![]() ![]() This constant search for improvement is natural. You used to think that getting a partner was all you needed, but now that you have one, you want a new car, a new look, or a better social life. For example, you thought that getting a raise would make you happy, but now you wish you had more free time. When you finally get what you wanted so much, you immediately develop new goals and desires. For instance, starting to write a book or signing up for that course you always wanted to take. However, the kinds of changes that require some kind of effort or action or pose a constant challenge to you, usually make you happy for a longer time. For example, buying a new shirt can make you feel euphoric for a while, but this feeling soon goes away. In fact, it’s been discovered that those that occur circumstantially, without any effort on your part, are far more likely to quickly lose the ability to generate pleasure. Interestingly, not all changes are equally influenced by hedonic adaptation. Consequently, you need increasingly more to experience that euphoria. Over time, you get used to the dopamine surges and the substance or event loses its reinforcing potential. This is a process similar to that involved in addictions. Nevertheless, once you have it every day, its impact on you loses its strength. While it’s still new, you experience extra happiness. The main reason why hedonic adaptation occurs is that you get used to the presence of the positive element in your life. So how does it actually work? As a matter of fact, there are several factors that explain this rapid decrease in happiness: Habituation On the other hand, in the face of pleasant events such as a salary increase, the purchase of a new car, or a marriage, hedonic adaptation causes your extra happiness to quickly fade.Īs you can see, hedonic adaptation plays an important role. That’s because you’re able to recover and move on. This process can be extremely positive when you face painful events such as the loss of a loved one, a natural disaster, or a job layoff. Thus, neither winning the lottery nor having an accident cause lasting changes in our general states of mind. In fact, in reality, it’s common for people to return to a stable level of happiness relatively quickly. However, the evidence doesn’t support this thinking. Or, that by having an accident and losing a limb you’d be deeply unhappy forever. For example, you might think that by winning the lottery your life would improve exponentially and your happiness would last for all time. Hedonic adaptation is the tendency in humans to return to the base level of happiness shortly after experiencing any kind of change. The ability to adapt is essential for our survival but if we’re not alert, it can lead to permanent dissatisfaction. It isn’t a disorder but a mechanism that operates in all of us. This is due to a phenomenon known as hedonic adaptation. Yet, when you do reach it, its positive impact is really short-lived. At times like these, you think that the goal you’re missing out on would complete your feelings of well-being. The theory supports the argument that money does not buy happiness and that the pursuit of money as a way to reach this goal is futile.At certain points in your life, you’ve probably found yourself thinking things like “When I find a partner/get a raise/get promoted I’ll be happy”. The hedonic treadmill theory explains the often-held observation that rich people are no happier than poor people, and that those with severe money problems are sometimes quite happy.A study by Barbara Fredrickson and colleagues Cohn, Coffey, Pek, and Finkel showed that the stream of positive emotions induced through loving-kindness meditation can outpace the effects of the hedonic treadmill (2008).But if you learn to recognize its signs, you can build simple habits that will help increase your happiness without feeling the need to constantly buy new things. It turns out that almost everybody experiences the hedonic treadmill.The human tendency to continuously adapt to a standard of living, such that increasing levels of wealth or comfort does not lead to permanent increases in happiness. Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.įor term searches and specialty glossaries, please try the new GBK glossaries 00:54 Jul 29, 2020Īdditional field(s): Finance (general), Marketing / Market Research, PsychologyĮnglish term or phrase: hedonic treadmill.General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters.
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