Argumentative Essay Happiness Money 1sy64
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Koenig 1 Matthew Koenig Dr. Beard English 212-25 17 April 2017 Is Money the Key to Happiness? There has been an endless debate on whether money and happiness go hand from hand. Clichés such as “money can’t buy happiness,” and “more money more problems,” have been tossed around for years. When thought about, most people would envision all the problems having an increased income could solve for them, or how being given an extra bit of money might reduce the stresses they are facing in life. However, many neglect the negative impact money can have on one’s life. Through research and a new field called ”positive psychology,” this negative side has been brought to light over the past decade. Data now exists disproving the thought that money can actually bring happiness for a long period of time. Having an increased income will not bring an individual true happiness for a long period of time. Accumulating money is one of the most prominent goals in life for a multitude of people. There are individuals working 60-80 hours a week in some cases in order to be paid overtime. Some will work their lives away, with the single goal of becoming rich. Just as it sounds, this way of living will not bring an individual happiness. A research was done, which put this statement into numbers. In an article by Forbes, a study by Glassdoor is discussed. They said, “…he found a 10% increase in pay was associated with just a one point increase in overall company satisfaction. So, for an employee making $40,000 a year who got a $4,000 raise, his satisfaction would rise from 77% to just 78%. Nunez also found “a diminishing return to happiness for every $1,000 in earnings” (Forbes). What this quote is saying is that with a 10
Koenig 2 percent pay increase, an employee would only experience a single percent increase of happiness. This study suggests that having an increased income will have a negligible effect on one’s happiness. Many people may be in jobs that pay well, but they are not happy with it because it is not something they enjoy doing. There was also an article written by Jeff Opdyke which has his and a friend’s of switching jobs for a higher income. They both find that over time, they begin to regret their decision. Jeff says that he would rather have the comfort of his old job over increased cash because he felt out of place at his new one. He found that the tasks of his prior job were what he enjoyed, and what made him happy (Opdyke). Regardless of title or money, picking the right job for you is going to bring an individual the most happiness. This is important because it shows that even if a job has a higher income, it may not be the right fit. Once again, it shows that a positive correlation between happiness and income does not exist. Another misconception is that winning the lottery is going to solve an individual’s problems. It is easily imaginable what one’s life would be like with essentially an endless amount of money. People believe that with this newly acquired wealth, they will be able to pay off all their debt, upgrade their standard of living, and enjoy new experiences that weren’t available to them before. And while these are something a person might do, will it really bring happiness? Sociologists Phillip Brickman, Dan Coates, and Ron Bulman performed a research on the effects of winning the lottery. In this study, three groups were tested; lottery winners, accident victims, and a control group. The results were surprising. It was found that happiness and money in this case didn’t correlate. Initially, individuals were elated with winning the lottery, resulting in a spike in happiness. As time went on, the individual’s happiness returned to its natural set point. It was also found that based on daily happiness, lottery winners had an average of 3.33 on a 5.0 scale, while accident victims had an average of 3.48 (Dahl). The article did mention that lottery
Koenig 3 winners experienced a higher present happiness, but to see that the daily happiness of lottery winners was lower was surprising. This further debunks the correlation between money and happiness. Another aspect that is forgotten is that one’s problems will still exist. Any adversity being faced will be carried over. It is not just going to disappear overnight. Financial burden may be taken away from somebody, but other existing problems will still be present, and an extensive number of new difficulties could arise. For example, a gambler who got lucky and won the jackpot prize is still going to be a gambler. Just because they now have a good amount of money doesn’t mean they are going to stop. If anything, they might see it as an opportunity to gamble more. While there is an undeniable link between money and happiness, this correlation is extremely exaggerated from what actually exists. Studies have shown that up until $75,000, happiness and money go hand in hand (Fahey). This is because it allows for one to cover the necessities of life, such as pay the bills, take care of the kids, and provide for one’s family. However, after this mark, the benefits diminish. This is in part to the nature of humans always wanting more. Once the necessities are covered, that’s when money goes into having nice things. When a materialistic mindset begins, the drive to acquire more goods and higher quality things goes up. Despite this, it is proven that this has a minimal effect on happiness. New purchases have a small effect on one’s happiness for a small period of time. While having these materials may bring happiness initially, it is inevitably going to wear off. When this happens, there is only one way to get the feeling back, and that is to keep spending. This cycle is known as the hedonic treill. Humans have a set point of happiness, and the hedonic treill states that no matter how good or bad an experience was, an individual’s happiness over time will go back to its set point. According to the definition of hedonic treill, a person will keep spending and spending
