Money does not give happiness. Are we sure that this assertion is true? All those of us who do not enter the exclusive group of millionaires and the so-called rich people have convinced ourselves of this universal maxim. Happiness is made up of others that have a non-monetary value, but now a study denies that our happiness is not linked to the number of zeros in our bank account.
Why does money help to be happy?
In early March, researchers from Princeton and Pennsylvania Universities published research in the journal Proceedings that seems to show that, in the end, money does bring happiness. Having tracked the moods of 33,000 adults in the United States, he realized that higher income levels improved people’s happiness.
These 33,000 adults earned at least 10,000 dollars a year, which translates into just over 9,000 euros. All the participants in this study used an application installed on their mobile phones that asked them about their mood randomly during the day.
After analyzing all the collected data, researchers Daniel Kahneman and Matthew Killingsworth realized that in those cases in which the person’s earnings had grown above $500,000, their mood improved significantly from their unfelicitous cases, based on what they stated in their applications. Killingsworth said in a statement that if money may not be the main factor in happiness, “it can probably help a little.”
It should be noted that in people who had more than $500,000 there were no data or notable reactions in this regard, so it cannot be stated whether their state of mind actually changed in relation to their income.
And the rich, are they unhappy?
The study also has another side that contrasts with the firm that defends that rich people, deep down, are unhappy. According to Killingsworth, high-income but unhappy people are only a small percentage: about 20% of people are part of this “unhappy minority,” and for that group, additional income of more than $100,000 per year did not seem to have a major impact on his mood.
Although a higher income level can make us happier, the two researchers conclude that a salary of more than $100,000 per year does not alleviate the pain associated with other life events, such as “anguish, bereavement, and clinical depression.” “If you’re rich and miserable,” Killingsworth said in her statement, “more money won’t help you.”
