What is the secret of happiness? What does it depend on? New research from University College London (UK) appears to have deciphered the happiness formula using a mathematical equation .
For the study, which has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the researchers performed brain MRI scans on 26 volunteers, with multiple reward and loss tests, which had to be constantly assessed for their level of happiness . The scientists found that activity in two specific areas of the brain – the ventral striatum and the insula – corresponded to the level of happiness. With these data they designed the formula for happiness.
The scientists then wanted to test their mathematical equation. To do this, they analyzed the data from a survey included in a mobile application “The Great Brain Experiment” in which 18,000 people participated and subjected them to the equation in question to predict exactly how happy those people felt.
“Our equation did a good job explaining happiness. Even with this wide spectrum of participants, there is a surprisingly consistent relationship between satisfaction, expectations, and happiness . Expectations also affect happiness, even before learning the outcome of a decision. If you have plans to meet a friend at your favorite restaurant, those positive expectations can boost your happiness as soon as you make the plan. The new equation captures these different effects of expectations and makes it possible to predict happiness based on the combined effects of many events in the past, ”says study leader Robb Rutledge.
Thus, according to the study, happiness not only depends on the satisfaction of the individual, but also on their expectations . Although the formula does not indicate how to be happy, it does present an interesting tool for studying happiness and emotional disorders on a massive scale.
