Can happiness be measured?

It’s often said that it may be impossible to measure happiness. For many, if something isn’t tangible, then it can’t be measured. Yet, scientists, doctors, and more measure amounts or give ratings to feelings of sadness, grief, loneliness, stress, anxiety, and more. Few people tend to question the results of these measures of unseen and intangible concepts. Happiness, just like stress or any other emotional factor, is measured in multiple ways.

Happiness research is important. Understanding how emotions function furthers therapy practices provides valuable insight that can help people improve their lives and even inform large companies or governments who are hoping to make choices that create more happiness for workers, citizens, or consumers.

Scientists use several methods of measuring happiness. The most common of these is called self-reporting. Using questionnaires or numbered scale ratings, people can be asked about happiness and provide a rating for their level of happiness. Self-reports are subjective, meaning the person asked about their happiness rates and only has their own internal data for determining how to rate it. For example, Sally may feel most happy at home. For Bob, happiness may come from being out with friends. It may be impossible to say, “Being home makes someone happy/Being out makes someone happy,” because the experience is unique to the person.

Biological markers for happiness have been studied as well. Hormones, neurotransmitters, and other biological components may have something to tell researchers about happiness and how it shows up in the body or what may contribute to it at the physical level. This type of research hasn’t yielded much data yet, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t something to be learned.

When you notice someone who you evaluate as being happy, what are they doing? Scientists have studied behaviors and interactions to understand what behaviors are related to or may cause or predict happiness. When you read the question, you may have pictured people laughing, smiling, hugging, or doing a random act of kindness for someone. Behavior can be a predictor for happiness and reflect the emotion itself. For example, researchers have found that performing acts of kindness tend to cause happiness in the person being kind.

These are three ways that happiness is measured, and each day additional tests and tools for understanding happiness are investigated further. The data collected about happiness can be used to understand better how to increase and cultivate happiness. While the measures used to determine or rate happiness have some flaws, there is still much to be learned through their use.