Some Dark Thoughts on Happiness Analysis
Malory Urbanek
Hastings
English 161
10/15/2014
Jennifer Senior discusses her research concerning positive psychology and whether or not happiness is teachable and highlights some of the darker sides of happiness. To start the article, Senior reveals her score on her test from the Authentic Happiness Inventory. The test designed by Chris Peterson of the positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. This test is intended to numerically score ones level of happiness. In a scale of 1 to 5, Jennifer got a grade of 2.88. This indicated she was below average for most rankings such as “age, education level, gender and occupation” (422). Senior states she is at the 50 percent mark for her given zip code. She stated that liking her job was helpful to her happiness and that her religious views did not. She also stated that she believes unhappy thoughts can take over ones thinking. I decided to find what the literal definition of happiness was, to better understand this research.
Happiness in the Meriam Webster Dictionary is defined as a state of well-being and contentment, a pleasurable or satisfying experience, good fortune or prosperity, or a state of being happy. Upon reading this I decided to also so what the definition of happy is. Happy is defined as favored by luck of fortune, notably fitting, effective, or well adapted, and enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment. So is happiness a measure of fortune and wealth? Is it measured by how well adjusted a person is? Or is someone who is only content with life happy? How could one test possibly determine such an array of factors reliably?
Senior gives some information on the test itself in the next section of her article. The test is titled The Authentic Happiness Inventory. It was designed by Chris Peterson at the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Upon taking the test myself, I found that you choose from a group of statements, instead of actual questions. Some
Hastings
English 161
10/15/2014
Jennifer Senior discusses her research concerning positive psychology and whether or not happiness is teachable and highlights some of the darker sides of happiness. To start the article, Senior reveals her score on her test from the Authentic Happiness Inventory. The test designed by Chris Peterson of the positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. This test is intended to numerically score ones level of happiness. In a scale of 1 to 5, Jennifer got a grade of 2.88. This indicated she was below average for most rankings such as “age, education level, gender and occupation” (422). Senior states she is at the 50 percent mark for her given zip code. She stated that liking her job was helpful to her happiness and that her religious views did not. She also stated that she believes unhappy thoughts can take over ones thinking. I decided to find what the literal definition of happiness was, to better understand this research.
Happiness in the Meriam Webster Dictionary is defined as a state of well-being and contentment, a pleasurable or satisfying experience, good fortune or prosperity, or a state of being happy. Upon reading this I decided to also so what the definition of happy is. Happy is defined as favored by luck of fortune, notably fitting, effective, or well adapted, and enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment. So is happiness a measure of fortune and wealth? Is it measured by how well adjusted a person is? Or is someone who is only content with life happy? How could one test possibly determine such an array of factors reliably?
Senior gives some information on the test itself in the next section of her article. The test is titled The Authentic Happiness Inventory. It was designed by Chris Peterson at the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Upon taking the test myself, I found that you choose from a group of statements, instead of actual questions. Some
Cited: Senior, Jennifer. "Some Dark Thoughts on Happiness." Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Twelfth Edition. Ed. Brad Potthoff. London. Longman, 2012. 422 - 430. Print.