Is happiness a choice? Can you become happy by choosing to be happy?

Two small studies by researchers Yuna L. Ferguson and Kennon M. Sheldon, reported in the Journal of Positive Psychology, suggest exactly that. The intention to become happy may be the key to being happy.

Does the explicit attempt to be happier facilitate or obstruct the actual experience of happiness? Two experiments investigated this question using listening to positive music as a happiness-inducing activity. Study 1 showed that participants assigned to try to boost their mood while listening to 12 min of music reported higher positive mood compared to participants who simply listened to music without attempting to alter mood. However, this effect was qualified by the predicted interaction: the music had to be positively valenced (i.e. Copland, not Stravinsky). In Study 2, participants who were instructed to intentionally try to become happier (vs. not trying) reported higher increases in subjective happiness after listening to positively valenced music during five separate lab visits over a two-week period.

I will admit, this is not a massive research project and I would never argue that happiness is possible all the time by an act of the will. I recognize that there are circumstances and conditions that will make anyone and everyone unhappy. But are we forced to live there? [Read more…]