Positive Psychology - Happiness

The definition for happiness is the mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from gratification to intense joy. Though this is a reasonable explanation, happiness can mean many different things to other people, for it is a concept that can vary significantly according to context or conditions. It is because of this variety of interpretation that psychologists emerged and tried to determine these distinctive concepts of happiness, in order to help the public change their negative style of thinking as a way to make normal life more fulfilling. Psychologists have studied the nature of happiness for quite some time, but there are some who are cynical about whether we can or even should study happiness. One psychologist by the name of William James believed that his own field of positive psychology was no science at all, as it is only “the hope for a science.” James’s pessimism, in relation to psychological science, brings up the question, “is it truly possible to study happiness when we undermine our experiences of this concept by focusing on achieving it?” Before we can examine our cynical views on happiness, we must understand what determines our happiness. According to Sonja Lyubormirsky, there are three primary types of factors that allow us to address whether it is even possible to become happier, given our strong inherent influences on happiness and how a person might take action to pursue this happiness. An individual’s happiness is first determined by her or his set point, which is the central or expected value within a person’s set range. It is genetically determined and assumed to be stable over time, immune to influence or control. The set point implies that our happiness can be increased, but focusing solely on our set point can hinder the process of obtaining happiness (Lyubormirsky117). Therefore, we look into the circumstantial factors, that is, the incidental but relatively stable facts of an