1. 5.3 Classic Evidence: Myers and Diener (1995)
Approach 5: The Positive Approach
5.3 Classic Evidence: Myers and Diener (1995)

2. Starter
Imagine a person who we could classify as “happy”. Describe this person.
What personality traits do they have?
What lifestyle do they live?
How do they spend their days?
How old are they?
Are they a man or woman?
Are they religious?
Are they wealthy?
What is their family like?
What race or culture are they?

3. Aim and Context Who is happy?
Psychology focuses on misery and suffering
Thomas Szasz
“Happiness is an imaginary condition, formally attributed by the living to the dead, and by adults to children, and by children to adults.”

4. Aim and Context
Acknowledge that happiness is more common than we think it is.
Who are the “happy people”?
Why are some happier than others?
Is happiness related to age, gender, race etc?
Does wealth affect happiness? What about personality?

5. Aim and Context
Aims: Pool together previous research into happiness to answer three questions
Who are the happy people?
What traits are related to happiness?
What elements should be a part of theories of happiness?

6. Methodology and Procedures
Not a study
A literature review
An article which includes the current knowledge on a topic including previous studies and findings, as well as theories explaining a particular phenomenon.
Literature reviews use secondary sources, and do not report new or original experimental work.

7. Methodology and Procedures
We can look at the research methods used by the studies in the literature review.
Happiness can be studied and measured in a number of ways.
Interviews and questionnaires, observations, correlations, and meta analyses.
We will look again at these research methods in much more depth in Component 2: Investigating Behaviour

8. Findings and COnclusions
Read the original article (ALL OF IT!)
Find the information for each of the questions
Note down the study and the year
e.g. Smith et al (2009).
You can do this alone or in groups/pairs and split the work.

9. Evaluation
Before we evaluate this study, can you think of any strengths or weaknesses?

10. Evaluation: Methodology and Procedures
When we evaluate this study, there are a number of methodologies that we are actually evaluating.
The literature review itself
The research methods used in the studies it references (mainly self-report and correlations)
The sample of participants used

11. Evaluation: Methodology and Procedures
The literature review
Potential of bias
Could not include every piece of research
Therefore, the ones included may have been chosen because they support theories and ideas that Myers and Diener wanted to support
Researcher Bias

12. Evaluation: Methodology and Procedures
Self report data
Participants may lie
Social desirability
Subjectivity
Lack of insight
Reliability

13. Evaluation: Methodology and Procedures
Correlations
Causation
Intervening variables

14. Evaluation: Methodology and Procedures
The Sample
Much of the research conducted into happiness has used samples of participants from the West such as Europe and the USA.
What is wrong with using such samples as a basis for theories of happiness?

15. Evaluation: Alternative Evidence
In your opinion, what is the main cause of a person’s level of happiness and life satisfaction?
How much is due to genes?
How much is due to circumstance
How much is due to self-control?

16. Evaluation: Alternative Evidence
Howell and Hill (2009)
Money could produce happiness, but only if it was spent on “experiences” rather than material goods.
Suggests that the relationship between money and happiness is more complex than previous research suggests.

17. Evaluation: Alternative Evidence
One of the key findings in this literature review is that happiness is stable over time.
What did Schinka et al (2004) do and find (pg 98)?
What does this say about the conclusions from Myers and Diener?

18. Evaluation: Alternative Evidence
What did Lyubomirsky (2013) do and find (pg 98)? What does this say about the conclusions from Myers and Diener?

19. Evaluation: Ethical issues and Social Implications
Ethics of the methodology
Literature review is very ethical
No participants, no harm!
Self report data
Psychological harm
Privacy
Observations
Invasion of privacy

20. Evaluation: Ethical issues and Social Implications
Socially sensitive research
Potential consequences or implications, either directly for the participants in the research or for the class of individuals represented by the research
Which groups may be discriminated against due to the findings of this research?

21. Exam practice
Exam corner on pg 99
Classic evidence activity pg 104