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Well, the next talk is about to start.
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The speaker is Dustin. He is a software engineer at Spreedly, where I work as well. He loves a good pun and riding his bike over bridges because the unabridged version is too long.
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In a previous life, he was a chemical engineer, but over the years he grew unhappy with factory work. His passion for researching everything he could find about human happiness led him to quit his job, join a boot camp, spend a few months exploring South America, and finally jump into software engineering full-time.
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Dustin calls Athens, Georgia home, but loves to travel whenever he can. And here he is!
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As Joe mentioned, my name is Dustin Haefele Tschan. I think my partner and I hyphenated our names to torture our daughter's teachers in the future. My pronouns are he/him, and I'm a senior software engineer at Spreedly. I want to share a bit about my background and why I'm here talking about happiness.
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I am from Athens, Georgia, but I grew up on a dirt road right outside of Hickman, Nebraska, which has 'Hick' right in the name, so you know exactly what you're getting yourself into. I then went to the University of Nebraska, where I studied chemical and biomolecular engineering.
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I worked in mayonnaise factories for about seven years, doing a lot of efficiency improvements from an engineering perspective. However, I grew unhappy with that, so I attended the Thinkful boot camp, where I spent four months immersed in the material.
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My partner and I then traveled around South America for another four months and did a lot of hiking. I highly recommend it; it's a fantastic continent! After that, I settled into software engineering and worked for a small startup for a little while. I’ve been at Spreedly for a little over three years now.
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That's me, my partner Megan, our daughter Emy Lou, and our dogs. The larger one is Nelly, while the one that looks a bit like a scared Ewok is Mod.
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Now, why am I talking about happiness? I've been fascinated by studies in human happiness for over a decade. I read everything I can get my hands on, and I've used those insights to influence many decisions in my life, including every decision mentioned on this little slide.
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I wanted to share what I’ve learned from that research with you all to see if I can help anyone make better decisions or perhaps be a little happier. Most of the studies I'll discuss are from positive psychology, but some also come from economists. It's surprising how many economists work in the field of human happiness.
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Positive psychology is the study of well-being, or happiness. It started in 1998 when the American Psychological Association, with the president at the time, put an emphasis on studying human happiness. Up until that point, psychology had been very disease-focused, using a disease model to study mental health, which is great, but these two fields of study—traditional and positive psychology—are better together.
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Positive psychology does not aim to replace traditional psychology; it's simply another way to examine our psychological state. As someone who has been positively impacted by treatments like SSRIs and therapy, I highly recommend seeking those out if you have any mental health concerns at all. They can be game changers—I know they were for me.
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Okay, let's start here with the age-old question: does money buy happiness? It's something that gets talked about a lot, especially in tech, where we often have access to good salaries. So let's do a show of hands: if you don't think money can buy happiness, raise your hand.
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Alright, we have a good number there. Now, if you do think money can buy happiness, raise your hand. It seems we have a pretty even split, though maybe a bit more on the 'it does' side. It’s important to note that it's not one or the other; money can’t make you happy, but having enough can certainly help.
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Let's look at some research. The first set of studies I'll discuss took place over several years, starting in 2010 by Nobel Prize-winning researcher Daniel Kahneman. He passed away this year at 90 years old, and he was a titan in this field.
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He conducted a study using Gallup polling data, which involved asking a variety of questions to a thousand people a day. Kahneman focused on six main questions: the first was salary, as he compared income to happiness.
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The other five were mental states that people experienced in the past day, which he divided into happy states—happiness, enjoyment, and frequent smiling—and blue states—worry and sadness.
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From this, he created a metric to estimate human happiness. His analysis found that happiness increased with income up to a certain point, specifically between 60 and 90 thousand dollars.
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After reaching that range, the positive effects of income on happiness leveled off. This finding had a significant influence on how I approached job searching shortly after college.
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In 2021, another researcher, Matthew Killingsworth, conducted a similar study, but he employed a slightly different method. He used a phone app that surveyed participants—about 45,000 people—who rated their happiness on a sliding scale throughout the day. He found that human happiness rose with income up to at least $200,000, with no sign of that trend slowing.
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In 2023, Kahneman and Killingsworth collaborated in an 'adversarial collaboration' to analyze their two datasets, uncovering that the 2021 trend was more applicable to the general population than the findings from 2010.
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The discrepancy was largely due to the binary nature of the Gallup polling data, which overrepresented the impact of the unhappiest 20% of the population, causing the leveling-off effect in the earlier study. By extracting that data, both studies revealed similar trends.
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That's fascinating to me! I love that these researchers were able to produce collaborative findings, but this is just one factor among many that influence happiness. Moving forward, I want to discuss practical applications of these findings.
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Maybe we should all consider asking for raises? If research indicates that more income can lead to increased happiness, you might use data from this talk to approach your boss.
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Of course, I'm joking a little bit, but I really liked the way this research was conducted. It serves as an entry point into our talk before getting into controllable examples.
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If we know that more income might correlate with greater happiness, we should also consider how we spend our resources, like money. Most of these studies focus on spending because it's easier to measure.
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A lot of studies compare the happiness associated with spending on experiences versus possessions. Interestingly, while many people initially believe possessions last longer and thus are a better investment, research shows that experiential purchases generally lead to greater happiness.
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In all studies, whether before, during, or after making a purchase, happiness ratings were consistently higher for experiences than for possessions. So, how can we apply this knowledge? One approach is rethinking budgeting.
