For example, the birth of a child or a grandchild, the purchase of a new home or winning the lottery are events that are usually associated with moments of joy, satisfaction and fulfillment. Happiness: a feeling or state of well-being and contentment. GAMES ; BROWSE THESAURUS; WORD OF THE DAY; WORDS AT PLAY. Is higher social class associated with greater happiness? Average Positive Emotion (Happiness & Meaningfulness): Because gardening is an activity often associated with positive dynamic emotions in literature, we calculate both happiness and meaningfulness scores separately for each activity an individual engages in over the one week period. If you have a quick wit or pride yourself on being a fast reader, you may also have a more positive mood. Therefore, basing happiness on a hope for extraordinary events can end in unhappiness. Both people may be experiencing happiness, but it is showing itself in different ways. 32 synonyms of happiness from the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, plus 95 related words, definitions, and antonyms. Find more ways to say happiness, along with related words, antonyms and example phrases at Thesaurus.com, the world's most trusted free thesaurus. Happiness and signs of happiness vary from person to person and in different situations. Find another word for happiness. But beware! Quick thinking is associated with positive feelings. Depressive symptoms were shown to be associated with low happiness [17,18]. Though this study is only correlational, future studies could provide stronger evidence that the words we associate with happiness do indeed affect our well-being, and how. These types of events do not happen often. LOG IN; … Another word for happiness. Synonyms: beatitude, blessedness, bliss… Antonyms: calamity, ill-being, misery… Find the right word. Individual average happiness scores and individual average meaningfulness scores can be assessed … One person can be punching the air and laughing out loud, whereas someone else can sit peacefully looking serene and content. In this study, as determinants of happiness in older adults, we emphasized income (about 70% of which is pension for Japanese older adults) and health (especially mental health, such as depression, as it affects all aspects of life) . SINCE 1828. In a large nationally representative U.S. sample (N = 1,519), we examined the association between social class (household income) and self-reported tendencies to experience 7 distinct positive emotions that are core to happiness: amusement, awe, compassion, contentment, enthusiasm, love, and pride. This part of the brain is responsible for characteristics we associate with feelings of happiness, like laughter and euphoria [source: Cardoso]. The nucleus accumbens gets what you might call fuel for pleasurable sensations from the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which responds to pleasurable sensation signals from the cerebral cortex. Job satisfaction can impact your happiness. A study published in Psychological Science discovered that happiness was more commonly associated with faster cognitive thoughts. Happiness can also be a momentary experience, or a state of mind.