Exploring the Correlation Between Money and Happiness

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CAN MONEY BUY HAPPINESS
Can Money Buy Happiness
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CAN MONEY BUY HAPPINESS
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Comparison on the various views on the matter..............................................................................3
Concept of Happiness..................................................................................................................3
Concept of Money.......................................................................................................................3
Link between Happiness and Money...........................................................................................4
Theories of related to Happiness and Money..............................................................................4
Happiness derived from tangible things......................................................................................5
Happiness derived from intangible things...................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
Reflection on the Group Performance.............................................................................................8
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CAN MONEY BUY HAPPINESS
Introduction
The question can money buy happiness is controversial in nature. The answer varies from people
to people. Every individual has a unique and different perspective of their own. Some opine
money is the main key to happiness while some opine money can never buy happiness. There
have been debates on this topic for various years globally (Anand, 2016). Nevertheless, till today
people have failed to reach to a conclusion that is accepted mutually by everyone. Hence, there is
no correct answer to this question as it is open ended in nature. For few money brings happiness
while for others it does not.
A group of people argue that money is the key to happiness as it keeps them safe and protected
and helps them to fulfil all their wishes. On the other hand, another group argues that happiness
cannot be bought with money. Happiness is the foundation of love, care, emotions and relations.
There is a third group that is neutral in their opinion. As per their views, money does bring
happiness to people but that happiness is short lived. Money cannot buy happiness in the long
run. Hence, there are various factors based upon which the opinions about this topic can vary
(Jurin, 2018).
In this report, the global debate on can money buy happiness will be discussed. It will discuss the
concept of happiness along with the concept of money in a clear manner. Then it will elaborate
on how these two factors are linked to each other. Apart from this, the report will also highlight
few theories of happiness and will elaborate on happiness achieved from tangible as well as
intangible things. Lastly, it will provide a conclusion of the whole report along with the
reflection on the group performance.
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Comparison on the various views on the matter
Concept of Happiness
Happiness can be of two types. They are mental happiness and emotional happiness. Happiness
is basically the positive and optimistic emotions that a person experiences. They can be mild
happiness or tremendous joy. There can be various contexts based on which this term can be
used. They are satisfaction level in life, subjective well being of a person, achievements, success
and eudaimonia. The first research on happiness was conducted in the year 1960. It is a feeling
of joy and happiness. The aspects of happiness can vary person to person. Through several years,
there have been various scales developed in order to measure happiness. Happiness is the
primary and ultimate goal of a human being and his or her existence (Hitokoto and Uchida,
2015). The various scales that have been developed throughout the years to measure the precious
thing called happiness are Subjective Happiness Scale or SHS, the Positive and Negative affect
schedule or PANAS, Satisfaction with Life Scale SWLS and the Cantril Ladder Method. The
HDI in Bhutan is measured with GNH that is the Gross National Happiness of the people and
living beings of Bhutan. Bhutan has been followed by United Kingdom in the year 2012.
Concept of Money
Money is basically the object used for settling payments regarding different things. It can also be
called cash. It is a medium of exchange that takes between two or more people or organisation
for settling payments of various things bought or exchanged. Everything ranging from m basic
needs to luxury requires money. It is a verifiable record that is accepted as a payment to various
services and goods that are availed and also used for repayment of various loans and debts. The
use of money dated to back to the barter system in history that was in use around 100,000 years
ago. The amount of money one has can determine various factors. It can determine their value,
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social status, choices and most importantly their power along with affordability. There is various
functions money play. Firstly it acts as a medium of exchange in between two sources. It is a
variable that is used to measure a lot of things or almost everything in the world. Money
estimates a thing or a person’s value (Caria et al., 2017). Thirdly, it is also a standard of deferred
payment. This means that is a globally accepted method for settling debts.
Link between Happiness and Money
There is a distinct link between happiness and money. Often this link affects the world both in a
positive as well in a negative manner as well as creates an impact on the people. The concept of
happiness is linked with the emotions of a human being (Tullett and Plaks, 2016). There are
various things that satisfy the emotions of a human being. These things are mostly related to
materials. Hence, money is needed for fulfilling these wishes and feeling the emotion of
happiness. Hence, these two concepts are interlinked.
