He’s Trying, But He Still Doesn’t Get It; Do You?

In one of the glut of happiness books, there is this claim:

"A good marriage is one of the life-factors most strongly and consistently associated with happiness."

There is a footnote attached to that sentence and it says this:

"However, it is not clear that married people are, on the average, happier than those who never married, because unhappily married people are the least happy group of all and they pull down the average; see DePaulo and Morris, 2005, for a critique of research on the benefits of marriage."

I think the author is trying - hey, he even cites me! - but he still doesn't totally get it. Sure, it is true that the unhappily married people pull down the mean of the married group. But why is that just a small truth that masks a bigger truth, and what is that bigger truth?

Post your thoughts, then I'll get back to you with mine as well as a link to the book I'm quoting from.

And sorry I've been off my usual blogging pace this week. I have been totally preoccupied (in a really good way) with going over and over the Singlism book, making refinements and edits. I'm really happy about all the terrific contributions I got to this collection and can't wait to be able to announce that the book is published and available.