THERE IS NO
WAY TO
HAPPINESS.
HAPPINESS
IS THE WAY.
Strasser, Kathleen THE BUDDHA
Powell, Erin
Lim, Nurulayni
Kline, Barry
Hallowell, Joell
Chun, Gangeun (Kim)
ACT HAPPY
“I view happiness as deeper than a momentary good
mood--as an enduring sense of positive well-being,
an ongoing perception that life is fulfilling, meaningful,
and pleasant. But in reporting on the markings of
happy lives I define happiness as whatever people
mean when they describe their lives as happy rather
than unhappy. As it happens, those who say they are
very happy usually seem so to others, as well. They
smile and laugh readily during interviews. Friends
and family members typically agree with their self-
description."
The Pursuit of Happiness: Who is Happy—and Why (Avon; 1993)
David G. Meyers, Ph.D., Author
“Act happy!
Talk and act as if you have the traits
and attitudes of a happy person, and
you may gain them.
Going through the motions can trigger
the emotions.”
David G. Meyers
Experiment: ACT HAPPY
• N = 30
• 12 hour experiment
• Morning & Evening Questionnaires
– Rating of emotions (1-10)
– Questions regarding physical, mental, and
emotional well-being
Demographics
• Age (18 yrs to 65 yrs old)
– 19~25 (29%)
– 26~30 (18%)
– 46~50 (14%)
• Gender
– Female (70%)
– Male (30%)
• Relation
– Single (42%)
– Relationship (33%)
– Married (25%)
COMPARISON: Morning vs. Evening
Positive Emotions
7
6
5
Ratings
4
3
2
1
0
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nt
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od
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tic
rfu
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p
ge
at
go
e
lfil
Jo
on
Ha
he
El
er
Fu
is
C
C
En
fe
Li
Emotions
Morning Evening
COMPARISON:Morning vs. Evening
Negative Emotions
8
7
6
5
Ratings
4
3
2
1
0
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ad
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B
S
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or
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A
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B
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Tr
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P
Emotions
Morning Evening
Comments from Morning
• Q: Describe how you feel physically
– Tired (53%)
– Sick, exhausted, hurt, strong, relaxed, sore, headache,
hungry
• Q: Describe how you feel emotionally
– Stressed (13%)
– Caged, stable, ready to conquer, depressed, alert, great,
drained, blank
• Q: Describe how you feel mentally
– Sad/anxious (20% each)
– Ok (13%)
– Drained, fine, confused, calm, content, lonely, irritable,
good, happy
Comments from Morning
• Q: Additional comments on the ‘State of Being’
– Lack of sleep (40%)
– Vivid dreams with lots of anger
– No sleep and very anxious
– Sick
– Ready to conquer the day
– focused
– Great but still tired
– Glad for everything
– Good nights sleep
– Feel like someone beat me up
Comments from Evening
• Q: Describe how you feel physically
– Tired (48%)
– Heavy, energetic, alive, cooler, uncomfortable, bitter,
relaxed
• Q: Describe how you feel emotionally
– Irritated (20%)
– Good (13%)
– Strong, stressed, drained, happy, great, sad, lonely,
depressed, able to handle life, like a blown-out fuse
• Q: Describe how you feel mentally
– Ok (13%)
– Silly, cheerful, good, clear, tired, anxious, sick,
stressed, overwhelmed, alert, relaxed, problem
decoding(?!), life is good, lighter in spirit, not thinking
Comments from Evening
• Other comments after the experiment
– “Forgot to act happy.”
– “As a nurse this is a practice I do to help my patients it
seems to stimulate their recovery.”
– “People acted positive to my positive attitude…My
happiness was contagious .”
– “Hard time pretending.”
– “Felt self-judged.”
– “Smiled at everyone, whistled a lot and walked with
a bounce and it made a difference for me.”
– “I would think of this survey and smile…Doing this
survey—feeling forced to ACT HAPPY itself put a
smile on my face.”
Conclusion:
Original Hypothesis
– Participants will experience a higher level of
happiness after the experiment due to the
significant increases in their positive emotions
and moods.
CONCLUSION-Actual Results:
Positive Emotions
• Happy: +1.5 7
• Cheerful: +1 6
5
•
Ratings
Energetic: unchanged 4
3
• Life is good: -1 2
• Content: +1 1
0
• Joyful: -1
py
nt
l
l
od
ed
d
tic
rfu
yfu
le
te
p
ge
at
go
e
•
lfil
Jo
on
Ha
he
Elated: -3
El
er
Fu
is
C
C
En
fe
Li
• Fulfilled: -1 Emotions
Morning Evening
CONCLUSION-Actual Results:
Negative Emotions
• Pressured: -2 8
7
• Bored: -2 6
5
Ratings
• Bad: -2.5 4
3
• Trapped: -4 2
•
1
Stressed: -3.5 0
•
ly
ed
d
ed
d
d
ed
y
Lonely: -3
gr
Ba
Sa
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ne
pp
ur
ss
r
An
Bo
Lo
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a
re
Tr
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St
Pr
• Angry: -1 Emotions
• Sad: -1 Morning Evening
Conclusion
• In spite of the disappointing results in the positive
emotions, the overall results show that the
participants have experienced greater levels of
happiness after the experiment.
• Simple act of making others feel good and
happy helped out participants improve their
negative moods and emotions about themselves,
resulting in more balanced state of mind,
emotions, and physical awareness.
CONCLUSION
• Therefore, this “ACT
HAPPY” experiment
shows that we have
power to influence
those around us, and
in return, be
influenced ourselves.
SMILE & SPREAD
HAPPINESS!!!