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How of Happiness

The scientific pursuit of happiness.
by Sonja Lyubomirsky
Sonja Lyubomirsky is a social psychologist at the University of California, Riverside and author of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want. See full bio

How of Happiness

June 13, 2008

What's So Great About Business Class?

Singapore Airlines announced recently that it will begin flying all-business-class flights across the Pacific – Newark to Singapore started in May and Los Angeles to Singapore will start in September. The demand for business class seats is apparently enormous, so this new venture sounds like it makes perfect business sense. But the psychological scientist in me wonders whether, at the end of the day, this will prove to be such a good idea. Read More

June 2, 2008

How Much Confidence and Optimism Is Good For World Leaders and How Much Is Too Much?

As an experimental social psychologist, my job is not to analyze anyone’s personality, let alone an individual whom I’ve never seen larger than in a 42-inch image. However, Robert Draper’s and Scott McClellan’s characterizations of George W. Bush as a staunch optimist lead me to ask, “How much optimism and confidence is good for world leaders and how much is too much?” Read More

May 14, 2008

No, Middle-Aged People Are Not Really Less Happy Than Anyone Else

I am currently teaching a seminar on “positive psychology,” which deals mostly with research on happiness. To date, I have assigned several papers about happiness written by economists, and most of the class, it seems, has found these papers a bit hard to read. Clearly, psychologists and economists approach the same problems quite differently, and here I’d like to offer one example. Read More

May 6, 2008

Is "The Secret" Just a Giant Placebo Effect?

I’ve been traveling so much lately that I’ve started to play a little game by guessing what reading material people tend to bring on airplanes. The most frequently sighted book? The Secret. Read More

May 4, 2008

What Influences Our Happiness The Most?

Is it our genes? Is it where, how, and with whom we live? Or is it entirely something else?

I have two friends, Seth and Michael, and one of them is a lot happier than the other... Read More

April 27, 2008

Is It Possible To Become Lastingly Happier?

Why are some people happier than others? What are the benefits (and costs) of happiness? And is it possible to become happier than you currently are, and to stay that way? These are some of the questions that I hope to address in my new blog – the very questions that I tackled in my recent book, The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want. Read More

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Books by Sonja Lyubomirsky

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The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want

Happiness Basics

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.

Go to the Happiness Basics page for more on Happiness including:
  • Mood and Personality 
  • Positive Psychology 
  • More on How to Be Happier
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