[size=18]Happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy . A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources. Positive psychology researchers use theoretical models that include describing happiness as consisting of positive emotions and positive activities, or that describe three kinds of happiness: pleasure, engagement, and meaning.
Research has identified a number of attributes that correlate with happiness: relationships and social interaction, extraversion, marital status, employment, health, democratic freedom, optimism, endorphins released through physical exercise and eating chocolate, religious involvement
Philosophers and religious thinkers often define happiness in terms of living a good life, or flourishing, rather than simply as an emotion. .
Happiness in social networks:
The results suggest that happiness might spread through a population like a virus.
Aging and happiness:
Research in the US has found that older Americans are generally happier than younger adults. The effect does not appear to be generational, because longitudinal research found that happiness increased over time for the older people who were studied. While older individuals reported more health problems, they reported fewer problems overall. Young adults reported more anger, anxiety, depression, financial problems, troubled relationships and career stress.
Other correlates:
Happiness is also correlated with the ability to "rationalize or explain" social and economic inequalities.
One American study found that people were happier after spending money on experiences, rather than physical things. Envy is believed to produce unhappiness.[/size]
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