In Pursuit of Happiness?

Why does your favorite entrée lose its appeal after eating it every day for one month? Why do simple jobs quickly lose satisfaction? Using examples everyone can relate to, Dr. Alan Waterman of the psychology department presented his theories on happiness to a packed crowd in the New Library Auditorium, marking the first Faculty Senate Colloquium for Faculty Research and Creative Activity.

During the course of his lecture, titled “In Pursuit of Happiness: Why What We Want Makes a Difference,” Waterman explored the differences and effects of hedonic happiness, which is getting what one wants purely for pleasure, and eudaimonic happiness, which is not about having, but becoming—realizing oneself and one’s “potential excellences.”

Waterman said that hedonic happiness is not sustainable, which is why over-eating favorite foods “tires the high” one would get from first indulging in their desired dish. 

“If one wants to experience the initial high, one needs to keep pushing the envelope, taking bigger risks,” Waterman said.

While “pushing the envelope” in the case of eating favorite foods is risking weight-gain, a more serious situation would be pushing the envelope in the case of drugs or alcohol. The more one does drugs or drinks alcohol, the more drugs and alcohol need to be ingested “to experience the initial high,” as Waterman said. Waterman pointed to the lates Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain to illustrate the dangers of trying to force hedonic happiness to grow.

According to Waterman, eudaimonic happiness has the most potential for sustainability because it has the capacity to grow, unlike the static hedonic happiness.

To find eudaimonic happiness, Waterman said, one must find activities for which one has a natural talent and sense of connection. Being masterful at an activity is not enough to sustain happiness. One needs to care about the activity and challenge oneself within that activity.

Waterman pointed to the “Hedonic Treadmill,” a theory that everyone has a characteristic level of happiness and will always return to that set point. For example, when people win the lottery, they are uncharacteristically happy for a short time, but eventually return to their characteristic set point of happiness. The term also conjures up images of someone running on a treadmill, working so hard just to stay in one place.

In disagreement with this theory, Waterman presented the “Eudaimonic Staircase,” his theory that everyone has the potential to reach higher and advance their happiness.

Waterman has been with The College of New Jersey for 34 years. He has published approximately 45 articles, five books, and 18 book chapters on his findings on happiness. Waterman was chosen through colleagues’ nominations and an application process.

As for the continuation of the Colloquium for Faculty Research and Creative Activity, it is the plan to have one tenured or tenure-track member of the faculty featured per semester.

“It is important to celebrate what is our own,” said Ruth Palmer, associate professor of education.