Does money buy you happiness? Researchers join forces to reveal the answer
CTV
A recent study finds the relationship between money and happiness may be more complex than previously thought. For most people, researchers said, more money meant more happiness, but noted 'if you're rich and miserable, more money won't help.'
A recent study finds the relationship between money and happiness may be more complex than previously thought.
For most people, researchers said, more money meant more happiness, but noted "if you're rich and miserable, more money won't help."
Researchers from the universities of Pennsylvania and Princeton, through a study published March 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, find that on average larger incomes are associated with increasing levels of happiness.
But for some, particularly those who are most unhappy, that happiness peaks at US$100,000 a year and then plateaus, the researchers say.
"In the simplest terms, this suggests that for most people larger incomes are associated with greater happiness," Matthew Killingsworth, a senior fellow at Penn's Wharton School and lead author of the paper, said in a story published by Penn Today.
"The exception is people who are financially well-off but unhappy. For instance, if you're rich and miserable, more money won't help. For everyone else, more money was associated with higher happiness to somewhat varying degrees."
The study attempts to reconcile contradictory results from researchers at Penn and Princeton about the impact that larger incomes have on overall happiness.
