Why We May Be Measuring Happiness Wrong

03/26/2024

Editorial of the Health Diary

happiness indicator

The emergence of research such as World Happiness Report and indicators such as Gross National Happiness (GNH), have shown us that happiness is increasing around the world.

But perhaps these indicators are not really measuring what we expect. Further research found that the question asked to find out whether people are happy is actually picking up signals of empowerment and wealth, not happiness.

The central question of World Happiness Report known as The Cantril Ladder: “Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you.” you. What rung of the ladder would you say you personally feel on right now?

A new experimental study, involving 1,500 adults in the UK, went deeper and examined how people actually interpret this question. The results show that it most often brings to mind concepts of wealth and power, that is, it may not be like this – placing us on a ladder that indicates a better life – that most of us would define happiness and well-being.

When the researchers adjusted Cantril’s question, for example by replacing “the best possible life” with “the most harmonious life,” the results changed, making the volunteers think less about power and wealth.

What is happiness to you?

Other research has previously shown that the Cantril Ladder reflects people’s income levels and social status to a greater degree than other metrics of well-being. The result of this new study adds more evidence that perhaps the simple but powerful question can be supplemented in the future.

“Our study was carried out exclusively in the UK, so it is clear that this research should also be carried out in other countries, given the global nature of this topic. However, our results indicate that we are not necessarily measuring happiness and well-being in a global context in a way that is in line with how we actually define these concepts in our lives. This deserves further exploration. It is particularly relevant to understand how people interpret questions of happiness, since how happy someone is and how they define happiness cannot be determined by a researcher, but by people themselves,” said August Nilsson, from Lund University (Sweden).