The Pursuit of Happiness

2010/08/23 by Cassie Mogilner · 5 citations
Psychology · #Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction #Psychological and Temporal Perspectives Research #Cultural Differences and Values

paper · doi:10.1177/0956797610380696

openalex publication_date 2010/08/23 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/27

Abstract

Does thinking about time, rather than money, influence how effectively individuals pursue personal happiness? Laboratory and field experiments revealed that implicitly activating the construct of time motivates individuals to spend more time with friends and family and less time working-behaviors that are associated with greater happiness. In contrast, implicitly activating money motivates individuals to work more and socialize less, which (although productive) does not increase happiness. Implications for the relative roles of time versus money in the pursuit of happiness are discussed.

Citations

• A Survey Method for Characterizing Daily Life Experience: The Day Reconstruction Method
• On Happiness and Human Potentials: A Review of Research on Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being
• Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness
• Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action.
• The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations.

Cited by

• Valuing Time Over Money Is Associated With Greater Happiness
• The economic evaluation of time: Organizational causes and individual consequences
• Time, Money, and Morality
• Making seconds count: when valuing time promotes subjective well-being
• Economic evaluation of time [wikipedia]