Facts about Hedonic Treadmill

1. 05

   Sonja Lyubomirsky's research suggests that roughly 50 percent of individual happiness levels is determined by a genetically set baseline, limiting how much circumstances can shift wellbeing long-term.

   Hedonic TreadmillJun 6sharepsychologyhappinessgenetics
2. 04

   Research on the hedonic treadmill suggests that people consistently overestimate how much positive or negative life events will affect their long-term happiness, a bias called affective forecasting.

   Hedonic TreadmillJun 6sharepsychologycognitionwellbeing
3. 03

   Adaptation-level theory, developed by psychologist Harry Helson, provides a key theoretical foundation for understanding why people adapt to new circumstances on the hedonic treadmill.

   Hedonic TreadmillJun 6sharepsychologyadaptationwellbeing
4. 02

   Lottery winners and accident victims who become paraplegics were famously compared in a 1978 study showing both groups returned to near-baseline happiness levels.

   Hedonic TreadmillJun 6sharepsychologywellbeingadaptation
5. 01

   The hedonic treadmill concept was introduced by psychologists Brickman and Campbell in their 1971 essay on hedonic relativism and planning the good society.

   Hedonic TreadmillJun 6sharepsychologywellbeingadaptation