Group Project Report: The Relationship Between Money and Happiness

This report, a product of a group project on academic study skills, delves into the multifaceted relationship between money and happiness. The introduction highlights the difficulty in defining happiness and the contrasting views on whether money can buy it. The Literature Review section presents arguments from various researchers and surveys, exploring the perspectives of those who believe money enhances happiness, particularly for those with limited resources, and those who believe that money is not everything. It then discusses the role of money in improving lifestyle, providing access to luxuries, and securing one's future. Conversely, the report also presents arguments that emphasize the importance of health, peace of mind, and strong relationships as key determinants of happiness, which money cannot buy. The report also includes a group reflection section discussing the Belbin and Tuckman theories. In the Belbin theory section, the report explains the different roles within the group, such as the Plant, Monitor Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Complete Finisher, Coordinator, Team Worker, and Resource Investigator. The Tuckman theory section describes the stages of group development: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. The conclusion supports the idea that money can play a role in happiness, but emphasizes that money is not the sole determinant, and other factors are more important.

ACADEMIC STUDY
SKILLS - S1. GROUP
PROJECT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
LR....................................................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Happiness is basically very difficult to define and cannot be concluded from a single
point of view or the word. Today where more than half of the population is materialistic the most
common phrases saying “can money buy the happiness” is illusionary and hence cannot be
properly stated. Each and every person in this world have contradicting and numerous views on
the word happiness which they derive from their experience. Some says happiness is when an
individual feels good and has positive vibes both internal as well as externally while according to
some people happiness is when you have possessed everything that exist in the world. Thus,
there is no single definition of happiness which explains it in a wider context. Some people
normally says that money actually have the power to buy joy and happiness as they assume that
money can give them the immense power to conquer world. On the other hand, some people
normally disagree from this statement and says that money is not everything in life there are
some other more important things which gives an internal happiness and provides an individual
with the sense of fulfilment. Hence, it sometimes becomes very tough to predict that whether or
not money can buy joy and happiness. Happiness is a very complex emotion which is mainly
influences by various intangible factors like personality of an individual. Although having the
certain and specific amount of money and wealth might make it statistically likely in the sense
that oneself will eventually lead a comfortable ad happy life, it basically is by no means the
prerequisite and sole determinant in happiness. The main purpose of this report is to discuss the
contradicting views of people on this topic and hence coming on the final conclusion which will
be applicable hence otherwise.
LR
As per the view of Lam (2018), Many of the social researches as well as survey has
shown that that most of the people believe money actually can increase the happiness and self-
fulfilment within an individual through many ways. This goes especially for the socially
backwards class which even does not have the access to the basic necessities and the dreams for
money which can improve their condition. Some people believe that there are numerous ways
through which money does make them happy. The money in nowadays is the only thing which
when spent brings a lot of new and different things for them. Money enhances the quality of life
which is indirectly is route to happiness. According to Moulding and et.al.,(2017), this is the
main reason which goes into the perception and mind of the individuals where they think that if

someone has money then it will eventually lead them to lead a happy and conformable life.
There are various norms and perceptions of the people which compels them to think that money
is the only thing that have value in this materialistic world. The first reason why money is
important that it increase and thus improves the lifestyle of an individual. If someone has a
billion of dollars then the individual will can have access to luxurious products ans services and
will not be anxious to purchase even the highest value item. This will make them different from
the crowd and will totally reflect their personality. For example- when a lower class individual
who lives in underprivileged area and is below the poverty line does not even have the money to
eat proper food. Think of the scenario if they become rich and would have billions of dollars.
They would not have to struggle for the small things and can conquer the whole the world. Thus,
people believe that money not only can bring a smile on even a poor's face but can also secure
their life till their death. People who assume money as toy which when played can bring a smile
on the face are the ones who mainly belongs to high class society and have immense wealth. As
noted by..., they normally think that happiness is a product which can be bought from the store
and can fulfil all the needs. For example- Steve Jobs the founder of company Apple in an
interview told that money makes people richer and can make them happy if it utilized in the
correct manner. I generally make a good sense for the society to have the monetary income as
well as wealth. According to them, happiness is predominately the ongoing project which can be
only accomplished or completed if people have money. They need to continuously pursue the
happiness of making the money to purchase highly valued things. Money has presented an
opportunity for the people to remain happy and lead a comfortable life. It is sometimes quite
obvious that when people will have enough money to fulfil their need then they will be happy
and will have the sense of pleasure from outside as well as inside.
According to Kim (2016), On contrary to this, not all the members think that money is
not the only thing which matters in life there are lots of other things in the life which can not
only provide happiness but can also can support them by making their life full of enjoyment.
When an individual goes to a sweet shop then even for buying small eatables like sweets, they
he/she will have to give money to shopkeeper. That doesn't means that money has all the power
to keep an individual happy. Most of the people generally have the misconception that wealth is
the only thing in this whole world that can even bet the god and can buy pleasure. In fact, talking
about the relation between wealth and happiness, it is much far away from the happiness. In

