Developing authentic happiness: Growth curve models to assess lifelong happiness

Abstract

In assessing the personal development of happiness, the criticism has been raised that there are contradictions between results relating to the theoretical foundations in defining happiness. This analysis directly compares two theories of happiness, Martin Seligman’s authentic happiness theory and the theory of the hedonic treadmill. To consider relationships between these theories, generalized linear mixed modeling was used to assess the development of happiness across three timescales: long term in age, intermediate term in marital status, and short term in 3 month repeated measures. Data analyzed were of 884 American respondents to the International Wellbeing Study (http://wellbeingstudy.com), ages 16 to 84, collected between 2009 and 2013. Seligman’s authentic happiness behaved quite differently than the theory of the hedonic treadmill. Age predicted authentic happiness, but not general life satisfaction. Theoretical synthesis and implications for positive psychology are considered.