When Diener and Seligman (2002) did research to determine what distinguishes the happiest 10 percent from the unhappiest 10 percent of undergraduate students, what did they find to be the key factor?

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Taniya Combs

10 September, 06:41

When Diener and Seligman (2002) did research to determine what distinguishes the happiest 10 percent from the unhappiest 10 percent of undergraduate students, what did they find to be the key factor?

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Hailee Stein · Answer 1

They found that the 10 percent of students with the highest level of happiness and the lowest sign of depression had strong ties to friends and family which were committed to spending much quality time with them.

Explanation:

In keeping with his emphasis on the genetic basis of happiness, Diener has found that external conditions do little to change one's level of happiness. After a certain threshold there seems to be no correlation between income and happiness, and in fact in a recent study it was found that teenagers from blue-collar families were happier than teenagers from rich families.

While income is not highly correlated with happiness, Diener has found that social relationships are. This is very good news, for many people who are low on the happiness scale (perhaps due to genetically acquired gloominess) can raise their level significantly by closely interacting with a good friend on a daily basis.