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Respect is the Key to Happiness, Not Bank Balance

Published on 10 July, 2012
Respect is the Key to Happiness, Not Bank Balance

According to anew research, a person's overallhappiness is not based on his bank balance but on the degree of respect andadmiration he commands in his immediate circle and society.

 Psychologicalscientist Cameron Anderson who works at the Haas School of Business, Universityof California, Berkeley, and his colleagues explored the link between differenttypes of societal status and a person's well-being.

"We got interested in this idea because there is abundant evidence thathigher socio-economic status -- higher income or wealth, higher education --does not boost subjective well-being (or happiness) much at all. Yet at thesame time, many theories suggest that higher status should boosthappiness," reports Anderson in the journal Psychological Science.

Anderson and his colleagues have stated that respect and admiration in one'simmediate group, such as friend network, neighborhood or one's athletic teamcan make all the difference, and usher in overall happiness.

 The researchers believe that having a highstanding in one's local ladder can make one more influential, generate morerespect, and allows better integration into the social fabric.

 A series of four studies were carried out byAnderson and his colleagues to confirm their hypothesis.

 In the first study, 80 collegestudents who were part of 12 different campus groups were surveyed. Eachstudent's sociometric status was evaluated through peer ratings, self-report,and the number of leadership positions held by the student. The students alsoanswered questions on their gender, ethnicity, household income and socialwell-being.

 In a second study, a larger andmore diverse group of participants were studied and it was found  that the relationship between sociometricstatus and well-being was influenced by the feeling of power and socialacceptance that they felt in their personal relationships.

 And in a third study, Andersonand his colleagues revealed that the relationship between sociometric statusand well-being could be evoked and manipulated experimentally.

 In the fourth study students ina MBA program were evaluated, and the researchers found that the changesinvolved in the sociometric status from pre-graduation to post-graduation werelinked to the students' social well-being.

 These studies revealed that a person'soverall happiness was boosted through the amount of respect he received, andthat the sociometric status and not the socioeconomic status influenced aperson's well being.

Why is it that money cannot buy happiness? It is because people tend to adaptto the new-found money and its related comforts, and gradually, their initialhappiness wanes.

 Every one seeks happiness but no one has come upwith a time-tested formula. It is a well-established fact that those who seekmaterialistic things tend to be less content than others whose life is builtaround relationships and people. It ispossible to be rich and happy but being rich need not, necessarily, make onehappy.

 Setting meaningful goals, pursuing a passion,simplifying one's life, limiting one's expectations and focussing on one'shealth and relationships are very ways to follow in one's pursuit of happiness.

 Reference:

 Anderson et al:Psychological Science, June -2012.

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