Dan Gilbert – Why Are We Happy
Salepage : Dan Gilbert – Why Are We Happy
Human brain mass has quadrupled in the previous 2,000,000 years. As a result, the prefrontal cortex, which is an experience emulator, has emerged. No other species can envision an event before experiencing it in real life.
The problem with the experience simulator is that it dramatically exaggerates the influence of the experience on an individual’s happiness: impact bias – the propensity to exaggerate the hedonic impact of future occurrences (elections, romance, promotions, college tests, medical tests, insults, gambling, moving to California…)
A study of lottery winners and paraplegics, on the other hand, found that a year after winning the lottery and a year after losing their legs, lottery winners and paraplegics are equally satisfied with their lives.
With a few exceptions, research reveals that if a huge incident or catastrophe occurred in your life three months ago, it has practically little influence on your happiness now.
Why? Because happiness may be created. Humans have what is known as a “psychological immune system.” A set of mainly unconscious cognitive processes that assist us in changing our perceptions of the environment in order to feel better about it. We synthesize happiness, yet we believe it is something to be sought after.
Famous persons who have synthesized happiness include:
“I’m so much better off physically, financially, psychologically, and in practically every other aspect,” Jim Wright says. – House of Representatives chairman resigned in disgrace following a murky affair
“I don’t have a single regret. It was a wonderful * experience.” – Moreese Bickham, 78, who was imprisoned for 37 years for a crime he did not commit.
“I feel everything worked out for the best.” – Harry S. Langerman, 83, who couldn’t get the funds to start the first McDonald’s franchise in 1949. Ray Kroc founded the brand and went on to manage it, earning $500 million.
“I’m happier now than I was with the Beatles.” – Pete Best, the original Beatles drummer, was passed over in favor of Ringo Starr in 1994.
If you think to yourself, “yeah, right, he didn’t really want the job,” it’s because we feel that “manufactured happiness” is somehow inferior to “natural happiness.” When we obtain what we desire, we experience natural happiness; when we don’t, we experience synthetic bliss. Why do we think that manufactured bliss is inferior? Because what economic system would continue to function if we didn’t desire things? (A shopping mall consisting of zen monks would be unprofitable since they don’t desire enough items.)
Using the experimental “Free choice” paradigm, it is possible to demonstrate that synthetic happiness is as genuine and lasting as “natural happiness”:
Subjects are shown six artworks and asked to rank them from favorite to least favorite. The paintings are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Following the trial, students are given one of three or four paintings as a prize. Although neither artwork was substantially appreciated over the other, most subjects selected painting #3. The subjects were told that the print would be mailed to them at the end of the trial. The subjects are shown with the same six paintings and asked to rate them again two days or two weeks later, in the second portion of the experiment… and this is bliss in the making: the resultant order is 1, 3, 2, 5, 4, 6. Notice how the artwork with the lowest rating rose to second place, while the painting with the highest rating jumped to fifth. “The one I got was far better than I expected; the one I didn’t get sucked” – the bliss synthesis.
If your gut reaction is “yeah, right,” since the subjects will undoubtedly recall their selections, you’re mistaken. The experiment was replicated with individuals suffering from anterograde amnesia, or the inability to generate new memories. To see if they were truly amnesic, participants were asked to name the picture they selected to possess in the first portion of the experiment 30 minutes later. They all guessed correctly. After affirming that they did not construct the recollection, participants were asked to rank the artworks once more. The results were identical to those of the previous trial. The amnesics preferred the print they owned, despite the fact that they were unaware they possessed it! When these subjects synthesized happiness, their emotional, hedonic, and aesthetic reaction to that billboard altered dramatically. They didn’t claim they loved it because they owned it since they didn’t realize they did.
When you don’t have an option, your psychological immune system kicks in. This is the distinction between going out on a date and getting married. You go on a date with someone, they pick their nose, and you don’t go out with them again. If your spouse picks their nose… they have a good heart and are a wonderful person, blah blah. You find a way to be content with what is going on.
What are the consequences of this? Consider the following study: Harvard students were given a dark room photography course and were asked at the end of the course to choose their top two favorite image prints. They were then advised that they could only keep one of the prints and that the other had to be preserved by the experimenters as confirmation of the course.
Subgroup 1 was invited to choose one of the two prints to keep, but they had four days to change their minds and keep the second print. The ruling became final on the fourth day.
Subgroup 2 was instructed to choose which print to retain on the spot, and their decision was final.
As you could expect, subgroup 2 was satisfied with their print option since subgroup 1 continued thinking, even after the fourth day, that they could have chosen the alternative choice.
Now for the kicker: another two sets of students were given the opportunity to enroll in a dark room photography course, with the option of:
Having four days to determine which print to retain, deciding on the moment, and the decision being definitive.
66% of students picked option #1, which gave them more options. In reality, 66% of students set themselves up for dissatisfaction.
