Sydney Beekmann

Happiness Project

ANNOTATEDBIBLIOGRAPHY

Source1HappyMovie:
Citation:
Happy. Dir. Roko Belic. Perf. : Anne Bechsgaard, Gregory Berns, Roy Blanchard. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 2011.
Summary:
For the movie Happy the main argument is to focus on intrinsic goals such as
cooperation with others, doing whatyoulove,andbeingyourself.Insteadoffocusingon
being extrinsic and valuing money and image. They are saying thatforonetobehappy,
they should make connections with other people because joy comes from connections.
The fact that social bonding can act as a drug. Awomaninthefilmwentthroughaload
of trauma and wentthroughadifficultperiodinherlifebutafterthishappenedshesaid
that she became even more happy thanshewasbeforethroughthehealingprocess.The
movie also talked about flow which is the rhythm of work and how the work process
can actually bring people happiness. A person does not have to have a ton of money to
be happy, and everything small thingthatsomeonemaydoonadailybasiscanresultin
great happiness.
Assessment:
This is a strong source because of the people they use and show in this film. It is alsoa
very strong film because they actually went to the places they talkedaboutandtraveled
around the world to prove and back themselves up.
- Ed Diener: is an American Psychologist, Professor, and author. He went to the
University of Washington.
- Sonja Lyubomirsky: a professor in the Department of Psychology at the
University of California. She went to both Stanford University, and Harvard
University.
- Daniel Todd Gilbert: is an American social psychologist and writer.
Reflection:
What is the truth of happiness?
This source helps me to answer this essential question because the movie explains how
someone can easily become happy. One just needs to be able to do what they love and
overcome. It just depends on a person's mindset choice, whether or nottheywanttobe
happy because it is completely their choice. Also to bond with others and learn to
communicate and get along.


Source2TheresMoretoLifeThanBeingHappyArticle:
Citation:
Smith, Emily Esfahani. "There's More to Life Than Being Happy." The Atlantic (2015):
1-5. Web.
Summary: The article Theres More to Life Than Being Happyistryingtogetacross
that instead of it being the pursuit ofhappinessitisthepursuitofmeaning.Peoplewho
want to be happy easily can be because they have full choice to do so, they can choose
their attitude toward things. This article is based on the pursuitofindividualhappiness
and search for meaning in one's life. People need to try to be a giver instead of a
taker. To be happy can be very easy if you let it be.
Assessment:
This is a strong source because it is from The Atlantic which is a credible source.
Whenever the article states a fact it is backed up by evidence.
- Emily Esfahani Smith: writes about culture and psychology fortheAtlantic,New
York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Daily Beast and other publications.
Reflection:What is the truth of Happiness?
This source helps me toanswertheessentialquestionwhenthearticleexplainshowitis
not the pursuit of happiness but the pursuit of meaning, and the pursuit of meaning in
their view could be meaning but I disagree. I see what they are saying and might be
trying to tell people. It opened my eyes to the idea that to be happy a person shall be
able to do both, give as well as receive. Happy People get a lot of joy from receiving
benefits from others while people leading meaningfullivesgetalotofjoyfromgivingto
others, so I do agree with things that people can become happy either way that they
may choose.
Evidence:
- Page 3 paragraph six: While happiness is an emotionfeltinthehereandnow,it
ultimately fades away, just as all emotions do; positive affect and feelings of
pleasure are fleeting. The amount of time people report feeling good or bad
correlates with happiness but not at all with meaning.
- Page 3-4 paragraph one: That is, people who thought more about the present
were happier, but peoplewhospentmoretimethinkingaboutthefutureorabout
past struggles and sufferings felt more meaning in their lives, though they were
less happy.
- Page 5 paragraph three: By putting aside our selfish interests to serve someone
or something larger thanourselves--bydevotingourlivestogivingratherthan
taking -- we are not only expressing our fundamental humanity, but are also
acknowledging that there is more to the good life than the pursuit of simple
happiness.


