Happiness is the ultimate goal for many but frequently individuals are surprised what they think will make them happy does not or not for long. This is because they are looking at happiness from one perspective; hedonic. Hedonic happiness is about feeling good in the moment. (Compton & Hoffman, 2012). Research shows that this leads to increased joy but only fleetingly and when the circumstances that created those feelings of pleasure are gone so is the happiness (Diener, Lucas & Scollon, 2006). For example; I am happy reading but that only lasts until the book ends after which I am either sad or go back to my normal level of happiness until I find another good book.
As hedonic happiness is about the pleasure/pain spectrum it is measured in terms of subjective wellbeing (Ryan & Deci, 2001). Subjective wellbeing is an individual’s perception about the quality of their life. It is studied using three constructs; life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect (Van Shuur & Kruijtbosch, 1995). These factors are viewed in terms of how positively people feel about their health, wealth, work, relationships and leisure and to what extent these cause suffering (Huta & Ryan, 2010). In regard to health, individuals who indicated they were in good health had higher levels of subjective wellbeing than those who marked their health as poor (Ryan & Fredrick, 2006). This indicates optimism contributes to subjective wellbeing (Diener, 2000). This was also the case in work and relationships showing when it comes to hedonic happiness the personality of the individual being measured is important. People who scored highly on the personality traits of agreeableness, openness to experience, conscientiousness and extraversion and low on neuroticism have high levels of subjective wellbeing (Steel, Schmidt & Shultz, 2008). This means hedonic happiness depends on the person and their situation and unless those things change then wellbeing levels cannot change. According to the hedonic theory how many of these pleasurable experiences you have over time sums up whether or not you have had a happy life (Compton & Hoffman, 2012).
In contrast eudemonic happiness is about finding meaning in life and feeling a sense of autonomy, relatedness and competence. It is about pursuing goals that give life purpose and are aligned with core values. It is not about attaining those goals. Achievement of eudemonic goals is unrealistic as they are always future focused but striving for them leads to lasting psychological wellbeing. Psychological wellbeing is most closely associated with eudemonic happiness and is measured on six scales; autonomy, personal growth, self-acceptance, life purpose, morality and positive relatedness. Studies found these constructs maximise one’s potential for psychological wellbeing (Ryan & Deci, 2001).
Eudemonic happiness is not about avoidance of suffering like hedonic happiness. It has been shown overcoming challenges and a certain amount of suffering leads to personal growth, autonomy and self-acceptance; all requirements for psychological wellbeing (Hahn, Frese, Binnewies & Schmidt, 2012). Eudemonic happiness is long lasting leading to an overall feeling of satisfaction regardless of circumstances (Cloninger & Zohar, 2011). It is this type of happiness that leads to flourishing which means operating in the peak range of human potential and that is really what pursuers of happiness are searching for. When we can see this potential within ourselves we become happy (Ryan & Deci, 2001).
References
Cloninger, C. R., & Zohar, A. H. (2011). Personality and the perception of health and happiness. Journal of affective disorders, 128(1), 24-32.
Compton, W., & Hoffman, E. (2012). Positive psychology: The science of happiness and flourishing. Nelson Education.
Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American psychologist, 55(1), 34.
Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., & Scollon, C. N. (2006). Beyond the hedonic treadmill: revising the adaptation theory of well-being. American psychologist, 61(4), 305 -314.
Hahn, V. C., Frese, M., Binnewies, C., & Schmitt, A. (2012). Happy and Proactive? The Role of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well‐Being in Business Owners' Personal Initiative. Entrepreneurship theory and practice, 36(1), 97-114.
Huta, V., & Ryan, R. M. (2010). Pursuing pleasure or virtue: The differential and overlapping well-being benefits of hedonic and eudaimonic motives, .Journal of Happiness Studies, 11(6), 735-762.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual review of psychology, 52(1), 141-166.
Ryan, R. M., & Frederick, C. (1997). On energy, personality, and health: Subjective vitality as a dynamic reflection of well‐being. Journal of personality, 65(3), 529-565.
Steel, P., Schmidt, J., & Shultz, J. (2008). Refining the relationship between personality and subjective well-being. Psychological bulletin, 134(1), 138 -161.
Van Schuur, W. H., & Kruijtbosch, M. (1995). Measuring subjective well-being: Unfolding the Bradburn affect balance scale. Social Indicators Research, 36(1), 49-74.
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