Hedonic Adaptation: The Theory of Happiness

You just got out of the theaters after watching “The Avengers” and you’re thrilled from being one of the firsts to see it. You just listened to your favorite song, and you’re happy, giddy even. But how long does that happines last for?

Say you watch the avengers over and over again, or say you hear your favorite song each day for a week. Will you still feel the same happiness you felt the first time, will you get the same rush and thrill?

The answer is No, we have this tendency of going back to a certain level of happiness, and this concept goes by the name “Hedonic Adaptation”.

But hedonic adaptation isn’t just that, it’s every dream job we ever fantasized about, every luxurious apartment we ever hoped to rent, every car we saved up for, and every time we uttered the words, “Imagine how happy I’d be if I got this or that”.

Sadly, and to your your complete shock you’re not as happy as you thought you’d be when u got what you wanted. This wasn’t the amount of pleasure you were expecting, and even if it is. Surprise, surprise! It doesn’t last for long.

How the hedonic adaptation came to be

Psychologists Brickman and Campbell first noted this concept in an essay in 1971 (“Hedonic Relativism and Planning the Good Society”). Back then, it was referred to as the hedonic adaptation.

Later on in the 1990s, Michael Eysenck used the metaphor of a treadmill to describe how people are continually seeking to raise their level of happiness but never quite achieving what they expect when a life event occurs. This is how the hedonic treadmill term came to existence.

Why did Michael use the treadmill metaphor, you ask?

Well, he simply compared the pursuit of happiness to a person on a treadmill, who has to keep working just to stay in the same place. It fits the description, doesn’t it?

The hedonic adaptation studies

1. A Harvard study about chocolate consumption was carried out with two group participants for a two week period. Group A was allowed to binge on unlimited chocolate, whereas group B had none.

After the two-week period, both groups were then given chocolate. It was found that group B reported higher treat savoring, higher happiness levels, and was in a better mood after eating the treat.

2. Another study was conducted around two groups of people: the first group had individuals who won large lottery prizes, and the other was a group of accident victims who got paralyzed after their injuries.

It was revealed that, in the long term, neither group appeared to be happier or more miserable than the other. People who won the lottery tended to return to their roughly original levels of happiness after the novelty of the win has worn off.

The same was true for those who were in accidents. The change in ability was devastating at first, but bit by bit they went back to their pre-accident levels of happiness after the habituation period.

3. Furthermore, in a number of studies, researchers have traced the reactions to the death of a spouse, and these studies proved that emotional reactions eventually go back to baseline.

All these studies captured the attention of psychologists, and the idea of the hedonic adaptation, itself, was appealing because it offered an observation that people with substantial resources are sometimes not that much happier than those with few resources and that people with severe problems are sometimes quite happy.

In the original theory of the hedonic adaptation, Brickman and Campbell proposed that people immediately react to good and bad events but in a short time return to neutrality.

However, if this is correct then any effort we put into increasing our happiness is pointless; meaning that if our happiness set point is on the low end of the spectrum, we’re doomed to unhappiness.

If that isn’t terrifying, I don’t know what is. I’m hoping you got what I mean but if not, then let’s start with the basics.

The hedonic adaptation curve

hedonic treadmill curve

As you can see, with time we stumble around extremely joyful or painful events that leave us with a temporary euphoria or misery where our happiness level oscillates significantly. But as soon as that passes we quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness.

What is our happiness set point?

Researchers have found that a full 50% of our happiness set-point is due to genetics. While 10% is affected primarily by external factors like where we were born.

This leaves 40% that is subject to our influence and control (it accounts for our thoughts, actions, and attitudes).

Other researchers have come up with slightly different numbers, but overall it’s all roughly the same.

The theory of adaptation

adaptation theory

 Frederick and Lowenstein identified three types of processes in the hedonic adaptation:

1. Shifting adaptation levels:

In this process, a hedonistic person may experience a change in what is seen as a neutral stimulus, but is still sensitive to differences in stimuli.

For example; imagine a freelance writer who pours her heart and soul into her career and is always working to get new clients. When a new client hires the writer, she experiences a surge of joy and pleasure. This is an excellent step forward in her career, and her income will increase as a result.

Even though securing the new client brought her joy, over time, the high level of excitement wears off, and she reverts to her “baseline of happiness” as she completes the work assigned.

However, when she secures yet another new client, the freelance writer experiences the same joyful sensation as before.

This is the epitome of how shifting adaptation-levels operates within hedonic adaptation.

2. Desentization:

This process reduces our overall sensitivity which decreases sensitivity to change. People who have been trapped in war zones become de-sensitized to the horrors of war and become less sensitive to serious injuries and violent deaths.

3. Sensitization:

Sensitization occurs due to frequent exposure to the stimulus, meaning that the person can quickly recognize and enjoy the experience.

