Happiness

Research on how to increase positive moods and capitalize on your strengths has proliferated lately thanks to the positive psychology movement, and has shed light on ongoing insights into personality, mood, and cognition. Not everyone is born with a sunny disposition, but experts agree we can all learn how to bring more meaning and satisfaction into our lives.

Mood and Personality

Mood and Personality 

Opening Up to Happiness

Why happiness is unattainable for some people and why it's a mistake to wipe out sources of displeasure.

by Mark Epstein

Second Nature

Altering your personality with a little practice.

by Kathleen McGowan

Cultivating Curiosity

Developing a sense of wonder can be its own reward.

by Elizabeth Svoboda

See Also

Positive Psychology and other Principles of Well-Being

Positive Psychology 

Here's your primer on the field that specifically studies empirical ways to optimize mental health.


The Glee Club

Honing an optimistic approach to life.

by Willow Lawson

What Influences Our Happiness The Most?

What factors are crucial to well-being?

by Sonja Lyubomirsky in How of Happiness

(Not So Great) Expectations

Expectations: use them or be used by them.

by David Rock in Your Brain at Work

See Also

More on How to Be Happier

More on How to Be Happier

The Pursuit of Happiness

The surest ways to find well-being.

by Carlin Flora

The Hidden Side of Happiness

A messy battle with adversity can bring a rich life.

by Kathleen McGowan

Happy Hour

Life's everyday gifts give us joy.

by Carlin Flora

The Secrets of Happiness

Acting happy will make you happy, and more tips.

by David G. Myers

How to overcome obstacles to goal pursuit when that obstacle is you!

What to do when you're your own worst enemy.

by Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D. in Don't Delay

How to Be Happy

Advice from an evolutionary psychology perspective.

by Satoshi Kanazawa in The Scientific Fundamentalist

See Also

Happiness Tests

Happiness Quiz

How content are you?
What's Your Personality Type?

Understand your behavior and up your satisfaction.
More Tests

The Latest on Happiness

Secure in our single status, on Valentine’s Day and every other day. by Bella DePaulo, Ph.D.
Feel like you have a KICK ME sign on your heart? by Karen Salmansohn
Do you know the difference between pleasure vs. happiness? by Karen Salmansohn
Step one to a meaningful life. by Clay Routledge, Ph.D.
Getting married won’t make you lastingly happier or healthier. by Bella DePaulo, Ph.D.
“Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.” by Aaron Ben-Zeév, Ph.D.
Character: Focus on the Self or Focus on Others? Is it Contagious? by Neal H. Mayerson, Ph.D.
Happiness lies in the process, not the end result. by Dara Chadwick
Learn about intuition and how to access it. by Judith Orloff, M.D.
Smart = being right. Miserable = being right. The modern dilemma. by Steven C. Hayes

Happiness Blogs

  • Sonja Lyubomirsky

    How of Happiness

    The scientific pursuit of happiness.
    By Sonja Lyubomirsky
  • Christopher Peterson

    The Good Life

    Positive psychology and what makes life worth living.
    By Christopher Peterson
  • Gretchen Rubin

    The Happiness Project

    A chronicle of my attempts to test-drive every tip, principle and scientific study that promotes happiness.
    By Gretchen Rubin
  • T Byram Karasu

    The Mystery of Happiness

    How to live a soulful and spiritual life.
    By T. Byram Karasu, M.D.
  • Stephen Post

    The Joy of Giving

    Why altruism and generosity make us healthier and happier-and how we can all give more.
    By Stephen G. Post
  • Barbara Fredrickson

    Positivity

    Insights from Science on the Art of Living
    By Barbara L. Fredrickson, Ph.D.

  • Happiness in this World

    Reflections of a Buddhist Physician
    By Alex Lickerman, M.D.

Current Issue

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How early life experiences shape our character.