Amelia Annotated Bibliography

 

Class Research:

 

1.

Happy-documentary

The movie Happy that was written and directed by Roko Belic and was as you can imagine about the concept of happiness. This documents specifically focused on the things that cause happiness and unhappiness however. They did this by monitoring multiple people from different places and then watched them there moods and what caused them to fluctuate they also questioned the people on the things that made them happy. One thing that was a recurring hamminess creator was human connection. Weather this looked like being around family of friends, but just having a human connection and sense of community. This was a present thing in all the people in the movie that were claiming to be happy where as in places where people were more unhappy this was lacking. Another common source of happiness for people in the movie was nature. Just having some way to be outside and interact with nature this was also a lacking feature in areas that have les happiness such a tokyo.

    I think that this source was pretty informative however I think that I could have been a little biased. Since it was trying to prove a certain point and push an agenda it made the movie seem one sided as if they were only giving the viewer one side of the story. They kept repeating the same topics through multiple people that were all in the documentary which I think made the research more credible if a lot of people in psychology or are putting the work into practice all came to the same conclusion. However I wish that they would have played devil's advocate  a little more than they did so that we could have that outside opinion.

    This movie for me really put in perspective that I doesn't matter where you come from or what background you have there is always the opportunity to be happy, I think it really made me think that everyone has the opportunity to find happiness in their lives. Also that it doesn't matter where you come from you can make a life that you want for yourself. I also learned that there are traps with happiness. These traps are when you only indulge into the temporary types of happiness instead of the permanent ones. And just seaking this temporary happiness until it runs out and then you see the temporary pleasure again and repeating on and on is called the hedonic treadmill.

    I wasn’t able to get exact quotes but what I did find was “one thing that really helps to create a happier life is the ability to recover from adversity.” the second thing that I hurd in this movie that really jumped out to me was “50% of people's happiness capabilities are determined by genetics, 10% is determined by one's personal success or the things that they have achieved in life, and the other 40% is determined by the person so what they choose. Whether it's to be happy or miserable is up to them to decide.” and the third quote that I found was, “Close supportive family and friends are one of the most influential factors in creating a happy life and, that the worlds happiest people often have really close family and friends.” the fourth and final quote that really stood out to me is, “there are ways that people have enhanced their natural happiness capabilities through common practices of meditation or similar exercises where they focus on competition and what they are thankful for.”

 

Citation

Belic, Roko, director. Happy. Happy, 9 Apr. 2011.

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2.

    Why are our kids so miserable-choose your own adventure

    In this article it is comparing the state of happiness and depression from the 1980’s to 2008 and where we are currently. It talks about how between the 1980’s to 2008 more people started to see professionals for mental illness concerns. And that the depression levels in boys and kids ages (6-11) all went down but they have all recently gone up drastically with girls as well. This article along with showing that the depression in teens and college students has gone up, it also explains why this may be occurring. Some of the theories that this article talks about it how it may be caused by breaks down in community, family and relationships. It also references joe the rise in poverty and and technology use also play key roles. Although all of those factors play key roles it came to a conclusion that the main cause for this is the lack of independence that people are given while they are growing up and that this makes it so that people are unable to function or cope in the real world.

I think that this is a really reliable source because it has a prestigious professors work and article clips in it however one thing that I think makes it a little less credible is the lack of multiple sources. This article had solid credible sources however there were very few of them and for that reason it makes me question whether the content is as credible as they want you to believe that it is. I also wish that they could have explained more about why technology relationships and poverty warrant affecting the teen depression as much as the freedom that kids are given, because without that information it makes the article seem biased.

I think that this helps me have a greater understanding of happiness. It also made me think of socialization in the sense of how the thing that happen when we are kids is really influentuary. With how the why that you were brought up can affect how you interact or use different things that affect your happiness. And that happiness is not all about what you are doing now but also what has happened to you in the past.

Quotes that I found influential are “My hypothesis is that the generational increases in externality, extrinsic goals, anxiety, and depression are all caused largely by the decline, over that same period, in opportunities for free play and the increased time and weight given to schooling,” paragraph 12. “The second quote that I found is, It’s not just high school students. College students also feel more overwhelmed; student health centers are in higher demand for bad breakups or mediocre grades, issues that previously did not drive college kids to seek professional help. While the number of kids who reported feeling depressed spiked in the 1980s and 1990s, it started to fall after 2008. It has started rising again:” paragraph 4. The third and final quote that really stood out to me in this article is, “More teens struggled to remember things in 2010-2012 compared to the earlier period; and 73% more reported trouble sleeping compared to their peers in the 1980s. These so-called “somatic” or “of-the-body” symptoms strongly predict depression.” Paragraph 3

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Citation

Anderson, Jenny. “Why Are Our Kids so Miserable?” Quartz, Quartz, 21 Mar. 2016, qz.com/642351/is-the-way-we-parent-causing-a-mental-health-crisis-in-our-kids/?utm_source=atlfb.
 