Source3TheNewEraofPositivePsychology:
Citation:
The New Era of Positive Psychology. By Martin Seligman. Perf. Martin Seligman.
TED, 2004. TED Talk.
Summary:
In the TED talk Martin Seligman explains how Psychology goes beyond the focus of
disease, butthefocusofmodernpsychology.Martinexplainsthethreedifferenthappy
lives; The pleasant life, the good life, and the meaningful life. When someone has a
pleasant life they learn the skills, have lots of pleasure, and they are inheritable. The
good life is; work, success, they are capable of flow, but may fail at love. Finally, the
Meaningful life; serving for others, social intelligence, and absorption. For Psychology
people need to focus on just how to make people happy.
Assessment:
This is a strong source because one, you can actually see this man explaining himself.
Two, he shows on a screen his evidence to back up anything that he says, by either
showing pictures, diagrams or just words.
- Martin Seligman: an American psychologist, educator, and author of self-help
books. He went to the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University.
Reflection:What is the truth of happiness?
Thissourcehelpedmetoanswerthisquestionbecauseitexplainedveryclearlythethree
different lives. When he explained this it really made methinkandIrealizedthatwhat
he was saying is very true. All of these types of happiness are sortoffakeandnotreal
and happiness should be more than just those three.
Evidence:
- And meaning, in this view, consists of very parallel to eudaemonia it
consists of knowing what your highest strengthsare,andusingthemtobelongto
and in the service of something larger than you are.
- I think with technology, entertainment and design,wecanactuallyincreasethe
amount of tonnage of human happiness on the planet.
- And it turns out the skillsofhappiness,theskillsofthepleasantlife,theskillsof
engagement, the skills of meaning, are different from the skills of relieving
misery.

Source4WhyareourKidssoMiserable?:
Citation:
Anderson, Jenny. "Why Are Kids so Miserable." QUARTZ (2016): n. pag. Web. 21 Mar.
2016
Summary:
In the article Why are our Kids so Miserable it explains the many reasons for the
increase in depression ranging from ages 6-18. One of these reasons could be stress.
Kids may be stressed from family issues, community relationships, grades, breakups
andmanyotherthings.Peoplethinkthatkidsneedtobeabletoplaymoresothatthey
can learn critical life copingskills,insteadofbeinglessfreeandstayingindoorsandata
desk constantly. This could lead to why kids are miserable and have anxiety and
depression. Not only do kids in kindergarten and elementary school, but teenagers and
even adults needtoplay.Alotofpeoplealsoblametechnology,whichofcourseitdoes
have an affectonkids,butinthearticletheysaythatdepressionandanxietystartedway
before social media. Another reason for this increase in depression could be through
parenting. Some parents may be very obsessed with their child to a point where it may
be overwhelming. Other parents are not involved in their child's life enough or at all,
and both of these can lead a kid to a depressing state.
Assessment:
This article is a strong source because it was found on QUARTZ which is a credible
source.Thearticleshowsgraphsthatshowwhatevertheyaretalkingabouttobackthem
up and prove their point.
Jenny Anderson: a ten year veteran of the New York Times. A graduate of
Colorado College and Columbia Universitys School of International and Public
Affairs (99).
Reflection:What is the truth of happiness?
This article was more based on the sufferingstage,butalsohowapersonevenakidcan
get away from depression. This article helped me to answer the essential question;
What is the truth of Happiness? True happiness can come from suffering. There is
always a way.
Evidence:
- Twenge has observed a notable shift away from internal, or intrinsic goals,
which one can control, toward extrinsic ones, which are set by the world, and
which are increasingly unforgiving.
- Play is brain-building for babies and youngchildren.Thereisasequenceofhow
children develop, from the moral and emotional to the social and intellectual,
- Likemanythingsinlife,intentionalityiskey.Ifwewantourkidstoplayandhave
some freedom, we have to plan how to do it (yes, it has come to that).

