EMPIRICAL RESEARCH OF ASPECTS OF PERSONAL HAPPINESS IN PRE-WAR TIMES

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32782/psyspu/2023.1.5

Keywords:

happiness, factors of happiness, gender aspect of experiencing happiness, age aspect of experiencing happiness, needs, social groups

Abstract

The article highlights the main approaches to understanding the essence of the concept of “happiness”: the hedonistic approach, the eudaimonic approach, and the study of happiness as a positive affective state. The definition of happiness has been presented as a psychological phenomenon that is characterized by satisfaction and awareness of human life activities, the dominance of a positive emotional state, a holistic perception of time, a positive attitude towards oneself and the surrounding world. The concept of “mature happiness” has been highlighted as a positive state of mind characterized by peace, acceptance, satisfaction, and inner harmony. The structural aspects of happiness have been defined: subjectivity; absence of negative affect and a certain expression of positive states; having a global assessment of one’s life. The article deals with the problem of socio-psychological factors of person’s experiencing happiness. The dependence of the level of happiness on age, gender and belonging to a certain professional group has been shown. It has been stated that the life satisfaction index decreases with age. It has been established that in middle adulthood there are more people who have a level of satisfaction with life “below the average”. It has been found that health, family and love are the most important criteria for happiness. Gender aspects of experiencing happiness have been considered. It has been confirmed that for women the most important are security needs and interpersonal needs, for men – satisfaction of the need for recognition, self-expression and material needs. It has been determined that psychologists are the most satisfied with life among various professional groups (it is connected with the available professional psychological knowledge); teachers are the least satisfied. The research has established the existence of direct correlations between the feeling of happiness and the level of personal motivation for success and the degree of satisfaction of basic needs.

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Published

2023-04-04