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Hedonomics: Bridging Decision Research With Happiness Research
Christopher K Hsee1, Reid Hastie2, Jingqiu Chen3
1University of Chicago Graduate School of Business chris.hsee@chicagogsb.edu reid.hastie@chicagogsb.edu clairepku@gmail.com.
Summary
Enhance happiness by improving how choices are presented, not just by increasing outcomes. This approach, called hedonomics, focuses on presentation and choice design for greater well-being.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Economics
- Psychology
- Decision Science
Background:
- Traditional economics focuses on increasing objective outcomes to boost happiness.
- This approach often overlooks the impact of presentation and choice architecture on well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- Introduce and advocate for hedonomics, a new approach to increasing happiness.
- Explore the relationship between the presentation of outcomes and happiness.
- Investigate how choice influences happiness.
Main Methods:
- Analyzing how the arrangement of outcomes (presentation) affects subjective well-being.
- Examining the impact of selecting among different options (choice) on happiness levels.
Main Results:
- Presentation and choice significantly influence happiness, independent of objective outcome levels.
- Hedonomics offers a complementary strategy to traditional economic approaches for enhancing happiness.
Conclusions:
- Improving the presentation and choice of external outcomes is a viable method for increasing happiness.
- Hedonomics provides a framework for understanding and designing for greater subjective well-being.
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