amherst college

CanMoneyBuyHappiness?

Ofcournot!Orcanit?Surprisingnewrearchshedslightonhowyoucan

(andcan't)spendyourwaytoasunnieroutlookonlife.

"Whoeversaidmoneycan'tbuyhappinessisn'tspendingitright."Youmay

rememberthoLexusadsfromafewyearsago,whichhijackedthis

bumper-sticker-readytwistontheconventionalwisdomtollacarsofancythat

noonewouldeverdreamofaffixingabumperstickertoit.

Whatmadetheadssointriguing,butalsosoinfuriating,wasthattheyemed

toofferasimple--ifratherexpensive--solutiontoacommonquestion:Howcan

youtransformthemoneyyouworksohardtoearnintosomethingapproaching

thegoodlife?Youknowthattheremustbesomeconnectionbetweenmoneyand

eweren't,you'dbelesslikelytostaylateatwork(orevencomein

atall)nwhyaren'tyour

lucrativepromotion,five-bedroomhouandfat401(k)cheeringyouup?The

relationshipbetweenmoneyandhappiness,itwouldappear,ismorecomplicated

thantheromanticentanglementsofanyDesperateHouwife.

Fortunately,youdon'epast

quarter-century,economistsandpsychologistshavebandedtogethertosortout

thehows,

itthatthemoremoneyyouhave,themoreyouwant?Whydoesn'tbuyingthecar,

condoorcellphoneofyourdreamsbringyoumorethanmomentaryjoy?

Inattemptingtoanswertheeminglydepressingquestions,thenew

scholarsofhappinesshavearrivedatsomeinsightsthatare,well,downright

anhelpyoufindmorehappiness,solongasyouknowjustwhat

youcanandcan',youdon'thavetobuyaLexustobe

therearchsuggeststhatekingthegoodlifeatastoreisan

youcanpursuehappinesstherightway,you

needtorecognizewhatyou'vebeendoingwrong.

MoneyMiryThenewscienceofhappinessstartswithasimpleinsight:We're

neversatisfied."Wealwaysthinkifwejusthadalittlebitmoremoney,we'dbe

happier,"saysCatherineSanderson,apsychologyprofessoratAmherstCollege,

"butwhenwegetthere,we'renot."Indeed,themoreyoumake,themoreyou

eyouhave,thelesffectiveitisatbringingyoujoy,andthat

emingparadoxhaslongbedeviledeconomists."Onceyougetbasichuman

needsmet,alotmoremoneydoesn'tmakealotmorehappiness,"notesDan

Gilbert,apsychologyprofessoratHarvardUniversityandtheauthorofthenew

raphicatleftshows,goingfromearning

lessthan$20,000ayeartomakingmorethan$50,000makesyoutwiceaslikelyto

behappy,yetthepayoffforthensurpassing$90,letherich

arehappierthanthepoor,theenormousriinlivingstandardsoverthepast50

yearshasn'?Threereasons:

Youoverestimatehowmuchpleasureyou'

areadaptablecreatures,whichhasbeenaplusduringassortediceages,plagues

t'salsowhyyou'reneverallthatsatisfiedforlongwhengood

arningmoremakesyouhappyintheshortterm,

,yougeta

thrillatfirstfromshinynewcarsandTVscreensthesizeofPicasso'

yousoongetudtothem,astateofrunninginplacethateconomistscallthe

"hedonictreadmill."

Eventhoughstuffldombringsyouthesatisfactionyouexpect,youkeep

returningtothemallandthecardealershipinarchofmore."Whenyouimagine

howmuchyou'regoingtoenjoyaPorsche,whatyou'reimaginingisthedayyou

getit,"urnewcarlositsabilitytomakeyourheartgo

pitter-patter,hesays,dof

questioningthenotionthatyoucanbuyhappinessonthecarlot,youbeginto

inyourhopesonanewBMW,onlytobe

disappointedagain.

salaryyoupullinfromyour

anbuyyou

eis,thatalsomeansalongtriptoandfrom

work,andstudyafterstudyconfirmswhatyoundaily:Evenifyouloveyour

job,

canadjusttomostanything,butastop-and-godriveoranoverstuffedbuswill

makeyouunhappywhetherit'syourfirstdayonthejoboryourlast.

nonce

quippedthatthehappymanwasonewhoearned$100morethanhiswife's

sister'essscholarshavefoundthathowyoustand

relativetoothersmakesamuchbiggerdifferencetoyournofwell-beingthan

howmuchyoumakeinanabsoluten.

