Money really can buy happiness! Research confirms: The most rewarding experience is having an annual income of "this number"
Having more money may actually buy happiness! “Psychological And Cognitive Sciences” research indicates that as the annual income begins to exceed US$100,000 (approximately NT$3.07 million), an individual’s happiness will begin to rise steadily and will not stagnate. Research also emphasizes that people who feel less happy before “wealth freedom” will be happier than ordinary people after gaining wealth.
Can money really buy happiness? Research: When you deposit 2 million, you will instantly feel happy.
A research team from Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania collected experience sampling reports from 33,391 American adults as the basis for this study. Participants were asked to report their happiness levels on a mobile app three times a day for several weeks. The subjects’ salary and annual income were also included in this report to help researchers understand the connection between income and happiness. Past analyzes conducted by the research team believe that money can only enhance happiness to a certain extent, and the upper limit is an annual income of US$75,000 (NT$2.31 million).
The results showed that the subjective happiness of the subjects did increase as the annual income increased, especially after it exceeded 100,000 US dollars (approximately NT$3.07 million), the relationship between the two became stronger. The unhappiest 15% of subjects have the greatest impact on happiness brought by wealth, and it levels off around $100,000 and enters a plateau; the remaining groups show a steady increase, with more wealth leading to higher happiness. .
Study author Matthew A. Killingsworth pointed out that among groups with self-rated happiness levels of 30%, 50%, 70%, and 85%, there was no trend of decreasing happiness. “In short, the group with a happiness level of only 15% has a greater increase in happiness after gaining wealth; but after the annual income reaches the threshold of 100,000 US dollars, the increase in happiness is the smallest.”
Killingsworth hypothesized that both “happy majority” and “unhappy minority” will exist. For the former, happiness will rise as income increases; for the latter, higher income will bring more happiness, but It will only reach a certain income threshold and will not increase after that.
Having no money is more likely to lead to mental illness! The happiness of children in poor areas drops sharply by 10%
Killingsworth emphasized that money is only one of many factors that cause happiness. Although money cannot bring happiness to everyone, a lack of money can lead to a high probability of unhappiness. “Previous German studies have long confirmed that people living in poverty are more likely to suffer from mental illness. More than half (55.1%) of the 486 patients with mental illness recruited in the trial had unpaid debts, loans or bills, while other subjects only 8.6% %.
Money doesn’t just affect happiness as an adult, either, but can start in early childhood. Killingsworth said that previous British research showed that children living in poor areas have an average self-rated happiness that is 10% lower than that of their more affluent peers. “In general, money may not buy all our happiness, but it does help to a certain extent.”
The lack of freedom of wealth is really terrible! “JAMA”: Mortality rate among bankrupts is 50% higher
Freedom from wealth can bring a certain degree of happiness; but when one’s wealth is deprived, it is more likely to damage one’s mood and even endanger one’s life? The authoritative medical journal “JAMA” published a content stating that negative wealth impacts may endanger “life itself”! The researchers examined mortality from any cause in a sample of 8,714 adults aged 51 to 61, who were randomly interviewed every 2 years from 1994 to 2014.
The research team divided the sample into three groups: one group, accounting for 67% of the sample, maintained continuous positive wealth during the 20-year period; the second group, the “asset poverty group” (7%), was dominated by people with zero or negative household net wealth. . Finally, there is the “negative wealth shock” group (26%), who have experienced negative assets or bankruptcy for at least 1-2 years, and their family wealth has dropped by at least 75%.
After applying statistical controls, the mortality rate in the negative wealth shock group was 50% higher than in the positive wealth shock group. At the end of the 20-year study, more than half of the population in the negative wealth shock group was dead, compared with less than 30% in the positive wealth shock group. Mortality rates among those who suffered a wealth shock were comparable to those who started the study with “nothing.”
As the “JAMA” study found, the direct cause of the increased mortality among people who suddenly lose wealth is suicidal behavior caused by “depression” and “anxiety” disorders. Followed by impaired cardiovascular function and drug abuse. The reduction in household financial resources is more likely to lead to a worse prognosis for the above diseases. Delaying the medical care you need due to financial constraints can have long-term health consequences, including increasing your own mortality.
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Income and emotional well-being: A conflict resolved
Does more money correlate with greater happiness?
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