How happiness, money and morality are related

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Scientists explain whether it is possible to buy happiness, how much it depends on the nobility of our actions, and in what cases we are ready to sacrifice principles for the sake of profit.

How happiness and morality are related

More recently, a group of scientists from Harvard, Yale and Colorado universities have conducted a series of psychological experiments., in which subjects were asked to rate the degree of happiness of the fictional nurse Sarah.

In the first case, the participants were told the following story. After several years of training, Sarah got a job at a children's hospital. This is her dream job. Sarah feels good almost every day and experiences many positive emotions. The reason for her condition is that she helps sick children by giving them useful vitamins. Sarah doesn't know how many children she has helped, but she likes to think about them as she falls asleep at night.

The participants in the experiment rated the level of happiness of this Sarah (let's call her "Sarah # 1") very high.

But the researchers told another story about Sarah # 2. She also got a job at a children's hospital after several years of training. And she almost always feels good and experiences a lot of pleasant emotions. But the reason Sarah # 2 is happy is that she is giving the children poisoned vitamins. Sarah # 2 doesn't know how many children have died because of her, but she loves to think of them as she falls asleep at night.

Sarah # 2's happiness level was rated lower than Sarah # 1.

So what's the difference between the two nurses? Scientists believe that being in good health and positive emotions is not enough to define happiness. Moral values play a significant role for people here. In other words, most of us think that happiness includes the concept of morality.

How morality and money are related

If happiness depended only on the nobility of our actions, then the whole world would consist of some altruists. But this is not the case.

Economists at the University of Bonn ran a series of experiments. to find out how market relations will affect people's ability to kill mice.

In the first case, they gave each participant a choice. He could take 10 euros, but then the mouse would be gassed, or refuse the money, then the mouse would remain alive. Less than half of the subjects took the money - 46%.

In the second experiment, the researchers added an element of market relations. Now one participant was assigned responsibility for the life of the mouse, and the other was given 20 euros. If both agreed on how to split the money, that is, each would receive compensation, then the mouse would be killed. If they had not come to an agreement (that is, if one or both refused to bargain), then the mouse would have remained alive. In this case, 72% of the subjects were able to agree.

In the third experiment, a full-fledged market was created. There were several "sellers" in charge of the mouse, and several "buyers" with money. Under these conditions, the number of transactions increased to 76%.

The results suggest that, individually, most of us would give up money to avoid doing something morally questionable. But in the market environment, our moral standards are weakened, so we are willing to give up some principles for the sake of profit.

How money and happiness are related

If so many people are willing to trade moral principles for money, what about statements like "Happiness can't be bought" and "Money can't buy happiness"? Science proves that not everything is so simple here either.

Study. 2010 was to determine how income levels affect people's valuations of life and emotional well-being. The first concept rather describes people's thoughts about their life and what they own. The second is associated with the intensity of experiences of various feelings: joy, affection, sadness, anger.

Scientists have found that an increase in income is directly related to an increase in the assessment of life.

Emotional well-being also grows, but up to a certain limit - 75 thousand dollars a year. After crossing this mark, a person no longer experiences additional positive emotions in connection with an increase in wealth.

Of course, $ 75,000 is a decent amount. Although, it is worth noting that the study was published in 2010, when the ruble exchange rate was twice lower. When recalculated, the amount still turns out to be impressive. But not transcendental.

Money determines material rather than emotional well-being. Besides, not everything can be bought.

This is the topic that Harvard researcher Michael Sandel ponders in his book What Money Can't Buy. Moral Limitations of the Free Market”. He suggests thinking about a society where people become billboards: they rent out parts of their body to companies so that they can get a tattoo with an advertisement on them. Sandel believes that people, of course, will receive money for this, but they are unlikely to be happy.

Output

When we talk about happiness, we mean a good life. And a good life also means that you feel like a worthy person. If this feeling cannot be bought, then happiness cannot be bought either. Although, undoubtedly, with the help of money you can make many other pleasant acquisitions.