Why Money Doesn’t Bring Happiness: A Look Into the Question

The more money you earn, the more time you are likely to spend working, commuting and doing other compulsory activities that bring little pleasure, according to an article in the June 30 issue of Science that provides a novel explanation for why money doesn’t bring happiness.

For the article, titled "Would you be happier if you were richer? A focusing illusion," Princeton University psychologist Daniel Kahneman and colleagues, including University of Michigan psychologist Norbert Schwarz, analyzed the link between money and happiness, presenting new evidence showing that what they call "the focusing illusion" affects how people respond when asked how happy or how satisfied they are with their lives.

"When people consider the impact of any single factor on their well-being—not only income—they are prone to exaggerate its importance," they wrote.

Previous studies have shown, for example, that if people are asked about their marriage or their health before they are asked how happy they are with their life, their answer to the second question is linked more closely with the first question than if the question order is reversed.

"People do not know how happy or satisfied they are with their life in the way they know their height or telephone number," according to the authors. "The answers to global life satisfaction questions are constructed only when asked, and are therefore susceptible to the focusing of attention on different aspects of life."

Read more here.