The Science of Happiness

Answer these 11 simple questions to compare your score with worldwide data

An analysis of the Gallop World Poll finds that there is an association with religion and increased happiness, but only in societies that lack adequate social support. Christie Nicholson reports

Cultural twists on the concept hint at new ways of lifting your spirits and making you more content with life

New research underlines the wisdom of being absorbed in what you do

A certain amount of negative life events is correlated with an overall sense of life satisfaction and happiness. Christie Nicholson reports

Thinking about cash impairs the ability to savor experiences

Happier people have more meaningful conversations

A recent study analyzed 20,000 conversations and found that happiness strongly correlated with talkative people who went beyond the small talk. Christie Nicholson reports

The key to keeping the magic alive in a marriage, experts say, is finding ways to promote the positive

Making an emotional face—or suppressing one—influences your feelings

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in Tampa in early February, psychologist Ryan Howell said that money spent on experiences made people happier than buying things. Cynthia Graber reports

Accelerated thoughts may trigger the brain's novelty-loving reward system

A happy person within a social circle quickly influences those around him or her to be happy, extending to three degrees of separation. Adam Hinterthuer reports

Conservatives have greater subjective life satisfaction than liberals, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Two New York University researchers performed three studies to find out why. Christie Nicholson reports.

Through controlled experiments, Sonja Lyubomirsky explores ways to beat the genetic set point for happiness. Staying in high spirits, she finds, is hard work

The pursuit of happiness drives much of what we do, but achieving it always seems just out of reach