#575 | The Science of Happiness: Can It Be Measured?

<p><strong> </strong></p><br><p>What does happiness really mean, and can it be measured? </p><p>In this episode, we move from Aristotle’s eudaimonia to brain scans, surveys, big data, and what truly lifts our mood. </p><p>It asks why money only helps so much, why social ties matter, and how trust shapes national well-being. </p><ul><li>Pleasure versus purpose happiness: Aristotle and flourishing</li><li>Subjective well-being: life satisfaction, positive and negative emotions</li><li>Surveys measure happiness; beware the memory and peak-end rule</li><li>Experience sampling measures happiness in the moment</li><li>Findings: happiest socialising, exercising, flow; least during commuting, illness</li><li>Money boosts happiness, then flattens at higher incomes</li><li>Social connections increase happiness; loneliness harms, especially during Covid</li><li>Household size and eating alone trends in happiness</li><li>Trust in others, institutions, and wallet return beliefs</li><li>Caring for o...