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Though we may not all be able to overhaul our budgets in this room today, perhaps we can shift our spending from material possessions to experiences. For example, my partner and I went to an amazing concert at No Cat Con in Nashville recently, and the experience was fantastic!
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You might also consider sports games, dinners out with friends, or shows—experiences are impactful. Perhaps consider spending some of your resources on experiences instead of possessions; it's likely to make you a little happier.
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For instance, remembering that spending money on experiences has been shown to enhance happiness prompted me to travel around South America for four months. Knowing this research exists motivated me to prioritize travel.
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Now let’s talk about practical applications at work. Everyone in this room is likely spending money on things like professional development budgets and time off for conferences. Those are fantastic uses of resources!
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The next study I'll cover was conducted by three researchers in Canada: Elizabeth Dunn, Laura Aan, and Michael Norton. They ran experiments that explored spending in four categories: self-gifts, gifts for others, charitable donations, and experiences.
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The first experiment asked participants about their annual income and the percentage they spent in each of these categories. The second study involved a small sample of about 16 people, who reported on their happiness after spending an end-of-year bonus of about $5,000.
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In the final experiment, participants received envelopes with anywhere from $5 to $20, which they had to spend within those categories. The researchers categorized spending into personal (self) spending and pro-social (others) spending and analyzed the impact on happiness.
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From the research, they found that when individuals spent more on themselves, happiness ratings remained neutral, indicating no relationship between self-spending and happiness. Conversely, a strong positive correlation existed between pro-social spending and happiness.
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In their first experiment, they replicated the trend of higher income relating to happiness, not showing a correlation with pro-social spending. They concluded that the magnitude of happiness derived from pro-social spending equated to that from increased income.
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That was fascinating because it was a clear indicator of how pro-social spending could lead to happiness! This is where I encourage you to find pro-social organizations you are passionate about and get involved, whether through donations, your time, or other means.
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We have some amazing organizations in our local community doing fantastic work. For example, I work with a couple of local organizations, and I'd love to share more about them with anyone interested.
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Feel free to support organizations based on your personal passions, whether it's climate justice, LGBTQ rights, or racial justice. The impact of your support is significant. Additionally, giving gifts to friends can enhance social bonds; buying a loved one that special gift they adore can lead to increased happiness.
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Better yet, consider gifts that create shared experiences, like concert tickets! Combining both experiential and pro-social spending can multiply happiness. Tipping generously can also be a small investment in your happiness.
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Again, resources at work may be limited, but consider utilizing your time as a resource. Mentorship programs can tremendously benefit both you and others. If you have knowledge to share, offering mentorship not only supports new developers but can also contribute to your overall fulfillment.
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Additionally, if you're seeking mentorship, remember that it could make your mentor happier too, creating a beneficial exchange. Help out your coworkers whenever you can. Time spent assisting others can often lead to heightened personal fulfillment.
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This leads us to one of the last main topics: the concept of 'miswanting' in positive psychology. To clarify, 'miswanting' refers to situations where we believe something will make us happier than it actually does. It implies our inability to correctly forecast what would contribute to our long-term happiness.
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As a way to understand miswanting, let’s briefly discuss two related concepts—what it means to 'like' something versus 'wanting' it. Liking something is when we think that, for example, eating a donut will make us happier temporarily. In contrast, wanting something stems from a belief that acquiring it will ultimately improve our happiness.
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Miswanting occurs when we think that an item will significantly boost our happiness, but that turns out to be inaccurate. This disconnect arises from our mistake in forecasting our emotional outcomes.
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One underlying reason for miswanting is termed 'misinterpreting feelings.' For example, you might receive a promotion and feel elated. When a friend offers to go play golf, you say yes, only to realize that you actually dislike golf once you’re on the way to the course.
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This misinterpretation occurs because the rush of dopamine from the promotion makes you misjudge the excitement for golf. Numerous studies on smaller scales illustrate this phenomenon. The importance of research in this area lies in our consistent inability to accurately predict what will contribute to our happiness.
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Understanding our limitations in forecasting happiness gives shape to our decision-making and helps avoid the pitfalls associated with miswanting.
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One strategy to counteract miswanting is to eliminate negative influences. This can lead to increased happiness through what is sometimes referred to as 'addition by subtraction.' Moreover, identifying and reducing things that make you unhappy can enhance well-being.
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For example, purchasing a Roomba and utilizing it in your home can significantly reduce the time spent cleaning, allowing for more leisure and fulfillment. Similar sentiments apply when reducing cumbersome tasks in our work lives.
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Consider automating tedious tasks or using technology, like AI tools, which can simplify challenges and save you precious time. Remote work arrangements can alleviate commuting woes, thus increasing overall happiness.
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As I wrap up, I have a few interesting findings I would like to share without delving deeply into each.
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The first is the 'happiness U curve,' portraying that statistically, individuals tend to report the highest happiness levels at age 18. Happiness decreases until around age 47 when it begins to rise again, although it never seems to reach that initial peak.
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A strong correlation persists between close relationships and happiness, whether through friends, family, or significant others. Moreover, those who show creativity tend to report increased happiness the day after engaging in creative activities.
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Being authentic correlates with greater happiness, especially when individuals feel accepted as their true selves within peer groups. Lastly, being mindful and present are predictive factors for happiness.
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A recent study even found that switching from long commutes to shorter ones can yield happiness levels comparable to finding romantic partners for single individuals!
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That’s it for me! Here are my references. I’m happy to share the slides if anyone is interested, so feel free to reach out through Slack. If you have questions or feedback, I appreciate it!
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Thank you all!