Answer to Question 1
One study revealed that nearly double the number of married adults (40) stated they were very happy than never married adults (24). However, this study does not show us how marriage affects couples across time. Another study revealed that on average most individuals got a very small boost in happiness levels after marriage, then adapted over about a two year time period, and returned to their pre-marriage baselines. Further, the study found support for the idea that happy people are more likely to get and stay married. This finding probably accounts for some of the differences in overall happiness levels between married and unmarried individuals reported by Myers.
Answer to Question 2
In a review of the different types of influences on subjective well-being, Diener introduced the notion of bottom-up theories of happiness versus top-down theories of happiness. The bottom-up idea is predicated on life's circumstances influencing our happiness (i.e., the sum of our positive experiences)all the things around us bubble up to affect our happiness levels. On the other hand, the top-down concept suggests that our happiness levels begin in ourselves, and as we look at our circumstances, we view them through our rosy or dark glasses. Although it appears that the top-down theory accounts for most of our happiness levels, we need to also be mindful that life circumstances may interact with top-down influences in a variety of ways. For example, a person who values achievement (top-down) will be happier when getting promoted (bottom-up) than a person who doesn't care about getting ahead.
Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People.
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