Source5Ireland:
Citation:
http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/ireland/
Summary:
After researching and finding why Ireland is a happy place, I found that it wasthe19th
happiest country in the world out of 195. Ireland is above the average in housing,
personal security, health status, education and skills, social connections, subjective
well-being, work-life balance, and environmental quality. In Ireland 61% ofpeopleages
15 to 64 have paid jobs. A good education is very importanttohaveinordertogetajob
in Ireland. Another reason for Irelandbeingahappyplaceis,95%ofpeoplebelievethat
there is someone in their life that they can rely on in time of need. I think that it is
important to have good relationships and be able to count on someone in order to be
happy. Although Ireland has so many great qualities, it does have some issues with
being below average on income and wealth, and civic engagement.
Assessment:
This is a strong source because it is from OECD which is a reliable source because it is
trying to get across as well as improve the economic and social well-being of people
around theworld.Theylookasissuesaroundtheworldthatcanaffectpeople'severyday
lives. Not only do they address all issues but they also mention how these issuescanbe
fixed, and they have evidence to back themselves up.
Reflection:What is the truth of Happiness?
This source helped me to answer this essential question because in the article it talks a
lot about communication withinthecommunity.Ithinkthisisaveryimportantthingto
have, people around the world do not know how to communicate well and come to
conclusions so instead they cause war and fighting and violence, that isnottheanswer.
If people are able to have social bonding skills even if their beliefs donotcomparewith
another, then people can have peace.
Evidence:
- Concerning the public sphere, there is a strong sense of community and
moderate levels of civicparticipationinIreland,where95%ofpeoplebelievethat
they know someone they could rely on in time of need, higher than the OECD
average of 88%.
- Socially isolated individuals face difficulties integrating into society as a
contributing member and fulfilling personal aspirations.
- Ireland also performs well in terms of water quality, as 82% of people say they
are satisfied with the quality of their water, slightly higher than the OECD
average of 81%.

Source6:IndividualResearch#1
Question: To what extent can having close connections, social bondingskills,andpeopletorely
on, increase our happiness levels?
Citation:
Markman, Art. "Why Other People Are the Key to Our Happiness." Psychology Today
(2014): n. pag. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.
Summary:
In the article Why Other People are the Key to Our Happiness Art Markmanexplains
that having both strong ties and weak ties can make people muchhappier.Theydidan
experiment and found that people who were over the age of 25 were more happy when
they got to talk with people that they knew who were strongties.Itdidnotmakeavery
large effect when they would communicate with people who were weak ties to them,
although it did make them feel like they were a part of the community and that they
belonged. They then did another study where they tested first year college students
using the same method. The results were different from the first experiment. It was
found that the students whointeractedwithalotofpeoplewerehappier,andtheyhada
greater sense that they belonged to the college community. So when these people
interacted with both strong ties and weak ties they became much happier. Having a
sense that you are a part of something can increase a person's happiness level.
Assessment:
This is a strong source because Psychology Today is a credible site that is based on
therapists and getting thehelpthatpeopleneed.ArtMarkmanhasaPh.DinPsychology
from the University of Illinois. He has published over 150 scholarly works on topics in
higher-level thinking including the effects of motivation on learning and performance,
analogical reasoning, categorization, decision making, and creativity. I think that all of
these categories relate to happiness and the human brain.
Reflection:What is the truth of happiness?
This source helped me to answer this essential question because it taught me that
anyone can become happy through communication in any form. Whether the person
one communicates with is a close friend or just someone that you may run into. True
happiness can come from bonding and communicating.
Evidence:
- Strong ties are the bonds among family, friends, and close work colleagues.
Weak ties involve the people you see only on occasion. You do not have
particularly deep or regular contact with your weak ties.
- On each day, participants also rated their well-being and their sense of
belonging to a community.
- So, those students who interacted with a lot of people were happier and felt a
greater sense that they belonged


