Money can finally bring her happiness. As long as you make enough every year.
This is the conclusion reached by Matthew Killingsworth, professor of psychology at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvaniawhose investigation found that People with higher wages show higher levels of satisfaction in everyday life but also in their lives as a whole. Many will take this conclusion for granted, but previous research had found that the positive correlation between financial gain and happiness peaked around at $ 75,000 (about 70,000 euros) a year.
Killingsworth says previous research has been wrong. The correlation does not peak.
«What I found is that the correlation is basically steadily increasing, in a slightly more complex way. Proportional changes in income have an equal impact on happiness. This is not to say that a dollar is as important to Jeff Bezos as it is to someone who earns a basic salary. But that means 10% more money might have the same impact on everyone“, Says Killingsworth to CNBC.
In his research, Killingsworth decided to study this $ 75,000 figure. This is a number that came from a 2010 study by Princeton University, which is taught to psychology students around the world. According to the study, When you cross the $ 75,000 barrier, earning even more money does not make you feel much happier in your daily life.
Killingsworth’s study, however, shows that personal satisfaction can continue to rise as annual incomes rise. Money is not the only factor for happiness, but people with higher incomes often feel they have more control over their lives, says the professor.
«When you have money, you have choices and this can manifest in various ways. Do you buy organic strawberries in the supermarket? Can you quit a job you do not like or stay because you can not afford not to work? Do you end a relationship when you have financial ties with the other?He explains.
Like the 2010 study, Killingsworth asked 33,000 people to rate their happiness levels based on two factors: How they think their life is going and how they feel at all times.
The difference is that the Killingsworth study used a specially made application which each day asked participants to record how they felt at that very moment. «People’s memories are not perfect. One of the advantages in designing this research is that we get as close as possible to the correct measurement. how do you feel now;’. People can answer that quite easily, while when you ask ‘How did you feel yesterday? How did you feel last month? ‘, So they make a more complex calculation in their mind“, Notes Killingsworth.
There is, of course, a trap. Money has a greater impact on the happiness of those who place more value on money. Many of the participants in the survey who showed high levels of happiness with high earnings, said that they value the ability to spend freely for their family, travel, etc.
At the other end of the scale, the reverse was true. «If I look at all the people who said that money is not very important, whether they had a very low income, or a middle income or even very high, it did not matter to their happiness. Those who said in the survey that money does not matter were right“, Says the professor.
So the study led him to the following conclusion: Money brings happiness, but it is not the key to happiness.
«I do not see any magic number. What is generally true is that more money is better“, Says Killingsworth. But he adds: “I would not advise anyone to do a second or third job, because money is just one of the many factors, an element in the portfolio of happiness».
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