The Science Behind The Smile

COURTLAND BROOKS - Jan 1 - The internet dating industry has already had significant impact on society. (See what internet dating executives think in this Courtland Brooks white paper).  People have more choice and knowledge about suitors than ever before.  But does this make them more happy?  Has the internet dating industry had a positive effect on the happiness quotient overall, I wonder?  Dan Gilbert (Harvard Psychology Professor and author of Stumbling On Happiness) is an expert on Happiness and was interviewed in the Jan-Feb 2012 Harvard Business Review. Here's some relevant points... 

Much of the research confirms things we've always suspected.  For example, in general people who are in good romantic relationships are happier than those who aren't.  People who participate in their churches are happier than those who don't. Rich people are happier than poor people.  That said, there have been some surprises.  While all these things do make people happier, it's astonishing how little any of them matters.  Yes, a new house or new spouse will make you happier, but not much and not for long.  As it turns out, people are not very good at predicting what will make them happier and how long that happiness will last.  They expect positive events to make them happier than they do, and negative events to make them unhappier than they do.  In both field and lab studies we've found that winning or losing an election, gaining or losing a romantic partner, passing or failing an exam-all have less impact on happiness than people think.  Very few experiences effect us for more than three months. 

Synthetic happiness is perfectly real, its just man-made.  Synthetic happiness is what we produce when we don't get what we want, and natural happiness is what we experience when we do.  One is not obviously better than the other.

People hate being bored.  People are happiest when they're appropriately challenged-when they're trying to achieve goals that are difficult but not out of reach.  People blossom when challenged and whither when threatened.  

If I had to summarize all the causes of human happiness in one word, that word would be 'social.' We are by far the most social species on earth.  If I wanted to predict your happiness, and I could know only one thing about you, I'd want to know about your social network-about your friends and family and the strength of your bonds with them.

The psychologist Ed Diener (aka Dr Happiness and co-author Happiness: Unlocking The Mysteries of Psychological Wealth) has a finding I really like.  He shows that the frequency of your positive experiences is a better indicator of your happiness than the intensity of your positive experiences. How good your experiences are doesn't matter nearly as much as how many good experiences you have. So wear comfy shoes, give your wife a big kiss and sneak a French fry.  The small stuff matters.  

Want to help?  You can help one of Dan Gilbert's Phd collaborators, Matthew Killingsworth, to study happiness by signing up for a happiness tracking survey at TrackYourHappiness.org.  He contends that focus is a source of happiness. Mind-wandering makes you unhappy.

There are some lessons in here for designers of internet dating, social networking and daily deals sites. You should aim to keep people more socially engaged and focused while on your site, through learning and social gamification.  Which is why I'm headed to the Game Dynamics conference in March in NYC and reading Game-Based Marketing: Inspire Customer Loyalty Through Rewards, Challenges, and Contests. - Mark Brooks

Here's some more books that are also in the Courtland Brooks team library.
Gamestorming - A Playbook for Innovators, Rule Breakers and Game Changers
Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World

Read more at Harvard Business Review

Comments

[Socialkik]

Hello
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[kangqid]

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[Online Dating Emails]

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