Oct

What makes human beings happy ?

“One of the biggest issues in happiness research
is the question of how much our
happiness is under our control. In 1996
University of Minnesota researcher David
Lykken published a paper looking at the
role of genes in determining one’s sense
of satisfaction in life. Lykken, now 76, gathered
information on 4,000 sets of twins born
in Minnesota from 1936 through 1955. After
comparing happiness data on identical vs.
fraternal twins, he came to the conclusion
that about 50% of one’s satisfaction with life
comes from genetic programming. (Genes
influence such traits as having a sunny, easygoing
personality; dealing well with stress;
and feeling low levels of anxiety and depression.)
Lykken found that circumstantial factors
like income, marital status, religion and
education contribute only about 8% to one’s
overall well-being.”