Koenig 4 just to feel an “artificial” happiness. People who are struggling with money have other options besides acquiring more money. Jean Chatzky conducted research which disproved this belief. She found that money could even be a contributing factor to unhappiness. She also happened to find ways to decrease financial stress without increasing income. It is not realistic to rely on an increased income to fix the problems that a person might face. Chatzky found that when it comes to money, “It's not how much you have that makes the difference. It's how you handle it” (Chatzky). This quote means that the shear amount of income is not what is going to bring someone happiness, but instead, how they apply what they already have might. Like said before, money can have some positive sides to it. Donating money is a good way to increase an individual’s happiness. When someone donates, a sense of well-being and happiness overcomes them for the good deed they have done. There are multiple ways like this in which money can bring a true sense of happiness, but solely accumulating money for oneself will not. On the other hand, people might say that having money can allow a person to do whatever they want, and buy whatever they want. It is well believed that this in turn will bring happiness. However, this has been proven untrue. Like stated before, material things are not going to bring a person happiness. No matter how much one can afford, it isn’t going to automatically make an individual truly happy. According to Mark Skousen in his article, “The four sources of happiness: Is money one of them?” he lists the four top ways that happiness can be brought upon someone. They are: Rewarding and honest employment, recreation, building relationships, and finding a spiritual connection (Skousen). Nowhere in these four categories is money involved. This goes to show that money is just not as important as society makes it to be. When thinking about the United States, it must be realized that it is a capitalistic country. This
Koenig 5 means that brands have one goal: money. For a consumer, they might be swayed through ads that claim to do something for them or bring happiness to them, but a great deal of the time these things are said in order to sell a product. Countless information from recent studies s the side that material goods are not what brings happiness to people, so therefore money isn’t either. For example, if a person was wealthy yet lacked any personal relationships, he or she is going to be more dissatisfied with life than if they had little money, but lots of relationships. Also, money has the possibility to entail fake relationships. If it is well known that someone is wealthy, then people might try to become their friend for the money rather than the friendship. Along with this, old connections might try to use someone as well, creating a sense of distrust. Besides relationships, Leisure plays an important role in one’s happiness. With leisure or recreation, it is important because it gives your mind time to rest, and build relationships with others. The spiritual side is important because it allows you to connect with a greater being, which can bring happiness and completeness to an individual’s life. As a person gets older, so do their views on money or happiness. A study conducted by Chang-Ming Hsieh showed that a correlation between age and a person’s importance placed on income existed. He found that younger people placed a large importance on income, while older people placed a larger importance on relationships and things like that (Hsieh). This is easily explained, because as a person experiences more in life, they change. An adult who is married with children is going to be more concerned with keeping up relationships with her loved ones rather than working all the time in order to accumulate as much money as possible. The importance of having a spiritual connection with a god is important to one’s happiness also. Tragedy is inevitable throughout one’s life. Since a younger person may not have experienced a situation where they have needed to rely on religion in order to get them through it, then religion
Koenig 6 may not be as high on the list of importance as it should be. An increased income is not going to bring happiness to an individual. There are other more important factors that tend to determine one’s happiness, such as relationships and spiritual connection. There are other aspects of life other than money, so it should not be somebodies goal to just focus on money and try to acquire as much as possible. As Henrick Ibsen said, “Money may be the husk of many things, but not the kernel. It brings you food, but not appetite; Medicine, but not health; Acquaintances, but not friends; Servants, but not faithfulness; Days of pleasure, but not peace or happiness” (Skousen).
Koenig 7 Works cited Fahey, Mark. "Money can buy happiness, but only to a point." CNBC. CNBC, 14 Dec. 2015. Web. 9 Apr. 2017. Images, Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty. "A Classic Psychology Study on Why Winning the Lottery Won't Make You Happier." Science of Us. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2017 Skousen, Mark. "The Four Sources of Happiness: Is Money One of them?" Ideas on Liberty, vol. 52, no. 8, 08, 2002, pp. 4-5, Research Library, https://0search.proquest.com.library.svsu.edu/docview/196601696?id=960. Opdyke, Jeff D. "Love & Money: Money can't Buy You Job Happiness." Wall Street Journal, Apr 17, 2005, pp. 2, ProQuest Business Collection, https://0search.proquest.com.library.svsu.edu/docview/398914406?id=960. "New Research: Money Doesn't Equal Happiness." PR Newswire, Oct 03, 2003, pp. 1, ProQuest Business Collection, https://0-search.proquest.com.library.svsu.edu/docview/447572478? id=960. HSIEH, CHANG-MING. "Money and Happiness: Does Age make a Difference?" Ageing and Society, vol. 31, no. 8, 2011, pp. 1289-1306, Nursing & Allied Health Database; Psychology Database; Research Library; Sociology Database, https://0search.proquest.com.library.svsu.edu/docview/904545192?id=960, doi:http://0dx.doi.org.library.svsu.edu/10.1017/S0144686X10001431. Yoonjae, Lee, Song Sangyeon, and Kim Byungjae. "WHEN ARE PEOPLE MORE SATISFIED WITH THEIR CONSUMPTION?: SPENDING TIME VS SPENDING MONEY AS CURRENCY." Allied Academies International Conference.Academy of Marketing Studies.Proceedings, vol. 15, no. 1, 2010, pp. 45-50, ProQuest Business Collection,
Koenig 8 https://0-search.proquest.com.library.svsu.edu/docview/521256544?id=960. "RESEARCHER FINDS MONEY CAN'T BUY HAPPINESS, BUT HAPPINESS CAN BUY MONEY." US Fed News Service, Including US State News, Oct 04, 2006, Research Library, https://0-search.proquest.com.library.svsu.edu/docview/472193224? id=960.