For example: try to think of someone who is used to earning $10,000 on an annual basis. Now imagine that their income increases by ten times that amount and the same individual now earns $100,000 per year.

Naturally, he or she will have to become used to (or sensitized to ) such a considerable income upgrade. This person who is ten times richer may now begin to look at investing, depositing more money into savings, and perhaps changing his/her lifestyle.

Regardless of the decisions he/she makes as a result of being ten times wealthier, sensitization to such a considerable income-increase is inevitable.

The problem with adaptation

problem with adaptation

As we get more famous, more powerful, prettier, and wealthier we get happier, but it’s always much less than what we had hoped for, what we dreamed about for so long. It pales in comparison to our expectations.

So, over the last decade Ed Diener and others have looked more into the adaptation theory, and they suggested that it needed some modifications to make sure no one is bound to live in unhappiness.

 They came up with these implications:

1. The set Point is not neutral:

The original treadmill theory suggested that people return to a neutral set point after an emotionally significant event. However, decades of research show that this part of the hedonic adaptation theory is wrong. Instead, most people are happy most of the time.

In the most recent world values survey, 80% of respondents said that they were very or quite happy. Thus, if people adapt and return to a baseline, the set point is positive rather than neutral.

2) The set point is individualized:

Studies have shown that happiness set points vary considerably across individuals due to different personality traits. This may explain why optimistic people have a tendency to live longer as this helps make them happier.

3) People have multiple set points:

At first, it was pointed out that to each individual a single set point, a single baseline of happiness. Lucas, Diener, and Suh (1996), however, found out that the overall category of happiness is composed of different, separate, well-being factors.

4) Happiness can change:

As you might have observed the first hedonic adaptation theory suggested that there is little to none that can be done to change our happiness and life satisfaction. And if this is true then adaptation is really inevitable.

But recent evidence has shown that the contrary stands to be true. Life circumstances matter and make a difference.

For instance, Fujita and Diener (2005) ran some data to determine whether long-term average levels of happiness ever change.

They examined changes in baseline levels of well-being over a17-year period in a large and representative sample of people from Germany.

What they found was interesting. Although there was a considerable stability in happiness reports, 24% of respondents changed significantly from their early baseline, comprising the first five years of the study, to the last five years. 9% changed by approximately two standard deviations or more.

Thus, long-term levels of happiness do change for some individuals.

5) Individual differences in adaptation:

Another assumption stemming from the original hedonic treadmill theory is that adaptation happens the same way for everyone.

But recent evidence has shown that people adapt at different rates; furthermore, it proved that they don’t react the same way even to identical events.

One study showed that the least happy people reacted most strongly to marriage and the effect lasted longer compared to happier people.  

This is probably because rare events or somehow big shifts in life may produce the greatest change in happiness.

How to escape the hedonic treadmill

How to escape the hedonic treadmill

As human beings we have the tendency to take things for granted. We’re never quite satisfied. I don’t think we will ever be. But we can work towards changing that.

 We can try to escape the hedonic treadmill by trying out these strategies:

1.New challenges: Try to think of some activities that require more effort and thought. You’ll not only be entertained but you’ll also not notice how time flies by.

2.Good deeds: volunteering for a good cause or helping a friend out can bring you joy as well. Researchers have found that these activities may take a significant amount of energy and may not always be enjoyable while a person is engaged in them but they can, consequently, bring lasting results in terms of overall happiness and inner peace.

3.Meaningful experiences: instead of spending your money on an expensive new pair of shoes, book that cruise trip you’ve been looking up online for weeks. Savor your memories and cherish them. Trust me you’ll look back to them and always feel joy.

4.Switching things up: dull, uneventful everyday routines are the buzz killers that the hedonic treadmill constantly feeds off. Switching things up, by going to a new restaurant or traveling to a new city, can help individuals boost their levels of happiness as opposed to returning to their original “baseline” emotional state.

5.Loving-kindness meditation: this is a form of meditation that evokes feelings of warmth and care for oneself and others. Moreover, this just might be your way out of the hedonic adaptation by focusing on empathy and compassion.

Conclusion

The hedonic adaptation proved itself to be beneficial for people going through a negative experience. It gave them a way out of depression; the ability to go back to a default emotional state.

But, it was also an emotional letdown, a terrible roller-costar experience for people coming back from the high of a positive event.

And for that, further research on coping, personality traits, and the effectiveness of interventions was conducted. Strategies were put to maintain and increase our level of happiness.

Moreover, there are of course some people who, despite the hedonic adaptation, have an inherently optimistic nature. They seem much happier than others, no matter what is happening in their lives.

Now, I’m curious to know about your experience with the hedonic adaptation. How much control over your happiness do you think you really have? Make sure to comment away your thoughts.

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