Youmayfeelatouchofenvywhenyoureadabouttheglamorouslivesofthe

absurdlywealthy,butthegroupyoulikelycompareyourlfwitharefolksHarvard

economistErzoLuttmercalls"similarothers"--thepeopleyouworkwith,people

yougrewupwith,oldfriendsandoldclassmates."Youhavetothink,'Icouldhave

beenthatperson,'"Luttmersays.

Matchingcensusdataonearningswithdataonlf-reportedhappinessfrom

anationalsurvey,Luttmerfoundthat,sureenough,yourhappinesscandependa

greatdealonyourneighbors'paychecks."Ifyoucomparetwopeoplewiththe

sameincome,withonelivinginaricherareathantheother,"Luttmersays,"the

personinthericherareareportsbeinglesshappy."

Yourpenchantforcomparingyourlfwiththeguynextdoor,likeyour

tendencytogrowboredwiththethingsthatyouacquire,emstobeadeeply

ilitytostaysatisfiedisarguablyoneofthekeyreasons

ancientmanmovedoutofhisdraftycaveandbeganbuildingthecivilizationyou

'renotlivinginacave,andyoulikelydon'thavetoworry

stion

is,howdoyoudoit?

MoneyBlissIfyouwanttoknowhowtouthemoneyyouhavetobecome

happier,youneedtounderstandjustwhatitisthatbringsyouhappinessinthe

t'swherethenewesthappinessrearchcomesin.

retofhappiness?People.

-scale

surveysbytheUniversityofChicago'sNationalOpinionRearchCenter,for

example,findthatthowithfiveormoreclofriendsare50%morelikelyto

describethemlvesas"veryhappy"thanthowithsmallersocialcircles.

Comparedwiththehappiness-increasingpowersofhumanconnection,thepower

waparty,tupregularlunch

dates--whateverittakestoinvestinyourfriendships.

Evenmoreimportanttoyourhappinessisyourrelationshipwithyouraptly

named"significantother."Peopleinhappy,stable,committedrelationshipstend

tobefarhappierthanthowhoaren'hosurveyedbyNORCfromthe

1970sthroughthe1990s,some40%ofmarriedcouplessaidtheywere"very

happy";amongthenever-married,onlyaboutaquarterwerequitesoexuberant.

ebringsmirytoeveryoneinvolved,thoughthowho

stickitoutinaterriblemarriagearetheunhappiestofall.

Whileahealthymarriageisaclearhappiness-booster,thekidsthattendto

sofkidsandhappinesshavecomeup

withlittlemorethanamessofconflictingdata."Whenyoutake

moment-by-momentreadoutsofhowpeoplefeelwhenthey'retakingcareofthe

kids,theyactuallyaren'tveryhappy,"notesCornellpsychologistTomGilovich.

"Butifyouaskthemtheysaythathavingkidsisoneofthemostenjoyablethings

theydowiththeirlives."

occupation

withstuffobscuresanimportanttruth:Thethingsthatdon'tlastcreatethemost

'swhatGilovichandLeafVanBovenoftheUniversityof

Coloradofoundwhentheyaskedstudentstocomparethepleasuretheygotfrom

eriences(anightout,avacation)

theyspentmoneyon.

Onereasonmaybethatexperiencestendtoblossomasyourecallthem,not

diminish."Inyourmemory,you'refreetoembellishandelaborate,"saysGilovich.

YourtriptoMexicomayhavebeenanendlessparadeofhasslespunctuatedbya

kingbackonit,yourbraincaneditoutthesurly

cabdrivers,timeyouthinkthat

arrangingavacationismoretroublethanit'sworth--oracostyou'drathernot

shoulder--factorinthedelayedimpact.