Koenig 2 percent pay increase, an employee would only experience a single percent increase of happiness. This study suggests that having an increased income will have a negligible effect on one’s happiness. Many people may be in jobs that pay well, but they are not happy with it because it is not something they enjoy doing. There was also an article written by Jeff Opdyke which has his and a friend’s of switching jobs for a higher income. They both find that over time, they begin to regret their decision. Jeff says that he would rather have the comfort of his old job over increased cash because he felt out of place at his new one. He found that the tasks of his prior job were what he enjoyed, and what made him happy (Opdyke). Regardless of title or money, picking the right job for you is going to bring an individual the most happiness. This is important because it shows that even if a job has a higher income, it may not be the right fit. Once again, it shows that a positive correlation between happiness and income does not exist. Another misconception is that winning the lottery is going to solve an individual’s problems. It is easily imaginable what one’s life would be like with essentially an endless amount of money. People believe that with this newly acquired wealth, they will be able to pay off all their debt, upgrade their standard of living, and enjoy new experiences that weren’t available to them before. And while these are something a person might do, will it really bring happiness? Sociologists Phillip Brickman, Dan Coates, and Ron Bulman performed a research on the effects of winning the lottery. In this study, three groups were tested; lottery winners, accident victims, and a control group. The results were surprising. It was found that happiness and money in this case didn’t correlate. Initially, individuals were elated with winning the lottery, resulting in a spike in happiness. As time went on, the individual’s happiness returned to its natural set point. It was also found that based on daily happiness, lottery winners had an average of 3.33 on a 5.0 scale, while accident victims had an average of 3.48 (Dahl). The article did mention that lottery
Koenig 3 winners experienced a higher present happiness, but to see that the daily happiness of lottery winners was lower was surprising. This further debunks the correlation between money and happiness. Another aspect that is forgotten is that one’s problems will still exist. Any adversity being faced will be carried over. It is not just going to disappear overnight. Financial burden may be taken away from somebody, but other existing problems will still be present, and an extensive number of new difficulties could arise. For example, a gambler who got lucky and won the jackpot prize is still going to be a gambler. Just because they now have a good amount of money doesn’t mean they are going to stop. If anything, they might see it as an opportunity to gamble more. While there is an undeniable link between money and happiness, this correlation is extremely exaggerated from what actually exists. Studies have shown that up until $75,000, happiness and money go hand in hand (Fahey). This is because it allows for one to cover the necessities of life, such as pay the bills, take care of the kids, and provide for one’s family. However, after this mark, the benefits diminish. This is in part to the nature of humans always wanting more. Once the necessities are covered, that’s when money goes into having nice things. When a materialistic mindset begins, the drive to acquire more goods and higher quality things goes up. Despite this, it is proven that this has a minimal effect on happiness. New purchases have a small effect on one’s happiness for a small period of time. While having these materials may bring happiness initially, it is inevitably going to wear off. When this happens, there is only one way to get the feeling back, and that is to keep spending. This cycle is known as the hedonic treill. Humans have a set point of happiness, and the hedonic treill states that no matter how good or bad an experience was, an individual’s happiness over time will go back to its set point. According to the definition of hedonic treill, a person will keep spending and spending
Koenig 4 just to feel an “artificial” happiness. People who are struggling with money have other options besides acquiring more money. Jean Chatzky conducted research which disproved this belief. She found that money could even be a contributing factor to unhappiness. She also happened to find ways to decrease financial stress without increasing income. It is not realistic to rely on an increased income to fix the problems that a person might face. Chatzky found that when it comes to money, “It's not how much you have that makes the difference. It's how you handle it” (Chatzky). This quote means that the shear amount of income is not what is going to bring someone happiness, but instead, how they apply what they already have might. Like said before, money can have some positive sides to it. Donating money is a good way to increase an individual’s happiness. When someone donates, a sense of well-being and happiness overcomes them for the good deed they have done. There are multiple ways like this in which money can bring a true sense of happiness, but solely accumulating money for oneself will not. On the other hand, people might say that having money can allow a person to do whatever they want, and buy whatever they want. It is well believed that this in turn will bring happiness. However, this has been proven untrue. Like stated before, material things are not going to bring a person happiness. No matter how much one can afford, it isn’t going to automatically make an individual truly happy. According to Mark Skousen in his article, “The four sources of happiness: Is money one of them?” he lists the four top ways that happiness can be brought upon someone. They are: Rewarding and honest employment, recreation, building relationships, and finding a spiritual connection (Skousen). Nowhere in these four categories is money involved. This goes to show that money is just not as important as society makes it to be. When thinking about the United States, it must be realized that it is a capitalistic country. This
