The Happiness of Men and Women

Posted by Alex in Everything Else on September 26, 2007 at 3:39 pm


Princeton economist Alan Krueger and four psychologists found that men and women dislike pretty much the same activities like paying bills, but one thing really stood out:

Men apparently enjoy being with their parents, while women find time with their mom and dad to be slightly less pleasant than doing laundry.

And there’s more: for the first time, men are found to be happier than women.

… people are simply asked how satisfied they are with their overall lives. In the early 1970s, women reported being slightly happier than men. Today, the two have switched places.

An interesting article about who’s happy and why at the NY Times: Link – via mentalfloss


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10 comments to "The Happiness of Men and Women"

  1. just a guy
    September 27th, 2007 at 12:56 am

    Looking at the list of activities and percentage gaps in that link... it seems that women seem to be bothered by a lot more things, and by larger amounts, then men. (The things men were more bothered by seemed to differ only by a little than women).

    So, women are more generally more prone to either not being happy with stuff, or more likely to complain about it...?

    yeah, seems about right to me. :-P Heh heh...

  2. Denita TwoDragons
    September 27th, 2007 at 1:26 am

    I think our problem is, most of us women have an awful tendency to over-think stuff. We're just not naturally skilled at letting our minds just drift for a bit. Which is why we're also horrible about reading things into what someone else is saying, that aren't really there.

    You can trust my word, too. I have 34 years of experience in this field... ;-)

    --TwoDragons

  3. johnald
    September 27th, 2007 at 1:57 am

    i was thinking about this yesterday, how i'd have thought women would be generally more happy because the world would seem like a friendlier place to a woman than a man. though i suppose there's more to it than that

  4. Lasse
    September 27th, 2007 at 2:18 am

    Probably because men are more singleminded and biologically focused on physical activity than thinking? A dog is probably more happier than a human too, just to give an extreme example.

  5. Johnald_Chaffinch
    September 27th, 2007 at 4:59 am

    Lasse i see your point, but men and women think just as much as each other. but what we focus on is the point i guess. it seems that this is just a recent trend though so perhaps we're all generally predisposed to be at a neutral state of happiness. it could be stress related, the world is getting more hectic.

  6. Acedia
    September 27th, 2007 at 9:31 am

    I think one reason women may have been happier in the 70s was that in the dawn of "women's lib" women were basking in the "you've come a long way baby" mindset. However women gradually realized that while job and career opportunities did in fact open up for them they found that they still were expected to bear the burden of all (or 90 percent of) the responsibilities that "housewives" had -- not just housework and childcare but maintaining social relationships with parents and in-laws, brainstorming and buying all gifts for birthdays and holidays, and, if they're like me, pretty much all the responsibilities for house maintenance as well. (Not to mention kids' doctors and dentist appointments and fulfilling the expectation of benefitting their children by shuttling them to numerous enriching or sports activities.) Oh, and since we'd "won" the sexual revolution, women were simultaneously expected to be sexual playmates at the drop of a hat. That's a lot of pressure.

  7. Johnald_Chaffinch
    September 27th, 2007 at 11:45 am

    but men and women think just as much as each other.
    what we focus on is the point. it seems that this is just a recent trend though, so perhaps we're all generally predisposed to be at a neutral state of happiness. it could be stress related, or just chance, i mean you wouldnt expect them to be exactly equal in happiness in a study would you

  8. Johnald_Chaffinch
    September 27th, 2007 at 11:47 am

    um sorry about that repost, my last comment didnt show up hours later!?!

  9. Chris
    September 27th, 2007 at 2:14 pm

    ahum... too much thinking here...

    I'm just a happy man.

    :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

  10. just a guy
    September 28th, 2007 at 12:09 am

    I'm a happy man too.

    I'm also a 'chronic' overthinker. Have been told that my whole life. Heck, that's even my job - to analyze.

    So, the claim the women 'overthink' too much, and men are just blissful, nonthinking animals, doesn't jibe with me.

    As to my teasing earlier, well, I do beleive that there are many societal factors and other commenters mentioned. :)


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