The Happiness Ruse: How Did Feeling Good Become A Matter Of ✓ Solved

The Happiness Ruse How did feeling good become a matter of

The Happiness Ruse: How did feeling good become a matter of relentless, competitive work; a never-to-be-attained goal which makes us miserable? By Cody Delistraty

1. Choose ONE correct answer. The experiment conducted by Watson was considered morally problematic because:

• *Conditioned behavior was only performed on animals
• *A child was conditioned for fear and was not unconditioned.
• *The mother was paid only a dollar to let her baby participate
• *There were numerous animals like rats, rabbits, and dogs.

2. Watson went into advertising and used a)_ (one word) to encourage people to b)_

3a. The author would AGREE/DISAGREE with the following statement: Today advertisers mainly use fear to manipulate people to buy a product.

3b. Support your answer with a quote from the text.

4. Explain in YOUR OWN WORDS the difference between Thomas Jefferson’s and Epicurus’ view of happiness.

5. The meaning of “happy” has changed throughout history. List THREE different definitions of happy from the text.

• i.
• ii.
• iii.

6. Complete the following sentence. The author compares chasing happiness to Sisyphus because _

7. Choose ONE correct answer The author explains existential emptiness as:

• *travelling through the world and posting pictures on social media
• *making real connections with other people throughout their travels
• *visiting restaurants and landmarks during visits around the world
• *use social media to look happier than others, but end up alone.

8. The author suggests some positive aspects to sadness. List FOUR.

• a. The author would AGREE/DISAGREE (choose one) with the following statement. The basic reason that we experience happiness and sadness is to survive and reproduce.
• 9b. Support your answer with a quote from the text.

10a. Complete the following flow chart. A. For Brits and Americans, negative feelings are socially/culturally unacceptable.

B. _____________________________________________________________

C.________________________________________________________

10b. Complete the following sentence. In the East, people view happiness and sadness as a)_ and therefore b)_

11. What does the author recommend to be truly happy?

12a. After reading this article, how would you define happiness?

13. Explain the manipulation the author is referring to.

Paper For Above Instructions

The exploration of the construct of happiness and its implications in modern society has evolved significantly over time. One of the earliest references to conditioning behavior comes from psychologist John B. Watson, whose experiment involving a child named Albert raised moral questions about the ethics of psychological testing on human subjects. The core reason the experiment is seen as morally problematic is that a child was conditioned for fear and was not unconditioned. This leads to the broader topic of manipulative marketing strategies that exploit human emotions, where Watson transitioned his expertise into advertising, using psychological principles to encourage consumer behavior around the idea of happiness.

This notion of happiness has been manipulated in various ways, particularly through advertising. The author of the article implies that today advertisers primarily use fear to manipulate buying behavior, and this is evident in numerous campaigns designed to invoke emotional responses. For instance, the text states that marketers evoke fear as part of their strategy, showing how the imperative to appear happy at all costs has led to a society that curates only peak experiences, distancing themselves from authentic emotional experiences, including sadness.

The parallels between Thomas Jefferson’s concept of happiness—rooted in the pursuit of liberty—and Epicurus’ view, which focuses on tranquility and the absence of pain, highlight a marked difference in how happiness is perceived organically versus how it is marketed. Jefferson promoted a happiness intertwined with personal and collective freedom, whereas Epicurus suggested that true happiness stems from an absence of physical pain and mental disturbance, promoting a reflective and more relaxed approach to happiness.

The evolution of the term "happy" can be traced back through history, starting from its mid-14th-century meaning of "lucky," correlating happiness to divine favor. By the 16th century, the meaning evolved to reflect joy, particularly influenced by philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, who defined happiness as an ongoing pursuit of desires without stable satisfaction. Therefore, the definitions that have changed through the ages can be categorized as:

• i. "Lucky" - associated with the whims of fortune.
• ii. "Joyful" - an emotional state characterized by pleasure.
• iii. "Desire-driven" - a constant search for pleasurable experiences as defined by Hobbes.

The author draws an interesting comparison between the pursuit of happiness and the myth of Sisyphus, indicating that continual striving for happiness often leads to disappointment. This metaphor highlights the Sisyphean struggle of chasing after fleeting moments of joy instead of accepting and embracing a more balanced emotional experience.

Existential emptiness, as described by the author, is illustrated through the lens of social media culture, where individuals are seen traveling the world but failing to form genuine connections with others. This obsession with curating a perfect life often leads to an isolation that contradicts the very happiness sought through such portrayals. The satisfaction derived from falsely projecting happiness may ultimately lead to loneliness, as individuals prioritize image over authentic relationships.

Some positive aspects of sadness, as identified by the author, include:

1. Better memory retention - people tend to remember details more accurately during sad moods.

2. Enhanced judgment - individuals in negative emotional states tend to make more informed decisions.

3. Improved communication skills, where sadness allows for greater nuance and understanding in conversations.

4. Increased perseverance in complex tasks - those experiencing sadness often show more persistence than their happier counterparts.

The author suggests that we agree on the notion that the basic reasons we experience happiness and sadness are intertwined with survival and reproduction. Darwin highlighted that extreme emotions, both happiness and sadness, serve to aid our evolutionary processes, although their pursuit in contemporary society seems largely misguided.

In the West, there is a strong cultural stigma against negative emotions which encourages a facade of unrelenting happiness. Many individuals feel compelled to mask their feelings to fit societal norms that deem negativity unacceptable. Conversely, Eastern cultures, as described in the article, understand happiness and sadness as complementary forces of life, embracing both for a more comprehensive understanding of human experience.

To be truly happy, the author advocates for a reconditioning of how we perceive and respond to emotions, advising us to embrace the entirety of our emotional spectrum. Such acceptance allows for a broader understanding of happiness that does not hinge solely on peak moments or an absence of negative feelings.

After reviewing the article, I would define happiness as a balanced emotional state that allows for the coexistence of joy and sorrow, where both serve important functions in our lives. It becomes clear that the manipulation referred to by the author involves constant marketing strategies designed to induce feelings of inadequacy and the belief that happiness is something to be bought or achieved, rather than a state of being to be cultivated.

References

• Delistraty, C. (Year). The Happiness Ruse.
• Watson, J. B. (1920). Behaviorism.
• Layard, R. (2005). Happiness: Lessons from a New Science.
• Seligman, M. E. P. (1998). Authentic Happiness.
• Bastian, B. (2018). The Other Side of Happiness.
• Darwin, C. (1872). The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals.
• Forgas, J. P. (2007). The Influence of Emotional State on Memory.
• Forgas, J. P. (2013). Sadness and Conversation: The Influence of Emotion on Communication.
• Hobbes, T. (1651). Leviathan.
• Jefferson, T. (1776). The Declaration of Independence.