Can money buy happiness?

I'm giving a talk on happiness this week, so I've been immersed in the research on causes and correlates of happiness (as well as measurement issues and a host of other topics). This field is often quite complex. For example, the research on the relationship between income and happiness has found that:

• Within nation, there is a very slight correlation between income and happiness, which is only significant at the lower levels of income (that is, the very poor are at greater risk of unhappiness).
• Across nations, there is a fairly substantial correlation between the GDP of the nation and the average happiness of its citizens -- wealthier nations have happier individuals, on average.
• Although there have been substantial increases in affluence within nations historically, this has not resulted in increases in happiness -- that is, although there is higher average affluence in the United States today than in the 1940s, Americans are not happier, on average.
• Individual increases in income are not consistently related to increased happiness. Getting a raise at work may result in a brief increase in happiness, but it is generally temporary (the person drifts back to their previous level of happiness). Studies of lottery winners find that they report a slightly higher level of happiness, but also considerable difficulty and unhappiness as well.
• Those who value materialist goals over other (non-materialist) values are less happy later in life.

So, looking at all this data, does money bring happiness? Discuss amongst yourselves.

What makes you cringe?

I'm listening to an episode of This American Life which is talking about the stories that make us cringe. They are exploring what aspects of a story are critical to the "cringe factor", and it got me wondering. Is cringing the same as embarrassment? They seem related, but perhaps not identical. What are the things that make us cringe?

When you think back on your life, what are the experiences that made/make you cringe?

Cool website

Check out this website which shows you all the facial muscles and how they relate to facial expressions -- very cool! Very useful for drawing or for the study of emotional expression. Did you know we have an "irony muscle" (the risorius muscle) which pulls the mouth to the side in an ironic smile?

What would you do if you were brave?

Listening to music I haven't heard in a while, a song by the Four Bitchin' Babes which has a refrain of, "What would I do today if I were brave?"

If I Were Brave
Jane Stanfield, Jimmy Scott

What would I do if I knew
that I could not fail?
If I believed would the wind
always fill up my sail?
How far would I go, what could I achieve
Trusting the hero in me?

If I were brave I'd walk the razor's edge
Where fools and dreamers dare to tread
And never lose faith
even when losing my way
What step would I take today if I were brave?

...
If I refused to listen to the voice of fear
Would the voice of courage whisper in my ear?
What would I do today if I were brave?

This assumes, I guess, that you aren't already brave (big assumption) and that fear is a substantial barrier to one or more of your actions. I actually think that my biggest barrier is time, not fear, but fear is relevant, too.

Where fear is a barrier...
If I were brave(r), I'd make more art. I'm afraid of making the "wrong" choices and wasting my (sometimes irreplaceable) supplies.
I'd probably publish more -- getting those negative peer reviews and rejection notices really makes it hard for me to persist in submitting the work.
I would be faster at completing a variety of tasks if the anxiety were removed; I do find that worries about doing something "wrong" makes it harder to finish tasks in a timely way.

Where fear doesn't deter me...
I'm not generally afraid of speaking out and expressing my opinion, unless I don't think I have enough knowledge to formulate an informed stance. I've never had a significant fear of public speaking (which is good, since I do it all day for my job!).
Although I'm usually nervous before performing, I don't let that stop me from singing, acting, or dancing in public performances.
I've never been deterred from asking someone out by fear of rejection (at least that I can remember). Right, Q? :)

Well, what would you do if you today were brave?