Koenig 5 means that brands have one goal: money. For a consumer, they might be swayed through ads that claim to do something for them or bring happiness to them, but a great deal of the time these things are said in order to sell a product. Countless information from recent studies s the side that material goods are not what brings happiness to people, so therefore money isn’t either. For example, if a person was wealthy yet lacked any personal relationships, he or she is going to be more dissatisfied with life than if they had little money, but lots of relationships. Also, money has the possibility to entail fake relationships. If it is well known that someone is wealthy, then people might try to become their friend for the money rather than the friendship. Along with this, old connections might try to use someone as well, creating a sense of distrust. Besides relationships, Leisure plays an important role in one’s happiness. With leisure or recreation, it is important because it gives your mind time to rest, and build relationships with others. The spiritual side is important because it allows you to connect with a greater being, which can bring happiness and completeness to an individual’s life. As a person gets older, so do their views on money or happiness. A study conducted by Chang-Ming Hsieh showed that a correlation between age and a person’s importance placed on income existed. He found that younger people placed a large importance on income, while older people placed a larger importance on relationships and things like that (Hsieh). This is easily explained, because as a person experiences more in life, they change. An adult who is married with children is going to be more concerned with keeping up relationships with her loved ones rather than working all the time in order to accumulate as much money as possible. The importance of having a spiritual connection with a god is important to one’s happiness also. Tragedy is inevitable throughout one’s life. Since a younger person may not have experienced a situation where they have needed to rely on religion in order to get them through it, then religion
Koenig 6 may not be as high on the list of importance as it should be. An increased income is not going to bring happiness to an individual. There are other more important factors that tend to determine one’s happiness, such as relationships and spiritual connection. There are other aspects of life other than money, so it should not be somebodies goal to just focus on money and try to acquire as much as possible. As Henrick Ibsen said, “Money may be the husk of many things, but not the kernel. It brings you food, but not appetite; Medicine, but not health; Acquaintances, but not friends; Servants, but not faithfulness; Days of pleasure, but not peace or happiness” (Skousen).
Koenig 7 Works cited Fahey, Mark. "Money can buy happiness, but only to a point." CNBC. CNBC, 14 Dec. 2015. Web. 9 Apr. 2017. Images, Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty. "A Classic Psychology Study on Why Winning the Lottery Won't Make You Happier." Science of Us. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2017 Skousen, Mark. "The Four Sources of Happiness: Is Money One of them?" Ideas on Liberty, vol. 52, no. 8, 08, 2002, pp. 4-5, Research Library, https://0search.proquest.com.library.svsu.edu/docview/196601696?id=960. Opdyke, Jeff D. "Love & Money: Money can't Buy You Job Happiness." Wall Street Journal, Apr 17, 2005, pp. 2, ProQuest Business Collection, https://0search.proquest.com.library.svsu.edu/docview/398914406?id=960. "New Research: Money Doesn't Equal Happiness." PR Newswire, Oct 03, 2003, pp. 1, ProQuest Business Collection, https://0-search.proquest.com.library.svsu.edu/docview/447572478? id=960. HSIEH, CHANG-MING. "Money and Happiness: Does Age make a Difference?" Ageing and Society, vol. 31, no. 8, 2011, pp. 1289-1306, Nursing & Allied Health Database; Psychology Database; Research Library; Sociology Database, https://0search.proquest.com.library.svsu.edu/docview/904545192?id=960, doi:http://0dx.doi.org.library.svsu.edu/10.1017/S0144686X10001431. Yoonjae, Lee, Song Sangyeon, and Kim Byungjae. "WHEN ARE PEOPLE MORE SATISFIED WITH THEIR CONSUMPTION?: SPENDING TIME VS SPENDING MONEY AS CURRENCY." Allied Academies International Conference.Academy of Marketing Studies.Proceedings, vol. 15, no. 1, 2010, pp. 45-50, ProQuest Business Collection,
Koenig 8 https://0-search.proquest.com.library.svsu.edu/docview/521256544?id=960. "RESEARCHER FINDS MONEY CAN'T BUY HAPPINESS, BUT HAPPINESS CAN BUY MONEY." US Fed News Service, Including US State News, Oct 04, 2006, Research Library, https://0-search.proquest.com.library.svsu.edu/docview/472193224? id=960.
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