Read the “What Makes People Happy” passage set.
What Makes People Happy
Source 1: Get That Paper: What Lottery Winnings Do to Your Life By National Public Radio
1 The combined Mega Millions and Powerball winnings have topped $2 billion. Tickets are reportedly selling at a rate of up to hundreds per minute in the 44 states where they are available. It is more than money at stake if you win. A financial windfall is life–changing, but lottery wins, in particular, are not always a reason to celebrate. Because maybe money cannot buy happiness.
2 But can it? Recent psychological research indicates that while money isn’t everything, not having it actually is. “When our basic needs for adequate food, safety, health care, and shelter aren’t met, an increase in income makes a much larger difference for us than when we are relatively comfortable,” Sonja Lyubomirsky writes in Psychology Today. Another way to put it is that money makes us happier if it keeps us from being poor. After all, those of us who have very little are more likely to be evicted from our homes, go hungry, live in a crime– ridden community, have a child drop out of school, lack the resources to obtain medical care, or be unable to manage the pain, stress, and practical demands of a disease or disability. Even a modest increase in income can alleviate or prevent many of these adverse situations.
3 These ideas help explain why money makes poorer people happier, but why does money have a relatively weak effect on wealthier people’s happiness? One answer is that as income rises beyond a certain level, its positive effects (e.g., the ability to fly first class or retain top–notch medical specialists) may be offset by some negative effects, like increased time pressure (e.g., longer working hours and commutes) and increased stress (e.g., holding powerful positions, anxieties about investments, and problems with overindulged children). And because wealth allows people to experience the best that life has to offer, it can reduce their capacity to savor life’s small pleasures.
4 Winners of the lottery face an additional set of pressures, and these issues start piling up as soon as the winning number is drawn. First, who do you tell? Sure, you may want to brag, but lottery winners are hounded by scammers and sometimes robbed or killed. Time found several winners who regretted even buying a ticket. Next, if you win, do you take the money in installments, or settle for a smaller amount up–front? And how do you handle taxes and the inevitable outreached hands that reach toward you once it becomes clear you have won? Excerpt from “Get That Paper: What Lottery Winnings Do to Your Life” By National Public Radio, from https://the1a.org/shows/2018–10–23/get–that–paper–what–lottery–winnings–do–to–your–life
5 It is unclear who first said, “Money can’t buy happiness.” Whoever it was, they probably were not staring at a tall stack of bills and an empty checking account. Money cannot buy happiness, but it is the only thing thatwill pay those bills. Doing that may not trigger an endorphin rush of happiness, but it sure beats the alternative.
6 Having enough money to pay all our bills allows us to provide for our families, plan for the future, and enjoy our leisure time. Not having money restricts our choices and wreaks emotional havoc on our psyche 1 . Among the negative effects are low self–esteem and impaired cognitive functioning. That means you cannot learn, remember, be attentive or solve problems as well when you are freaking out over your water bill.
7 A study of 33,720 U.S. households published in the January 2016 edition of Psychology Science found that those with higher levels of unemployment were more likely to purchase over–the–counter pain killers. That was not particularly surprising, but a research team discovered that simply thinking about the prospect of financial insecurity was enough to increase pain. People reported feeling almost twice as much physical pain after recalling a financially unstable time in their life compared to those who thought about a secure period. It is rare for someone to never have money problems. Trouble happens, jobs disappear, marriages fail, people get sick, their homes lose value and bills just keep piling up. No one is immune.
8 So, what came first, the pain or the debt? Responding to Debt
9 Does debt cause mental illness, or does mental illness cause debt? Yes.
10 That is the best answer researchers have come up with after years of study. Some research found that worrying about debt triggers stress, which reduces your resilience against mental health problems. Other studies show mental health problems decrease self–control, increase spending, and basically mess up a person’s financial judgment. Regardless of how someone falls behind, being in debt can trigger unsettling emotional responses. Denial
11 Consumers do not have the luxury of endless deficit spending, though many act as if they do. They spend compulsively while ignoring their deteriorating condition. They put off dealing with problems until some outside event – credit denied, threat of foreclosure, legal action, harassing phone calls from debt collectors – forces a change. Stress
12 Debt and stress are like co–joined twins. The average U.S. household with credit card debt has balances totaling $16,748, and the average household with any kind of debt owes $134,643, according to a 2016 Nerdwallet study. Conversely, 72% of Americans said they felt stressed about money, according to an American Psychological Association study. And 22% said they felt “extreme” stress over their finances.
13 So, what exactly is “stress?” The term was coined by endocrinologist 1 Hans Selye in 1936, who defined it as “the non–specific response of the body to any demand for change.” In modern financial terms, that means you hyperventilate when the Visa bill arrives. Stress may be hard to define, but it manifests itself in obvious ways – lack of sleep, loss of focus, nagging worry.
Anger
14 As the economy sagged, anger issues rose. The phenomenon got its own name in medical circles: Debt–Anger Syndrome. Instead of panicking or denying, victims get mad. They are mad at creditors who continually send them bills; mad at the mailman for delivering the bills; mad at their bosses for not paying them more; mad at their spouses for not making more money; mad at their kids for needing new braces; and mad at themselves for getting into this fix. This not only can ruin relationships, the physiological effects can lead to migraines, heart disease, and reduce your resistance to infections.