3.

    The New Era of Positive Psychology-Ted Talks Video

In this video that we watched it was talking about the reasons people have for being happy and the psychology behind happiness. This video had four main points that it talked about the reasons for being optimistic was one of them. Another main point that it talked about was why psychology isn't good enough.  The third point that it made was why psychology is good. Lastly the third and final main point that it talked about was why its not good. And it went into detail on each of those topics.

This was a reliable source because it was a happiness phycologist that was doing a ted talk on. Also from experience that is a very reliable and trustworthy source. I also didn't think that this was a biased source because it reference complete opposite sides of the spectrome. For example why it is good and why it is not good, and that both sides of the spectrome come to the same conclusion of there being different ways to achieve happiness. The speaker also used several examples personal or otherwise to prove what he was saying and reinforce what it was.

This source really helped me to come to an understanding of happiness because it did refer to the opposite sides on the spectrome. Showing that each side of the spectrome there are still ways to achieve happiness no matter what side you are on. This helped me to understand that happiness isn't just black and white but that it has a grey area that you can go into. I also liked how he showed examples of this wethor they were his own personal experiences of not. I think that that really made this just that much more or an interesting source video.

After I watched this video I marked key points and then went back through the transcripts to find the exact quote. The first quote that I have is, “it never occurred to us to develop interventions to make people happier -- positive interventions.” I thought that this was interesting because it showed what there was a need for in sycolegy. The second quote that found was, “psychology should be just as concerned with human strength as it is with weakness. It should be just as concerned with building strength as with repairing damage. It should be interested in the best things in life.” I picked out this because it showed that the psychology was awaid of the bad and mad it good. And the third and final quote that I found is, “How do extremely miserable people differ from the rest of you? And starting about six years ago, we asked about extremely happy people. How do they differ from the rest of us? It turns out there's one way, very surprising….The one way in which they differ: they're extremely social.” I thought that this was important because its the main thing that sets unhappy and happy people apart.
 

Citation

“The New Era of Positive Psychology.” Performance by Martin Seligman, Ted.com, Ted. Com, 2004, www.ted.com/talks/martin_seligman_on_the_state_of_psychology/transcript#t-458717.

4.

There's more to life than being happy-Article

This article was about how having meaning in your life is better than happiness. It refers to happiness being a shallow temporary thing where as it talks about meaning being more fulfilling and leading to more happiness that lasts for longer. In the article it says that happiness is what you get when you. This article references that when you have meaning in your life of something to live of frive for it will give you a more fulfillment and joy. It also explains that happiness is not permanent but goes away that it is only the temporary feeling you get when you take or possess something but when you have a meaning you help others and it a very selfless fulfillment. It talks about how a man that was in a concentration camp hinds a way to push through and live by finding meaning for his life and he then helps others in the camp to find meaning in their own lives.

I think that this was a really credible source with multiple different people's opinions. However I think that this article was a little biased because it only used sconces that were representing the same opinion that the article was on. I think that I would have made the article better if it had compared another opinion to the original one that they were representing. Other than that the sources and evidence that they used were credible. Especially because one was a first hand account.

One thing that was really helpful and informative for me with this article was just viewing happiness from a different perspective. I really thought that it was interesting how it explained the concept that you need a meaning in your life and that it is this meaning that will help you to find and achieve happiness. This was interesting because it was a contrast from the other things that I thought caused happy ness such as relationships. I just thought that it was such a different contrast for me since I had previously thought was not that significant.

A couple things that I found interesting about this article were the four quotes, the first being “the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” this was on page one paragraph 2. The second quote that I found is “Meaning on the other hand, is enduring.” this is on page 4 paragraph 2. The third and final quote that I found was “happiness without meaning characterizes a relatively shallow, self-absorbed or even selfish life…”

 

Citation

Smith, Emily Esfahani. “There's More to Life Than Being Happy.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 9 Jan. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/theres-more-to-life-than-being-happy/266805/.

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Independent research:

 

1.

Do relationships make us healthier and happier.

This article talked a study that compared partner support reinforcing there partner’s own efforts with partner control behaviors. Which showed that supportive behaviors predicted better mental health, while control behaviors resulted in worse mental health and less healthy behaviors. Findings from animal studies show that social support reduces the release stress, when people were faced with a stressor. It also talked about how relationships help with better health, greater happiness, and even a longer life. Also when you are in a supportive relationship you are more motivated to be healthier, and that satisfying relationships don’t just make us happy, they also affect our long-term health to the same extent as having good sleep, eating well, and not smoking.

