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The relationship between money and happiness has been debated for decades. However, some scholars of psychology suggest that income does influence people’s well-being, especially by allowing them to cover basic needs and reduce situations of vulnerability.
Social psychologist Daniel Gilbert, a psychology professor at Harvard University, explained in an academic conference why money can increase happiness: it helps people avoid many forms of everyday suffering.
“When people are hungry, cold, or sick, they are not happy,” he noted and added: “Money makes people absolutely happy because it gets them out of almost all forms of human misery.”
Psychology says that money can help happiness: what the Harvard expert explains
According to the researcher, studies show that people with fewer resources experience significant increases in their well-being as their income grows.
This is because money is the gateway to accessing basic and essential aspects such as
- Food.
- Safe housing.
- Medical care.
- Economic stability.
When those needs are covered, well-being usually improves.
An essential point the expert highlights about money and happiness
Gilbert points out that the relationship between money and happiness does not grow indefinitely, since at the highest levels of wealth the effect tends to stabilize.
The importance of personal bonds for happiness, according to the expert
The psychologist also cited research by Nobel Prize winners Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton on the relationship between human connections and well-being.
A study carried out by both researchers in 2010 found that social relationships can have an even greater impact than money on mood.
The expert then indicates that spending a day with loved ones has a much greater emotional boost than increasing income, this being another of the ingredients analyzed for the “recipe” for happiness.