A new study finds that happiness is pretty much constant across age, even in very old adults. The study Growing Old in American: Expectations vs. Reality was published by the Pew Center.
Original image from the Pew Research Center
From a summary of the full report (PDF):
Are Older Adults Happy?
They’re about as happy as everyone else. And perhaps more importantly, the same factors that predict happiness among younger adults-good health, good friends and financial security-by and large predict happiness among older adults. However, there are a few age-related differences in life’s happiness sweepstakes. Most notably, once all other key demographic variables are held constant, being married is a predictor of happiness among younger adults but not among older adults (perhaps because a significant share of the latter group is made up of widows or widowers, many of whom presumably have “banked” some of the key marriage-related correlates of happiness, such as financial security and a strong family life). Among all older adults, happiness varies very little by age, gender or race.
What do you think? The New York Times asked a similar question in their blog New Old Age, and receievd lots of responses.
Does this reserch hold true based on your experience? Have you encountered studies that lead to different conclusions?
If you were working with a group of 65+ year-olds, what components of positive psychology would be most relevant? How does the science of happiness apply to aging?
What is your happiest moment? Have you captured it in a picture? Share your happiest moment with the happier.com community for a chance to win a custom prize pack. And, since happiness is contagious, you’ll be making a difference, just by sharing your picture.
Here’s all the info:
Compete in the “happiest moment” contest for your chance to win a prize back ($50 value) of items customized with your happiest moment picture!
All you have to do is post your happiest photo on the happier.com facebook fan club and write no more than three sentences explaining why that picture is your happiest! Then, a community of our users will judge the pictures to determine which photo is the happiest. Good luck and may the happiest photo win!
The contest begins today and all photos must be submitted by July 13th. After the submission period ends, the happier.com user community, along with our staff, will vote to select the happiest moment contest winner.
Instructions
To enter, post your happiest photo on the happier.com wall by pressing the photo icon under the “Attach” section on the Share box. Also, it goes without saying that the photo needs to be appropriate for ALL members of the happier.com community for viewing. After posting you picture, all you have to do is write no more than three sentences explaining why that picture is your happiest, and then wait for the results!
According to the VIA Survey, gratitude is my top strength. Anyone that knows me at all is used to the “thank you” at the end of a conversation or an email from me. Even as a kid, I was very aware of the many good things in my life. My mom would laugh at me and say, “You don’t have to thank me for (fill in the blank)!” But, it’s almost as if I couldn’t help myself. Saying “thank you” just felt natural.
It wasn’t until I read Martin Seligman’s Learned Optimism, however, that I began practicing gratitude by writing down three good things and their causes every day. On many occasions, this incredibly simple exercise has helped me put a difficult day in perspective or savor a really good day.
About two years ago, I started practicing gratitude with my kids as my wife and I put them to bed. Since both boys are pretty young (four and five), they need some help with this exercise. So, I simply ask them what good things happened that day. (To mix it up, sometimes I ask them just to tell me about the best thing that happened that day or I list the good things and let them listen.) My four year-old loves this. He smiles. He lists more than three things, and he generally gives it some genuine thought.
My five year-old, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to like the routine of listing good things. “Daddy, stop talking. I just want to go to sleep,” he has been known to say after I finish reading a book about Scooby-Doo or Bat Man. A little tickling is all I usually need to get him to tell me just one good thing.
Just last night, it was my turn to put our five year-old to bed. Once again, I read him a short book where Bat Man caught Two Face and saved Gotham City. We were both pretty tired from a six and one-half hour trip from New Jersey visiting my parents, so I kissed him on the head after reading the book, told him I loved him, and started walking out of his room. Much to my surprise, he said, “Dad, what about the good things?” I almost fell over. I turned the light on, sat on the bed next to him, and asked him about the best thing that happened that day. Was it playing with his friends? What about swimming in the pool? How about using my iPod? Nope. “Dad, being with Gams was my favorite,” he said.
Needless to say, I was blown away by the fact that he wanted to do the exercise and his reference to spending time with his grandmother. I think there are several lessons here. First, I do believe that gratitude can be learned and practiced, even at early ages. Second, our kids are listening and learning, even when we think they’re not. Finally, kids can actually learn to value meaningful activities (eg; time with his grandmother) over pleasurable but fleeting activities (eg; playing with an iPod).
By the way, thanks for a great weekend, Mom 
Sure, we’ve always known that anger and rage isn’t healthy. But what we’re learning more and more is just how closely connected mental health is to physical health.
In today’s New York Times, Robert Allen recounts how “a recent meta-analysis of 44 prospective studies in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology confirms a strong relationship between anger and both the onset and outcome from coronary heart disease; moreover, approximately 1.5 percent of heart attacks are “triggered” by intense anger.” And that’s the most basic type of relationship. Most of us are perfectly comfortable with the idea that anger can be bad for you.
But did you know that optimistic people are less likely to get sick from the cold? Dr. Sheldon Cohen, at Carnegie Melon, has become recognized for his work linking psychological factors like stress, social support network and optimism to susceptibility from disease. His highest-profile research involves exposing people to the cold virus — a controlled amount of virus in a controlled setting — and predicting who will become sick based on factors like their optimism and psychological resources. Dr. Cohen’s work is starting to get more and more recognition. Just last week he delivered the 2009 Contributions in Positive Health Award Lecture at the First World Congress on Positive Psychology.
The connection between physical health and psychological factors is just the beginning. This study of positive psychical health represents one of the primary focuses of positive psychology, moving forward. At the recent World Congress on Positive Psychology, Martin Seligman and other thought-leaders argue that positive psychology ought to be about more than the study of happiness: we should study positive health, positive education and the science of flourishing.
At the World Congress on Positive Psychology, thought-leaders in the field of positive psychology presented their visions for the future. Notably, most argued that studying happiness is a start, but not sufficient. These three areas will be the future focus for the field of positive psychology:
Positive Health
Already, leading psychologists, physicians and other influencers have begun gathering to develop the field of positive health. Last week, millions of dollars of grants were announced for the study of positive neuroscience. A lecture series at the University of Pennsylvania is focused on the area. Recently, Martin Seligman outlined his proposal (PDF) for the new field:
Positive health describes a state beyond the mere absence of disease and is definable and measurable. Positive health can be operationalised by a combination of excellent status on biological, subjective, and functional measures.
Positive Education
Yesterday’s U.S. News and World Report includes a niece piece on positive education, which Marty Seligman last year defined in an Australian op-ed :
The schooling of children has, for more than a century, been about accomplishment, the avenue into the world of adult work. I am all for accomplishment, success, literacy and discipline, but imagine if schools could, without compromising either, teach both the skills of well being and the skills of achievement. Imagine positive education. - Martin Seligman
The Science of Flourishing
At the World Congress on Positive Psychology, attendees were challenged to ensure that 51% of the world is flourishing by 2051. The focus on flourishing will become more prominentas global researchers argue that human flourishing is the ultimate goal of studying and increasing happiness. In 2002, positive psychology saw its first book focused on flourishing. In the coming months, we will see more articles, lectures and studies incorporating the idea of human flourishing. Keep watching Chris Peterson, from the University of Michigan. For years, he has been reminding his colleagues in positive psychology that “Other people matter.” This mantra becomes even more important as the field focuses on studying the science of human flourishing.
