9 16 These studies, however, have not addressed a possibly key determinant of human happiness: the happiness of others.Įmotional states can be transferred directly from one individual to another by mimicry and “emotional contagion,” 17 perhaps by the copying of emotionally relevant bodily actions, particularly facial expressions, seen in others. Researchers in medicine, 3 economics, 1 4 5 psychology, 6 7 neuroscience, 8 and evolutionary biology 9 have identified a broad range of stimuli to happiness (or unhappiness), 1 including lottery wins, 10 elections, 7 income, 1 job loss, 11 socioeconomic inequality, 12 13 divorce, 1 illness, 14 bereavement, 15 and genes. 2 Happiness is determined by a complex set of voluntary and involuntary factors. Happiness is a fundamental object of human existence, 1 so much so that the World Health Organization is increasingly emphasising happiness as a component of health. This provides further justification for seeing happiness, like health, as a collective phenomenon. The effect decays with time and with geographical separation.Ĭonclusions People’s happiness depends on the happiness of others with whom they are connected. Similar effects are seen in coresident spouses (8%, 0.2% to 16%), siblings who live within a mile (14%, 1% to 28%), and next door neighbours (34%, 7% to 70%). A friend who lives within a mile (about 1.6 km) and who becomes happy increases the probability that a person is happy by 25% (95% confidence interval 1% to 57%). Longitudinal statistical models suggest that clusters of happiness result from the spread of happiness and not just a tendency for people to associate with similar individuals. People who are surrounded by many happy people and those who are central in the network are more likely to become happy in the future. Results Clusters of happy and unhappy people are visible in the network, and the relationship between people’s happiness extends up to three degrees of separation (for example, to the friends of one’s friends’ friends). Main outcome measures Happiness measured with validated four item scale broad array of attributes of social networks and diverse social ties. Participants 4739 individuals followed from 1983 to 2003. Setting Framingham Heart Study social network. Objectives To evaluate whether happiness can spread from person to person and whether niches of happiness form within social networks.ĭesign Longitudinal social network analysis.
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