order to support this argument, the major gates which leads to happiness is having the healthy
life and remain healthy. As illustrated by Matz, Gladstone and Stillwell (2016), Some people
think that having money and becoming rich can prevent them from diseases and disorders as they
can easily have the treatment from world's famous hospitals simply by throwing money in front
of them but this is totally a misunderstanding. Taking the example of Steve Jobs, one of the
famous entrepreneur and making its presence in the list of top rich entrepreneurs, died due to
pancreatic cancer. Having the immense amount of money, Steve Jobs undergone various
treatment but this did not work. Thus, even the rich man cannot stay buy happiness because for
leading the healthy life, a person would be happy and delighted from inside which money single
cannot do. Not all the rich people believes that wealth is the route to pleasure and satisfaction,
some believes that happiness is the emption which a person can only possess if he/she has the
peace of mind. Mind plays an important role in keeping an individual happy. There are generally
tow division in brain conscious and sub-conscious. The feeling of joy, contentment mainly
resides in this sub-conscious mind. Thus, when sub-conscious mind dominates conscious mind
then person attain peach of mind which eventually leads to happiness and satisfaction. The best
example of thus is presented by Bill Gates, one of the riches man who in an interview stated that
its not the billions or millions which makes an individual happy instead it is the strong
relationship's ans well as the more time which are the main predictors of the well-being. Bill
gates further added that people don't need billions of dollars for making themselves happy but it
is the peace of mind and the time which are the drivers of happiness. According to Butler (2017),
Of course, time is the thing which even money cannot buy as it moves forward from its own pace
and once the time is lost, even the large amount of wealth does not have power to hold it back.
Thus, when an individual say parents give their valuable time to their family and children then it
will make them happy from internal and will make their life a success. This smile on face of the
kid is the thing which even money cannot buy.
Group reflection
Belbin theory
According to Fox (2017), To discuss this topic, a group of was made and I was in the
group consisting of people around 4 to 6 members. My whole group was taken into the seminar
room where the discussion took place.

Plant
As per the view of Noland (2015), Some of the group members came up with the creative
solution to this issue where they stated that the if the people utilizes the money in proper manner
then it will eventually lead to happiness. They were little introvert and did not responded much
during the whole discussion.
Monitor Evaluator
There were an evaluator which was present during the whole discussion and was
responsible for monitoring the entire scenario. He was mainly responsible for evaluating that
whether the discussion is going in right direction or not.
Specialist
According to Mogilner and Norton (2016), There was specialist present in the group who
had the entire knowledge of the topic and coordinated with the entire group. The specialist was
responsible for answering the technical problem that were interpreted wrong by any group
member.
Shaper
All the group members including me began to give shape to the topic and started the
discussion. Given the time limit, I and my group members were giving their arguments and
taking the discussion in further direction.
Implementation
There was an implement which was present in the room and was mainly responsible for
taking the group's suggestions and turning them in the positive actions. The individual was
responsible for coordinating the group members.
Complete finisher
I was the one who first concluded the discussion with the answer that yes money can buy
happiness. I was able to finish and conclude the topic after considering all the arguments and
thus came up with final conclusion.
Coordinator
A highly specialised leader was sitting in the centre of the circle who was leading the
entire conversation. That mentor was trying to keep the group on track and trying to prevent any
conflict of interest.

Team worker
The leader also acted as a team worker where the leaders encouraged each and very
member to speak up and place their views and suggestions. He was trying to maintain a decorum
among the entire team including me.
Resource investigator
At the end of the discussion, it was time to implement it thus there was a resource
investigator who was responsible for communicating with individual outside the school to make
them aware of this topic.
Tuckman theory
Forming
According to Mogilner, Whillans and Norton (2018), Initially, the mentor decided on
which topic the students will discuss and gain an understanding. After deciding the topic, mentor
finally assemble students and divided the students in the group of 4 to 6 members. Mentor spent
time on planning the entire team as who will lead the group and how will the discussion proceed.
The group member were finally assembled at the place to know each other.
Storming
The entire team was made aware of the topic that is going to be discussed and the main
rationale behind discussing it. I and all the other team members began to become acquainted with
each other and know their point of view of different team members. The team was given the
knowledge of the objective that would be achieved by discussing on this topic. The goals of
discussing the topic was made clear and hence the leader began to establish the team members.
Norming
As illustrated by Morris and Sidman (2019), The whole team began to accept the roles
and responsibilities of each other like one will lead the topic rest will take it to the right
direction. A high level of commitment began to develop within the entire group to make the
discussion beneficial and valuable. The leader facilitates the entire conversation and thus told us
our discussion style which will be used during the whole scenario.
Performing
Finally, the entire team members came into the room and began to settle down for the
discussion. Discussion started and was further proceeded by all of us. Members began to give

