5 ms·
75-year study on what men require to live a happy life.
- jobu 13y ago200 people isn't a huge sample size, but the study is still very interesting. This part made me laugh: With regards to sex lives, one of the most fascinating discoveries is that aging liberals have way more sex. Political ideology had no bearing on overall life satisfaction, but the most conservative men on average shut down their sex lives around age 68, while the most liberal men had healthy sex lives well into their 80s. Vaillant writes, “I have consulted urologists about this, they have no idea why it might be so.”
- pwnna 13y agoIt definitely is not a big sample size. However, considering that 200 people participated in the study for this many years.. I would say it is a big sample size just in terms of practicality (how many people would agree to participate in this? This study essentially becomes a part of their lives.. for all the time they live.)
- devgutt 13y agoand this is really sad
- ekianjo 13y agoYeah, the profile of people who would agree to participate in this study is certainly "biased". Not sure what you can do with the results.
- pwnna 13y agoThis may be true, but I'm not sure how they are biased (what factors? Are these men more likely to be married because they're willing to go through such a study? More likely to not..).
- Bsharp 13y agoSize isn't the only consideration. If you sample 10,000 professional athletes, are you getting a sample population which represents 9-5ers and couch potatoes too?
- cjc1083 13y agoMight have something to do with the women those men are married to.
- WalterSear 13y agoIndeed. And how they relate to them.
- javert 13y agoMarriage.
- WalterSear 13y agoThe kind of marriage where everyone has a job description, or the kind of marriage where people are open and honest and work together to make each other happy?
- sp332 13y agoNot all of the men in the study are married, or stayed married until they were 68-80 years old.
- rwhitman 13y agoThe cohort of men who would have been undergrads in 1938 would have been in middle age at the time of the sexual revolution in the 60's and 70's. My guess is there was probably some political overlap with sexual-liberation, and that just unfolded in the bedroom into later life.
- mathgladiator 13y agocache link: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tuBAAbSPjXUJ:www.feelguide.com/2013/04/29/75-years-in-th-making-harvard-just-released-its-epic-study-on-what-men-require-to-live-a-happy-life/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:tuBAAbS...
- justinsteele 13y agohttp://www.businessinsider.com/grant-study-reveals-what-makes-us-happy-2013-4 http://www.businessinsider.com/grant-study-reveals-what-make... Original article.
- Bsharp 13y agoHarvard undergrads from the 1930's are not a representative sample of any group other than that specific group. The sample is in no way random or representative of the general population in the least bit. I can't believe that anyone thinks that this study has any meaning towards the population in general. I'm sorry if that's overly cynical, but why is it so hard for Harvard academics to understand that the factors affecting people from the Mid-Western middle class, Southern urban poor, New England suburban wealthy, etc. are all very different? Not to mention the factors affecting various cultures internationally. This is a study of similar people with relatively similar genetics, backgrounds, upbringing, values, wealth, intelligence, and overall lifestyle. How is this of any value to people who aren't like them? EDIT: I'm realizing that the study's conclusions might be getting exaggerated in the media. I haven't read the actual study, so I'm not sure if the authors are claiming anything as significant as the media is.
- AndrewKemendo 13y agoIn general I agree with you that this is unrepresentative for a nation as a whole - see my other comment for that. However one advantage of a sample like this is that significant independent variables like the ones you mentioned are widely held constant, which means that the evaluated variables will have a stronger power. So it is informative relative to others. It would be best to take this study into context with other studies which compare educational achievement and poverty level.
- Bsharp 13y agoAgree that there are other things this study may be beneficial for. I edited my initial comment to acknowledge that this study and its conclusions are probably being hyped by the media, and it's actual value and the limitations of the study may be addressed by the authors in the study. Unfortunately, the authors' words will be replaced by journalists to get attention.
- 001sky 13y agoThe sample is in no way random or representative of the general population in the least bit. This is overstating it, and you are focused on culture. DNA testing could confirm a few points that would be 'representative' of the general population. If you avoid the overtechnical/literal interpretation, you are not saying so much. The implication this is otherwise 'anecdotal' data is probaly a bit too simplistics as well.
- ddinh 13y agoWebsite is down. Google cache link: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Awww.feelguide.com%2F2013%2F04%2F29%2F75-years-in-th-making-harvard-just-released-its-epic-study-on-what-men-require-to-live-a-happy-life%2F http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&q=cache%3... The key point: In Vallant’s own words, the #1 most important finding from the Grant Study is this: “The seventy-five years and twenty million dollars expended on the Grant Study points to a straightforward five-word conclusion: Happiness is love. Full stop.”
- Scienz 13y agoIt's hard to take a "scientific study" seriously when the researchers claim the results to be some worthless platitude like "happiness is love." That is hardly an objective conclusion from the findings.
- AndrewKemendo 13y agoI can't help but think that, given the sample chosen, the results are significantly skewed towards the WEIRD [1] population. Not to say there aren't generalizable conclusions, however I would guess it is less informative for those living in poverty or in historically oppressed communities. [1]http://lesswrong.com/lw/17x/beware_of_weird_psychological_samples/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/17x/beware_of_weird_psychological_sa...
- dschiptsov 13y agoVedanta + Buddha's teaching?) (not any particular Tibetan sect)
- blinkingled 13y agoThat might sound cliche but I wanted to add that it really helped me. I used to have a very negative/unhappy general conditioning but the basics of Buddhism have helped me make my life more pleasant/happy in general.
- dschiptsov 13y agoA cliche is about chanting Om [mani padme hum] without any understanding or sitting on a cushion [in special yoga pants] for $30/h ,)
- blinkingled 13y agoWell, that too :)
- shire 13y agoI agree Buddhism is not like any other religion based on fear but rather compassion, peace, happiness and most of all GRATITUDE. the number one key to happiness is to show gratitude for the little things we have.
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- javert 13y agoI find it amusing that the vast majority of the comments here are critiquing the methodology (nothing wrong with that), instead of discussing the conclusion: "Happiness is love. Full stop." HN will be HN.
- yetanotherphd 13y agoIt's actually really hard to get to the end of any article. I had to click the link again to see what you were talking about. But yes, Happiness is love, very profound.
- avenger123 13y agoSimilar message as the movie "Into the Wild". McCandless's conclusion by the end was that "Happiness is only real when shared". Would definitely recommend this movie as it portrays McCandless's tragic story with great heart.
- AndrewKemendo 13y agoWell, with a flawed or skewed methodology, the conclusion isn't nearly as relevant.
- javert 13y agoYep, that is a good point.
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- Kluny 13y agoWhen you haven't got it, you want to ignore it.
- ryanhunt 13y agoI fully expected this entire article to contain only 3 characters, ending in ex.
- detcader 13y agoAnd for most of those 75 years, marital rape was legal.
- narrator 13y agoTL;DR Things will turn out fine if you don't become an alcoholic and maintain family relationships adequately. Going to Harvard doesn't hurt either. Let me rephrase that, the most common way to screw up your life badly after you've gone to Harvard is to become an alcoholic.
- annnnd 13y agoInteresting study! The question is of course how applicable the results are... I realize Facebook and Twitter are not around long enough to perform a similar study on their data, but I wonder if it would be possible to test just some of the findings using the data mining techniques?
- sachdevap 13y agoThis article doesn't get anywhere close to encapsulating the study. I suggest people read http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/06/what-makes-us-happy/307439/ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/06/what-mak... for a better coverage.