Source7IndividualResearch#2:

Citation:
Davis, Tchiki. "Social Connections in "The Science of Happiness"." Greater Good
(2014): n. pag. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
Summary:
After reading the article; Social Connections in The Science of Happiness. They
tested peoples happiness based on their gender, age and more. They tested how close
students sense of social connections. They asked the studentstoratehowclosetheyfelt
to people in their daily lives. They checked to see if the age of the studentsrelatedtoto
how they felt about being socially connected, and how connected they were. In this
article there were manygraphsshown.Theyalsotestedtoseeifwhetherornotstudents
were in a relationship to see if that related to their social connections. They found that
being in a relationship can result in a greater feeling of connection, although it would
change due to the relationship. Some students whoweresinglereportedthattheywere
more socially connected than the students who were in a relationship. It really just
depends on the type of relationship, whether it was a healthy one or not.
Assessment:
This is a strong sourcebecauseitshowsgraphstobackthemselvesup.Usinggraphscan
be very helpful and make it more clear for the eye to actually see the results. Tchiki
Davis is a Berkeley graduate with a Ph.D. She is also an expert with technology. She
delivers ideas as well as researching how people can increase their well-being and
happiness. She is a Research and Development Consultant for GGSC.
Reflection:What is the Truth of Happiness?
This source helped my to answer the essential question because it taught me the
loneliness versus being in a relationship view. A person can be happy if they choose to
be happy, whether they are in a relationship or not. Some people can be in a healthy
relationship and that can increase their level of happiness. Other people can be single
and be very happy.
Evidence:
- But how socially connected are our studentsand how does their
connection relate to other aspects of their lives, like their age and
relationship status?
- The GGSC's online course, The Science of Happiness, emphasizes the
importance of social connection to happiness.
- More than 30,000 of them have completed it so far.

Source8:IndividualResearch#3
Citation:
Cogan, Nataly. "The Single Most Important Thing We Can Do for Our Happiness."
Happier(n.d.): n. pag. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
Summary:
In the article The Single Most Important Thing we can do for Our Happiness, it
explains that connection and communication is contagious. Although deep friendships
and connections cancausehighlevelsofhappiness,smallnondeepconnectionscanstill
increasepeopleshappiness.Thearticlealsomentions,connectionisaboutperception,
this meaning that you need to take the time to be grateful and review on the
relationships that you have. Also, that connections makeuskinder.Ithinkthisisvery
true, peoplewhocanbekindtootheranddogenerousthingscanmakeboththatperson
and the person who they are being kindtohappier.Connectioncanbecultivated,find
who you like and who makes you happy. People can change and become whoever they
want just as long as it makes them a happier human. Positive social connections is key.
Assessment:
This is a strong source because it comes from a source that is called Happier, a site
that is just based on people and what can make a person happier. Nataly Cogan is the
founder of this site. She is a happiness expert and tech entrepreneur. She helps people
to become happier by finding scientifically-proven practices that increase a person's
well-being.
Reflection:What is the truth of happiness?
This source helped me toanswerthisessentialquestionbecauseitmademethinkabout
everythingthatcancomeoutofconnectionsandwhyconnectionissoimportantwhenit
comes to peoples well-being. That if you are kind to someone they may be kind back
because itiscontagious.Takingthetimetothinkofothersandbegratefulforthepeople
who surround you, that it can actually make you a much happier person. All that we
need to do to find true happiness is be positive and kind to others and that can helpus
reach our goal.
Evidence:
- Just like germs, your "connection benefits" tend to be contagious---love,
altruism, and yes, happiness, all seem to spread through solid human
connections.
- In fact, lack of social connection is being called a greater overall health
risk than smoking! Being lonely impacts your immune system as well as
your susceptibility to anxiety, depression, and antisocial behaviors.
- Not things, or even experiences, but our connections with other people.
Because that's what makes us happiest.
-