their suggestions and views on money ad happiness. A coordinator was there to lead the entire
group.
Adjourning
As per the view of Leonard (2018), After the successful ending of the topic, I came up
with the conclusion and the discussion ended on the happy note. Considering all the arguments, a
common consensus was reached. Finally, the members began to dissociate along with making
this topic beneficial. All the members enjoyed the discussion.
At the end, my whole team learnt the lesson that how to effectively lead the discussion
and what skills are required to effectively communicate with other team members. During the
planning and writing phase, my entire team involving me came to know hoe the team is formed
and why it is important to understand the viewpoints of others for archiving the definite goal.
They also understood that not only speaking our viewpoints matter but actively listening to
others about their opinion is also important.
CONCLUSION
This topic “Can Money buy happiness” is highly imperative and has taken the whole
group towards a common consensus. From the topic debated, it has been concluded that it is very
difficult at the end to make a judgement on the relationship between money and happiness. The
answer to this question is yes because for seeking joy and to move forward on the path of
happiness, an individual will definitely need money but at the same time it is not guaranteed that
the individual will get long-term happiness which the individual is looking for. But on the other
hand, if an individual utilizes the money in a proper manner then it will definitely lead to
comfortable and happy life. Therefore, based on the various arguments presented by the group
members, a final statement has been made which is Yes, Money can surely buy happiness if used
in right way. Money has the considerable power through which people can have a great quality
of life and can lead a happy life. When the people will have immense wealth and money, then
they can easily fulfil their needs and can resolve their problems. This will at the end will make
them satisfied and happy. For example- Most of the people likes to travel and explore different
cultures and things, they can only do so if they have enough money and this will eventually make
them happy. On the other hand, individual who wishes to travel and has the dream to explore the
whole world does not have money then this make the individual demotivated and the individual
might seek some other path to earn money which might be dangerous. This demotivation will

make them unhappy and will remain irritated every time. Thus, money at some point of the life is
necessary to fulfil the dream and become successful. But earning the money through right path is
important as this will not result in the feeling of guilt ad will make the individual happy and
satisfied. Keeping the emotions apart, money can bring eternal happiness and joy into the life of
an individual because buying the good and products they will resolve their problem will give
them the considerable amount of satisfaction. Money can not only help the individuals to buy the
luxurious goods bit will also satisfy some of their spiritual values. Good spiritual value's comes
from having the better education thus good and high level education can gained only if the
individual have enough money. Paying the high fees cannot be achieved without wealth and this
is the reason why poor lack behind. When the people will have access to better education then
this will eventually inculcate some spiritual values in them and they will have different views for
analysing the world. This will also help them to make relationship with other individuals and will
lead to the happy life. The degree of happiness generally is not equivalent to the income level but
at the same time it depends upon quality of the possessions if materials which are eventually
affecting the daily life. Thus, at last, money becomes important for an individual to lead happier
life.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Butler, J., 2017. Money and happiness. Essential Personal Finance: A Practical Guide for
Students, p.51.
Fox, L.J., 2017. Money Didn't Buy Happiness. Dickinson L. Rev..122.p.249.
Kim, J.Y.J., 2016. Money Can't Buy You Happiness, but It Can Buy You Your Identity.
Lam, J., 2018. The EMN Salary Survey: Can Money Buy Happiness? No, but It Sure Helps.
Emergency Medicine News.40(8). p.8.
Leonard, R., 2018. Money and Happiness for College Students.
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.
Mogilner, C. and Norton, M.I., 2016. Time, money, and happiness. Current Opinion in
Psychology.10. pp.12-16.
Mogilner, C., Whillans, A. and Norton, M.I., 2018. Time, money, and subjective well-being.
Handbook of Well-Being. Noba Scholar Handbook series: Subjective well-being. Salt
Lake City, UT: DEF publishers. Retrieved from nobascholar. com.
Morris, L. and Sidman, C., 2019. Building Cultures of Well-Being: The Happiness Approach.
Moulding, R and et.al.,2017. Do you think that money can buy happiness? A review of the role
of mood, materialism, self, and cognitions in compulsive buying. Current Addiction
Reports.4(3). pp.254-261.
Noland, G., 2015. Can money buy happiness?: the influence of money on well-being.