Theories of related to Happiness and Money
The theory of Need Fulfilment
This theory discusses the fact that there are certain needs, wants and demand of human beings
which need to be fulfilled. These needs can be of five types. They are self actualisation, esteem,
love and belonging and lastly psychological needs. According to this theory the model of money
and happiness are co related in a positive manner for fulfilling basic needs of human (Matz et al.,
2016). Apart from this the theory also highlights the various ceiling effect on the context of
money of happiness.
Social comparison theory
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The theory of social comparison states the level of satisfaction in life is related and dependent on
the individual stake on his or her social environment. It debates that absolute income is less
important than relative income. The theory states that a problem is possessed when it comes to
cross culture comparisons when it comes to the context of money and happiness.
Gap theory or goal theory
Te gap theory or the goal theory suggests that the happiness of an individual is dependent on the
ability of the person to achieve his or her personal goals. The theory is completely based on the
opposition of internal to external comparison. Relating this concept to the relationship of
happiness and money, it states that somewhere money does increase the happiness of the
individual as long as it helps the individual to achieve their personal goal and increase their bank
balance (Bögenhold and Naz, 2018). It is a contrast of the theories of need fulfilment and social
comparison. This basically focuses on the personal goals of individual as well as personal
expectations in spite of any theoretical needs.
Happiness derived from tangible things
There is a common belief among the people of the world that happiness is related to materialistic
things and materialistic purchases as they tend to stay longer compared to other things and
sources that brings in happiness. Furthermore the materialistic things do provide a great amount
of happiness to a individual to some extent (Snyder, 2017). This is because they can be reminded
of the positive qualities related to the purchase that brings in immense happiness. Moreover the
materialistic things can bring in momentary happiness to the people who are purchasing them to
fulfil their wants and cravings. The process of people spending their hard earned money for
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purchasing things and services can also derive happiness. It has been seen that in various cases
people tend to achieve happiness by giving happiness to others. It has been seen that people tend
to be more happy on spending their money on others rather than spending in on themselves this
is because the purchase is a source of happiness to others. The formula derived to measure
happiness is H= S + C + V (Weidman and Dunn, 2016). in this formula H is referred to
sustainable happiness that can be gained from the ongoing happiness sources such as health and
strong relationship and many more. The ability of buying something a person desires also comes
under this happiness. S here refers to the set point for achieving desired happiness of an
individual. The concept of happiness varies from people to people in spite of factors like
financial status and affordability. C here refers to the various conditions of an individual in life.
These can be age, gender, marital status and many more.
Happiness derived from intangible things
This is a contrary to the above discussed concept. This concept states that often happiness can be
caused by intangible options these cannot be achieved by a person’s financial ability. It also
states that the ability of obtaining facilities such as higher quality education and high quality
health can be a source of immense happiness for an individual. In the various cases of health
hazards or failed education a person can derive happiness if he or she knows the methods to
tackle and fight the various problematic difficult situations (Yu et al., 2016). There can be
development of various psychological benefits when a person is able to pay their time to time
bills and other payments. It also implies them not having monetary problems like debts and loans
which can ruin their happiness. Nevertheless, the ability of an individual in monetary aspects is a
dire need for development in order to manage happiness. Contrary to this spending money for
others brings happiness for them. It is a common quality of people to share things as sharing
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brings in happiness. Stress, pain, practical demands in an individual life cannot bring in or buy
happiness. However with the usage of money people can get happiness as these materialistic
things can help in releasing the stress pain and the practical problems. Money can buy happens is
a very common concept. Thus n individual that has money and the affordability to get hold of
materialistic purchases are happy. According to various conducted surveys it has been found that
people often are satisfied and derive happiness from their monetary abilities are happier. Hence it
can be said that the happiness of people increase with the increase in their monetary abilities.
Personal well being is derived from purchasing materialistic for oneself and for others in a
family or community (Debreceni, 2018).
