The surprising science of happiness


Natural happiness: Is  when we get somtething that  we wanted

Synthetic happiness : Is what we make when we don’t get what we wanted”.

            

The experiment

He asked them to rank 6 paintings from the one they liked the most to the one they liked the least.They could choose between number 3 and 4. Almost all individuals chose number 3.

Since these individuals have anterograde amnesia they could not remember who he was, that he was just in the room or that they owned a poster of painting number 3. 

He asked them to rank the 6 paintings from the one they liked the most to the one they liked the least

These startling results indicate that not only can individuals make their own synthetic happiness but they do this unconsciously. Gilbert also found that this unconscious ability to synthesize happiness happens more often in situations where you do not have a say in the matter.