its pursuit to the individual and not to policy. I explore in this paper self-reported levels of happiness (Subjective Well-Being), the “architecture of sustainable happiness”, the origins of our happiness, the notion of negative feedback for people with low levels of happiness, and interventions to improve happiness. Hopefully, with happiness and a roadmap to pursuing it more clearly defined, this important quest will finally be taken seriously by policy makers.