Happiness

"What makes people happy?"

If I were to be asked this question, I would probably hesitate to answer, because there are many factors to consider while doing this. Like the book said, there are many misconceptions about what factors truly influence happiness. I think one of the most common assumptions people make is that money leads to happiness. This statement is not entirely true based on many studies. The book says that "money can't buy long term happiness." (Pg. 424) Although money allows us to splurge, splurging almost always leads to a temporary satisfaction.
A point supporting the statement that money leads to happiness says that this is true to a certain extent- if people feel they are running out of spending money (less than $50,000), it is typically the point when people begin to stress out. Specifically, "There's a modest association between how wealthy we are and how happy we are" (Pg. 424). The book also says that our position (ranking) of wealth compared to the people around us can have an impact on our happiness.
In another article I read, it took economic growth into account while looking at happiness and money. Some psychologists have even said that the raise in income can lead to negative affects on family and social relationships.
I think that sometimes people do not consider the whole concept of money with happiness. Most of the time people with more money have put in more hours to get where they are, which often replaces family and social time. It also takes away from time you could spend on hobbies and other things that relax you as a person and allow you to get away from stressful situations. I believe that in this society, it is hard to find a balance between happiness and can depend on how you value certain things.
Finally, to touch on the overall question- I believe that happiness is a hard emotion to measure in general. I think that happiness is based on an own persons' view on what they want to spend their time on and how much they personally take out of that time they spent. I believe that it varies by person on what their answer could be, and that is why it is so complex.

A few sources:

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2010/12/23/money-does-not-equal-happiness/

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/06/tech/main6839656.shtml