Ofcour,alotofwhatyouspendmoneyoncouldbeconsideredathing,an

hatsitsunreadonabookshelfisathing;a

bookyouplungeintowithgusto,savoringeveryplottwist,isanexperience.

Gilovichadmitsthatpeopledefinewhatisandisn'tanexperiencedifferently.

Maybethat'chsuspectsthatthepeoplewhoarehappiestaretho

whoarebestatwringingexperiencesoutofeverythingtheyspendmoneyon,

whetherit'sdancinglessonsorhikingboots.

'readdictedto

challenges,andwe'reoftenfarhappierwhileworkingtowardagoalthanafterwe

ngeshelpyouattainwhatpsychologistMihalyCsikszentmihalyi

callsastateof"flow,"totalabsorptioninsomethingthatstretchesyoutothelimits

ofyourabilities,$1,000golfclubs;payforthe

$50-an-hourmusiclessons.

ll,youhavetolearntoplayscalesonaguitarbefore

youcanloyourlfinaVanHalen-esquesolo--butthesatisfactionyougetin

peopleareaskedwhatmakesthemhappyonamoment-to-momentbasis,

plewhowatchalotofTVtendtobeless

happythanthowhodon'ngdownonthecouchwiththeremotecanhelp

yourecharge,buttobetrulyhappy,youneedmoreinyourlifethanpassive

pleasures.

Flowisn'findflowat

workifyouhaveajobthatinterestsandchallengesyou,andthatgivesyouample

,onerecentstudybytwoUniversityof

BritishColumbiarearcherssuggeststhatworkerswouldbehappytoforgoas

muchasa20%raiifitmeantajobwithmorevarietyoronethatrequiredmore

skill.

ThinkHappyNotlongago,mostrearchersthoughtyouhadahappiness

"tpoint"ouspapersaidthat

"tryingtobehappier"maybe"asfutileastryingtobetaller."Theauthoroftho

wordshassincerecanted,andexpertsareincreasinglycomingtoviewhappiness

asatalent,ionallyhappypeopleemtohaveatof

skills--onesthatyoucanlearntoo.

SonjaLyubomirsky,apsychologyprofessorattheUniversityof

California-Riverside,isattemptingtopindownjustwhatitisthattheespecially

foundthattheydon'twastetimedwellingon

perhapsmosttellingly,theyaren'tbotheredbythesuccessofothers.

Lyubomirskysaysthatwhensheaskedlesshappypeoplewhomtheycompared

themlveswith,"theywentonandon."Sheadds,"Thehappypeopledidn'tknow

whatweweretalkingabout."Theydarenottocompare,thusshort-circuiting

invidioussocialcomparisons.

That'snottheonlywaytogetyourlftospendlessandappreciatewhatyou

nandmakeashortlistof

thethingsyou'regratefulfor,iesofstudies,

psychologistsRobertEmmonsattheUniversityofCalifornia-Davis,andMichael

McCulloughattheUniversityofMiamifoundthatthowhodidexercisto

cultivatefeelingsofgratitude,likekeepingweeklyjournals,endedupfeeling

happier,healthier,moreenergeticandmoreoptimisticthanthowhodidn't.

Gratitudeexercishelpfocusthemindonwhatreallymattersinlife--whichfor

mostpeoplemeanshealthyrelationships,notfancynewgadgets.

Andifyoucan'tchangehowyouthinkaboutgizmos,atleastlearntoresist.

u'reinthat

"hot"state,eagertobuy,youtendtobeanextremelypoorjudgeofwhatyou'll

thinkofaproductwhenyoucooldownlater."Withbig-ticketitems,younever

wanttobuyonimpul,"warnsGeorgeLoewenstein,abehavioraleconomistat

givingintoyourtechno-lustfor,say,anew

digitalcamera,enextmonth,keeptrackofhow

manytimesyoutellyourlf:IwishIhadacamera!Ifinthecourofyourlifeyou

almostneverfindyourlfwantingacamera,forgetaboutitandmoveon,happily.