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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Positive psychology

Singapore Management University

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

In Memory Of Edward Diener: Reflections On His Career, Contributions And The Science Of Happiness, W. Ng, William Tov, R. Veenhoven, S. Rothmann, M. J. Chambel, S. Chen, M. L. Cole, C. Consiglio, A. Constantini, J. A. D. Datu, Z. Di Blasi, S. L. Gumbau, A. Huber, S. M. Kelders, J. Kilbert, H. H. Knoop, C.-H. Mayer, M. Nel, M. Salanova, M. Schotanus-Dijkstra May 2021

In Memory Of Edward Diener: Reflections On His Career, Contributions And The Science Of Happiness, W. Ng, William Tov, R. Veenhoven, S. Rothmann, M. J. Chambel, S. Chen, M. L. Cole, C. Consiglio, A. Constantini, J. A. D. Datu, Z. Di Blasi, S. L. Gumbau, A. Huber, S. M. Kelders, J. Kilbert, H. H. Knoop, C.-H. Mayer, M. Nel, M. Salanova, M. Schotanus-Dijkstra

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Prof. Edward (Ed) Diener (1946-2021), a pioneer in positive psychology, passed away on the 27th of April 2021 at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah (Salt Lake City Tribune, 2021). As one of the most influential psychologists of the discipline, Ed Diener pushed the boundaries of our understanding of positive psychological functioning, subjective well-being, and happiness (Layous, 2020). As one of the Top 200 most cited researchers across all disciplines and fields, he will be most remembered for founding the scientific study of subjective well-being (SWB) and happiness (Bakshi, 2019). Diener developed the concept of subjective well-being by exploring …


The Savanna Theory Of Happiness, Satoshi Kanazawa, Norman P. Li Mar 2018

The Savanna Theory Of Happiness, Satoshi Kanazawa, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This chapter describes the savanna theory of happiness, which posits that it may not be only the consequences of a given situation in the current environment that affect individuals’ happiness but also what its consequences would have been in the ancestral environment. The theory further suggests that the effect of such ancestral consequences on happiness is stronger among less intelligent individuals than among more intelligent individuals. Consistent with the theory, being an ethnic minority, living in urban areas, and socializing with friends less frequently all reduce happiness, but the effects of these conditions are significantly stronger among less intelligent individuals …


Country Roads, Take Me Home ... To My Friends: How Intelligence, Population Density, And Friendship Affect Modern Happiness, Norman P. Li, Satoshi Kanazawa Nov 2016

Country Roads, Take Me Home ... To My Friends: How Intelligence, Population Density, And Friendship Affect Modern Happiness, Norman P. Li, Satoshi Kanazawa

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

We propose the savanna theory of happiness, which suggests that it is not only the current consequences of a given situation but also its ancestral consequences that affect individuals’ life satisfaction and explains why such influences of ancestral consequences might interact with intelligence. We choose two varied factors that characterize basic differences between ancestral and modern life – population density and frequency of socialization with friends – as empirical test cases. As predicted by the theory, population density is negatively, and frequency of socialization with friends is positively, associated with life satisfaction. More importantly, the main associations of life satisfaction …