What is happiness? It is something very subjective and personal ; it is clear that for each person, happiness will involve different things. However, we can speak of two predominant approaches to happiness in psychology.
These two approaches refer to two ways of experiencing happiness. The key is to identify how your child enjoys the most, to help him cultivate that well-being.
In this article you will learn what these two approaches consist of, some studies that have been done on them and how you can enhance each of these types of happiness in your children.
The two types of happiness and how to enhance them in children
In psychology we find two approaches to the concept of happiness, or rather, two types of happiness. The hedonic approach or hedonic happiness, which involves obtaining pleasure and avoiding pain; or, in other words, the search and experimentation of positive emotions and the avoidance of unpleasant emotions.
The other approach is the eudaimonic approach or eudaimonic happiness, focused on self-realization and the optimal functioning of people as a way to achieve happiness.
Hedonic happiness
Hedonic happiness is more sensory, more “primitive”, since it is based on the pursuit of pleasure . We get it, for example, when we sleep, when adults have sex, when we eat, etc. Also, when we really enjoy a song, or when we get a massage.
As we have seen, it is a happiness that implies the experimentation of pleasant emotions , such as joy or enthusiasm, and the avoidance or reduction of unpleasant ones, such as pain, anger, frustration …
Eudaimonic happiness
Eudaimonic happiness is projected more in the long term, and is not so based on sensations or pleasure. It appears when we feel fulfilled with our work or with something that we are good at.
That is, in actions directed towards ourselves, but also in relation to others (for example, through prosocial behaviors, when we help someone).
This type of happiness is also aimed at educating children in the best possible way , doing charitable works, being in solidarity … It is a more transcendental happiness than the previous one, since it implies looking for the meaning, meaning and purpose of one’s own life.
“Happiness is the ultimate goal of human existence.”
-Aristotle-
Happiness: what does science say?
Happiness has been researched for many years. In relation to these two approaches to it, we find, for example, a study by Joseph Lewis Henderson, an American physician and writer, and his colleagues, who studied hedonic and eudaimonic behaviors.
Well, through their research they found that hedonic behaviors increased positive emotions and satisfaction with life, that they helped regulate emotions and that they reduced negative or unpleasant emotions, stress and depression.
We also found another interesting study, this time more focused on eudaimonic happiness. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of California, led by Eva H. Telzer, and published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2014.
The researchers concluded that eudaimonic happiness could be a protective factor for the development of depression symptoms.
How to promote hedonic and eudaimonic happiness in children?
Although, it is clear that happiness is something purely subjective , it is also true that there are certain activities that help promote the well-being of each one.
We invite you to reflect, through observation: in what way does your child experience, cultivate or seek happiness or well-being? Through the experimentation of pleasant emotions?
From the search for the sense of self-realization? Of prosocial and helpful behaviors? Or by both ways? Which of them predominates the most?
Depending on his way of experiencing well-being, you can choose some actions or others that allow you to cultivate his happiness in him. How to do it? We give you some keys:
Cultivating hedonic happiness
Hedonic happiness, that more “primitive”, more focused on obtaining pleasure and gratifying sensations, can be achieved in different ways. In children, it can be enhanced through sensory activities for them, which make them enjoy.
These activities can be: doing sports, dancing, horseback riding, riding a scooter, making sand castles, painting with your hands, making plasticine shapes, watching a movie …
We can also cultivate this happiness by hugging our children , kissing them frequently, caressing them … And the fact is that another way to enhance this happiness is, basically, promoting the pleasant emotions of children.
We have many options, beyond those mentioned: spending quality time with them and, ultimately, giving them all our love and making them feel loved and valued.
It is important, at this point, to emphasize that, although hedonic happiness is also based on “the avoidance of unpleasant emotions”, the truth is that these also deserve to be experienced . Why? Because all emotions, including unpleasant ones, are like internal compasses that tell us what we need at all times.
All have their function and their meaning, their message. Therefore, it is worth it that your children can also experience unpleasant emotions, first to identify what they need at that moment, and second, because it will enhance their resilience and the ability to tolerate discomfort , an essential skill of emotional intelligence.
Cultivating eduaimonic happiness
Eudaimonic happiness is a little more “cognitive”, more transcendental. It is what makes us feel self-realized and satisfied with what we do. Through it, we look for a meaning in our life, a purpose.
It is also what drives us to help, to make others feel good … In children, there are different ways of empowering it: cultivating their empathy and their sense of solidarity, helping them find what they like, what they do with. enjoy …
For example, talking with him or her about their hobbies , about those things they like, and pointing them to some related activity.
On the other hand, since it is a bit more “deep” happiness, we can also cultivate it through reflection , especially with slightly older children. Reflecting on what they expect from life, what they want to be when they grow up, what makes them connect with their purpose, etc.
Helping them find their calling , what excites and motivates them , is also another way to cultivate this kind of happiness. For example, accompanying them in the exploration of their tastes, searching with them what they want to be when they grow up, promoting reading in them so that they do not stop discovering alternatives and opening their minds, etc.
And you, how do you cultivate the well-being of your children? Do you think there are different ways to be happy?
We have known these two approaches to happiness, although it is clear that the two can coexist, because they are not incompatible , and that most children enjoy these two ways of pursuing well-being.
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