happiness: public good?

contagious behaviors include laughing and yawning, but come in all forms, some more common than others. february's APS observer details one subset of the phenomenon, mass psychogenic illness. this illness is transmitted not by virus, bacteria, or prion, but visually. witnessing sickness can make one physically ill through a variety of pre-programmed mechanisms in our brains such as mirror neurons. (see the - disputed -story of a laughter outbreak lasting six months in 1960's tanganyika)

studies indicate that good mood can also be contagious. one recent experiment mentioned in the APS article grouped participants with either a positive or negative confederate, and participants indeed shifted toward the confederate over time. this indicates that folks with depressed affect could benefit greatly from a chipper companion.

are policies promoting happiness are justified by this study - is happiness is a public good? maybe, and lucky for us that those policies feature a great deal of political and individual liberty (see: happiness & economics). but i'm not sure. there are many situations in which lower moods actually are better, such as in accurately assessing situations and developing strategies (which can later positively impact well-being), and indicating how seriously to treat incoming information. so in this light, perhaps spreading preternatural happiness is not such a good idea.

Labels: well being