Why do some things make us happy while others do not? This intriguing question, which has fascinated philosophers for centuries, is finally being given the empirical treatment by a host of researchers who are attempting to find out what factors contribute to whether something make us feel a sense of happiness or not. The Washington Post reports on several of the findings uncovered by this research program, led by Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert, such as that people who are forced to make irrevocable choices often feel happier about their decisions than do people who are asked to make choices that can be altered in the future. He also found that, while most people do actively attempt to minimize their uncertainty about negative life events, this same principal is not applied to positive life events, such as receiving anonymous compliments or being bestowed gifts for no apparent reasons. Gilbert argues that the inherent uncertainty contained within these events amplifies the emotional consequences of these events thereby causing a greater sense of happiness to be felt than, say, if it were known who made the compliment or the reason why the gift was given. Understanding the essence of what it means to be happy and how feelings of happiness can be generated is vitally important, since being happy is correlated with a host of positive physical and psychological outcomes, and, therefore, this research provides a significant contribution to our knowledge about the factors that promote happiness and perhaps even a better life.
