Daniel Kahneman on two kinds of happiness

[ciphergoth]

Daniel Kahneman: The riddle of experience vs. memory at TED 2010. Video, 20 minutes, transcript to right of video.

Kahneman, one of the founders of behavioural economics, on how our remembered happiness correlates only weakly with our experienced moment-to-moment happiness, and the profound implications for the study of happiness and the pursuit of happiness. I'll find it hard to think about happiness the same way again.

Comments

Somewhat rambly comment because I'm on my way out

[lizw.livejournal.com]

*nod* I came across this idea in the context of a study that was looking at drug experiences - interviewing people while they were under the influence and then again after they'd come down - which found that people described a much happier experience in the second interview than in the first one. In other words, the drug was making their memories happier, not their moment-to-moment experience. I forget which specific drug it was, though. As you say, it's changed the way I think about happiness quite a lot. I note also that diagnostic tests like the Burns Depression Checklist look for remembered rather than moment-to-moment states of mind in the way they're administered - people aren't diagnosed by being given sheets to keep with them and track how many times they actually feel inadequate, tired, worried about their health etc, but by asking them at the end of a given period (often a week) how inadequate, tired or worried they remember feeling during it. So depression isn't necessarily about what you feel moment-to-moment, but about what lasting impression it makes on you. Which in turn reminds me that my yoga teachers talk a lot about learning not to allow negative experiences to make an impression.

Re: Somewhat rambly comment because I'm on my way out

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Is the right response to try and adjust our remembered happiness to more closely match our experienced happiness? Should we have apps on our phones that beep at random times and ask us about our experiential happiness at that instant?

Re: Somewhat rambly comment because I'm on my way out

[lizw.livejournal.com]

I'd draw the opposite lesson from it - I think the right response is to take active steps to forget negative experiences as quickly as possible (once the lessons from them have been learned and any consequences dealt with) and as far as possible remember only the positive ones, to maximise remembered happiness.