Conclusion
There are various people are found in the society who derive personal y donating and sharing a
large amount with others for their well being a development. Monet does bring happiness to a
number of people as they can afford to purchase things that can act as a source of their happiness
they can also use their money to solve and get rid a number of problems. Hence indirectly it can
be said that the statement money can buy happiness is somewhere true. Therefore various
concepts of funding crowds can be generated moreover it can also be stated that freedom
development in the context of choice can help people become happy as it can bring a lot of
satisfaction because ret are performing tasks according to their own will. The people who can
make their own choices are happier than others. The personal wealth of an insividual can help
them to increase their satisfaction level in a rapid manner moreover it can also increase the self
development of the person like developing their character and reputation in the society which
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brings in happiness in their life. In this report a basic introduction on the debate whether money
can bring happiness is provided. Along with it the basic concepts of happiness and money is
analysed in a detailed manner. It also highlights how money and happiness are correlated as well
as dependent on each other. Apart from this the report discusses about the various theories
related to happiness and money that builds a connection in between the two concepts. It also
discusses how tangible and intangible materials and services bring in immense happiness in a life
of an individual. Lastly it can be concluded the answer to the question whether money can buy
happiness depends on various given circumstances. In few cases money does bring in happiness
while it does not in others. Hence it varies from time to time and people to people.
Reflection on the Group Performance
For this study, my group and I had to contemplate heavily on the question regarding if money
can buy happiness or not. We all had differing views on this as the topic was very much
complicated and everyone had their own opinions. However, through civilized discussions and
debates we were able to reach a reasonable and agreeable conclusion regarding the research
study. However, for my thoughts on this subject matter, I had to use the concept of Gibbs’
reflective cycle to give structure to my learning experience as this experience has been very new.
Gibbs’ reflective cycle is reflective model which is used to describe, feel, evaluate analyse, and
conclude about an experience as well as create an action plan for the experience in the future.
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Figure 1: Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle
(Source: Bassot, 2016)
From the experience with my group, I have been able to find that the entire experience was a
new experience where I had to use logical arguments with evidence and proof on the question
regarding if money can buy happiness or not. My feelings regarding this experience is mixed as
this experience has been very refreshing, exciting, challenging, as well as knowledge enhancing
due to the complex topic regarding if money can buy happiness or not. From evaluating the
experience, I have found that the experience has been very good as for answering this question
regarding if money can buy happiness or not, I had to discuss with my group in a very critical
manner and I had to use various evidences. From analysing the situation, I have found that the
route and approach that we took as a united group have been effective in answering this question
regarding if money can buy happiness or not. Furthermore, this experience has helped me and
my group members to enhance their knowledge and discussion skills. Moreover, through this
experience, I have also been able to understand and know my team mates better. Therefore, it
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can be concluded that from this experience, I have been able to learn many new things regarding
the subject topic of “if money can buy happiness or not” as well as about debates and discussions
well as about my team members. For dealing with similar situations in the future, I would take a
similar approach where me and my group members would have a civilized debate on the subject
topic (Bassot, 2016).
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Reference
Anand, P., 2016. Happiness explained: What human flourishing is and what we can do to
promote it. Oxford University Press.
Bassot, B., 2016. The reflective journal. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Bögenhold, D. and Naz, F., 2018. Money, Consumption and Happiness. In Consumption and
Life-Styles (pp. 87-102). Palgrave Pivot, Cham.
Caria, S., Paternò, F., Santoro, C. and Semucci, V., 2017, November. Supporting Young High-
Functioning ASD Individuals in Learning the Concept of Money. In International Conference on
Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good (pp. 374-384). Springer, Cham.
Debreceni, J., 2018. Tangible or Intangible Ways to Happiness? Consumption Related Values
Among Adolescents. European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 3(4), pp.198-209.
Hitokoto, H. and Uchida, Y., 2015. Interdependent happiness: Theoretical importance and
measurement validity. Journal of Happiness Studies, 16(1), pp.211-239.
Jurin, R.R., 2018. Principles of sustainable living: a new vision for health, happiness, and
prosperity. Human Kinetics.
Matz, S.C., Gladstone, J.J. and Stillwell, D., 2016. Money buys happiness when spending fits our
personality. Psychological science, 27(5), pp.715-725.
Snyder, A.M., 2017. Objects as symbols for meaning and happiness. Gonzaga University.
Tullett, A.M. and Plaks, J.E., 2016. Testing the link between empathy and lay theories of
happiness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42(11), pp.1505-1521.
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