Depression
15 People deny, freak out and lash out over debt. After they work through those stages, the bills are still staring them back in the face. That is when depression sets in. People who struggle with debt are more than twice as likely to suffer from depression, according to a study by the University of Nottingham in England. Hopelessness sets in, as does low self–esteem. It can lead to even more debt since sufferers sometimes try to relieve their depression by treating themselves to a shopping spree or some other mental getaway. But all that does is lead to more debt, which leads to more depression and despair. Excerpt from “The Emotional Effects of Debt” By Bill Fay, from https://www.debt.org/advice/emotional–effects/
Source 3:Exercise Can Make You Happier Than Money, According to Research from Yale and Oxford By Ruqayyah Moynihan
16 It’s clear exercise has health benefits both physical and mental — but what if we could actually prove it was more important to your mental health than your economic status? According to a study carried out by researchers at Yale and Oxford, we may have done just that. In the study, published in The Lancet, scientists collected data about the physical behavior and mental mood of over 1.2 million Americans.
17 Participants were asked to answer the following question: “How many times have you felt mentally unwell in the past 30 days, for example, due to stress, depression, or emotional problems?” The participants were also asked about their income and physical activities. They were able to choose from 75 types of physical activity — from lawn–mowing, childcare, and housework to weightlifting, cycling, and running. Those who keep more active tend to be happier overall
18 The scientists found that, while those who exercised regularly tended to feel bad for around 35 days a year, non–active participants felt bad for 18 days more on average. In addition, the researchers found that physically active people feel just as good as those who do not do sports, but who earn around $25,000 more a year. Essentially, you would have to earn quite a lot more for your earnings to give you the same happiness– boosting effect sport has.
19 The scientists also noticed that certain sports that involve socializing — i.e. team sports — can have more of a positive effect on your mental health than others. Despite the fact that neither cycling nor aerobics and fitness technically counts as team sports, these activities can also have a considerable positive effect on your mental health. Excerpt from “Exercise Can Make You Happier Than Money, According to Research from Yale and Oxford” By Ruqayyah Moynihan, from Business Insider Deutschland
Source 4: The pursuit of happiness By Harvard Health Publishing
20 What is the secret to happiness? Most of our ability to be happy is based on genes — some people are just naturally happier than others. But research suggests that 40% of people’s happiness comes from the choices they make. “The idea that you can’t be happier is false,” says Dr. Robert Waldinger, director of the longest–running study on happiness, the Harvard Study on Adult Development. “We now know a great deal about what does and does not contribute to wellbeing and happiness.”
Traits and behaviors
21 The Harvard Study has followed 724 men since they were teenagers in 1938. The original group consisted of men from Boston’s poorest neighborhoods and Harvard undergrads, including President John F. Kennedy. Over the years, the researchers collected all kinds of health information, including medical exam data, blood samples, and brain scans. Every two years, they asked participants questions about their work and home lives and mental and emotional wellness. They even interviewed family members.
22 The researchers found that certain traits and behaviors were associated with increased levels of happiness as the groups aged. For example:
23 Letting go. As people get older, they tend to focus more on what is important to them, and do not sweat the small stuff to the degree they did when they were younger. Other research echoes this and has found that older adults are better about letting go of toxic relationships and past failures. “They realize how short life is, and they pay more attention to what makes them happy,” says Dr. Waldinger.
25 Get involved. Volunteering provides a sense of purpose and improves your mood. A study published online May 19, 2016, by BMJ Open found this benefit was strongest among people ages 45 to 80.
26 Revisit your childhood. What did you enjoy when you were younger? Singing? Playing games? Doing certain hobbies? “When you are older, you have more opportunity to return to the activities you associate with happiness,” says Dr. Waldinger.
27 Buy time and not “things.” Money cannot buy happiness, but how you spend it can affect your well– being, suggests a study in the Aug. 8, 2017, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. For example, when people spend money on time–saving services, such as house cleaning, lawn care, or grocery delivery, it can make them feel happier. By comparison, money spent on material purchases is less likely to create positive emotions. The reason? Investing in time may allow people to enjoy more pleasurable activities as well as reduce the stress of daily chores.
28 Join a support group. You cannot escape life’s turbulent times. Eventually, you will struggle with an illness, the loss of a loved one, or some other kind of emotional hardship that lessens your happiness. “Connecting with other people who are facing a similar problem can help buffer the pain,” says Dr. Waldinger. “You are reminded that you are not alone in your struggle.” Excerpt from “The pursuit of happiness” By Harvard Health Publishing, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying–healthy/the–pursuit–of–happiness
Write an essay in which you argue whether or not money makes people happy. Your essay must be based on ideas and information that can be found in the passage set.
Manage your time carefully so that you can:
• read the passages.
• plan your response.
• write your response; and
• revise and edit your response.
Be sure to
• include a claim.
• address counterclaims.
• use evidence from multiple sources; and
• avoid overly relying on one source.
Your response should be in the form of a multi-paragraph essay. Write your response in the space provided
