missing the point again

A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it: it would be hell on earth.
-- george bernard shaw

psychology today reports that hell-on-earth to others - marriage - may not increase one's every day happiness. we tend to return to our happiness "set point" after time, a process called "hedonic leveling."

this is interesting, but it really misses the point entirely (as with much pop happiness research). as happiness is only one small part of the purported benefits of marriage. finding that marriage doesn't help one cope with severe illness, family crises, child rearing, or other major events - now that would be a relevant study.

update: marriage may increase wealth (and therefore, in my opinion, possibly well-being):

Married people will see an increase in wealth that is more than just adding the assets of two single people, according to the study that was published in the Journal of Sociology.

for more on happiness, see will's excellent blog.

Labels: well being