“Having lots of money what a joy, I would live without problems…” So Renato Zero sang years ago. Now comes scientific research that seems to confirm that money brings happiness. The result of the study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal. The curiosity consists, however, in the fact that the two researchers who led it, the British Daniel Kahneman and the American Matthew Killingsworth, started from different theses, but arrived at the same result.
The study via app
33,000 American workers were interviewed in the study. As participants went about their daily activities, they were asked a question at random times throughout the day via the smartphone app Track Your Happiness: How Are You Feeling Right Now? Participants had a liking scale that ranged from from “very good” to “very bad”. In total, the researchers collected more than 1.7 million individual data points and came to the conclusion that people who earn more are on average happier than those who earn less .
But what is the reason for this?
According to the researchers, money gives participants a sense of control over their lives. This in turn makes them happy. “The exception is people who are financially well but unhappy. For example, if you’re rich and unhappy, more money won’t help you. For everyone else, more money was associated with more happiness to varying degrees,” Killingsworth explains. Once the results were published, however, the two researchers wanted to underline that it’s not just money that leads people to happiness: there are many other factors to take into consideration. Money “isn’t the secret to happiness, but it can probably help a little.” So money can help you be happy, but it’s certainly not the only aspect to consider in order to achieve personal well-being.
Source-tg24.sky.it