I think that this was a fairly resourceful source because it references a bunch of different points so it wasn't bias. I also thought that it was good it had other positive things that relationships affect not just how it affect happiness. I do think that it wasn't the best over all source since it had adds on the page but other than that small unprofessional izom I thought that it was a good source.

One thing about this article that really stood out to me because I had not previously considered it was that you need more than just a relationship. At the beginning of the second paragraph it reference that even tho you have a relationship that doesn't mean you will be happy. At the start of this paragraph it talked about that the quality of the relationship being just as important, and I thought that this was a really interesting point that it made. I also thought that this made a lot of sense because if you have a bad relationship it count make you happy. So the relationship itself is not enough, but it must also be positive.

“Satisfying relationships not only make us happy, they also influence our long-term health.” Paragraph 1. The second quote that I found was also in the first paragraph of this article and it was “Many research studies have shown that satisfying relationships are associated with better health, greater happiness.” And the last one that I found was in paragraph 2 and it was “While the number of social ties makes a difference, quality also counts.”

 

Citation

Greenberg, Melanie. “Do Relationships Make Us Healthier and Happier.” Psychology Today, 22 Dec. 2016, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201612/do-relationships-make-us-healthier-and-happier.

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2.

Happiness and Psychological Well-Being: Building Human Capital to Benefit Individuals and Society

This article was mainly talking about the different benefits that happiness gives people. This includes being happy and living longer, being able to function at a high level, more effectively using personal strengths, and being more open to helping others and contributing to the greater good. As Well as referencing the positive influences of a happy life it also explains bad things that can be a result of an unhappy life. This included depression, anxiety, stress, and anger. This article then went on to talk about the effects that  relationships have of happiness and emotions.

I think that this is a really strong source the start however was a little odd. I wish that even tho it went into detail with what the effects of happiness and unhappiness. That it would have gone into that same level of detail with the section of relationships instead of just a minor summary of what relationships did with little detail. However I did think that it didn't have any specific bias although it seemed as if people could think it was. Although I didn’t because it compared happiness and its effect from multiple different angles. However I did feel that this was rather short and that it didn't have as much content as I wanted in the article. So if I were to improve this in any way I would add one or two more sources that the writer could have used to give this article more of a substantial body. Otherwise the article felt as if it was missing something of as if it were intentionally leaving something out. Wich for some people might make it seem biased even if I didn't get the impression others could have.

One thing that really stuck with me from this article was all the different things that friendships can create because of the happiness that they bring into people's lives. I thought that this was really interesting because I knew that it was good to interact with people but I didn't think that they could have that big of an effect on health. I also learned that you can experience of depression, anxiety, stress, and anger without being unhappy but just living in a life that lacks it.

Some quotes that really jumped out to me in this article one “relationships are an important, and perhaps the most important, source of life satisfaction and emotional well-being.” paragraph 4. The second quote is They are less likely to experience anxiety, stress, or anger. Paragraph 1. The third quote that I have is In other words, building greater levels of individual happiness not only benefits a particular person but also leads to the healthy, happy functioning of society as a whole.

 

Citation

Happiness and Psychological Well-Being: Building Human Capital to Benefit Individuals and Society.” The Solutions Journal, www.thesolutionsjournal.com/article/happiness-and-psychological-well-being-building-human-capital-to-benefit-individuals-and-society/.

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3.

    Relationships and Happiness

This article talks about the benefits that relationships and how they help people to lead happier live. In this article it references many sources and their opinions on how relationships help improve people live, from their successes to their ability to cooperate with others. This article referred to all the benefits that being in a relationship gives people and hit then compares that to how those things contribute to people's overall happiness.

I think that this was a really solid and informational source that wasn't bieased an referenced many different things. The thing that made this such a strong source however was that it referred back to it and referenced all those things it improves, and then connects them to the happiness. It also has many different credible sources that or references multiple times throughout the article and I believe that this really enfances the article.

I think that this made me really think about happiness and they way it works regarding relationships because it says that it's not just the relationships that make you happy but also the other things that a relationship creates that causes people to be happy. I think that this really stood out to me because in a previous article it talked about how relationships aren't the only thing that creates happiness. So I think that this article really pinpointed the other things that a relationships bring on that also call happiness. This made me think about why relationships are so viday to happiness and I found out that it was because they help to manifest so many other things that cause happiness.

The first quote that I found for this article was “The most salient characteristics shared by students who were very happy and showed the fewest signs of depression were ‘their strong ties to friends and family and commitment to spending time with them.’" this was in paragraph 1. The second quote I found was “the cooperativeness of an individual was a predictor of their happiness.” this quote was in paragraph 2. And the third quote that I found was in paragraph 4 “Happiness isn’t only gained from social support but may serve more beneficial by providing it.”

 

Citation

“Relationships.” The Pursuit of Happiness, www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/science-of-happiness/communicating/.