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Happiness and Wellbeing: Emerging Lessons from Social Science.
Jerome Carson and Sandie McHugh.
.Structure of presentation:
Your own happiness? Questionnaire.
Happiness in Worktown
Happiness today
Prize draw
.
“Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life,
the whole aim and end of human existence.”
Aristotle
.
“Happiness is when what you think, what you
say and what you do, are in harmony.”
.What is happiness?
Advertisers have been trying to tell us this for years. Here are a couple of ads that more mature
participants may recall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIckHmwZAeI
.Bolton in the 1930’s1931 census 14,555 Boltonians out of work.
Population then 177,000. Unemployed formed 17% of occupied male population and 12% of female population.
The town had 300 pubs, six dance-halls and 47 cinemas within 5 miles of town hall. 200 churches and chapels.
What was happening in 1938?
.Hitler drives into
Vienna
Franco wins
Crucial
Battle in Spain
PrestonNorth EndbeatHuddersfieldin Cup Finalat Wembley
.Worktown Competitions.
“Competitions provide a way of going beyond the reports of Boltonians written by Mass Observers to access the self-authored perspectives of Bolton people
themselves,” (Gazely and Langhamer, 2013)
Prize of £5 offered for the best account of, “How I spent one day of my September holidays?” Generated 564 responses.
Another asked, “What do you like about all-in Wrestling?”
Worktown Happiness Survey
.
.28th. April 1938 advert in Bolton Evening News
“What is Happiness?”
Judge Professor John Hilton
Competition one of many to research everyday life in Bolton 1937-1940Letters from 226 individualsFollow-up questionnaire
Harrisson chose Bolton, renamed “Worktown,” “an emblematic locationfrom which to observe a working class regarded by those outside of itas almost a race apart.”
.Analysis of Worktown Happiness Survey:
7 categories based on work of social psychologist Hadley Cantril (1934)
SELF (personal values, development, character)
MATERIAL (personal economic situation, job/work)
HEALTH
RELATIONAL (family and friends)
VALUES (moral, social, political)
WORLD EVENTS (international situation)
NATURAL WORLD
¾ of respondents mentioned aspects of SELF in their letters
.Worktown Happiness Survey.
“Mental harmony, a peaceful and contented mind and a clear conscience,
often underpinned by religious faith or other moral frameworks.”
Gazely and Langhamer (2013)
“True and lasting happiness is a mental and spiritual state found only from within ourselves. When we are right in the sight of God. There can be no happiness without service.”
“Happiness is the greatest thing in life that money can’t buy.”
“To know joy you must have sorrow.”
1938– 10 aspects of happiness
Equality Beauty
Pleasure Security
Politics Religion
Humour Knowledge
Action Leadership & Authority
Please number in order of importance, 1 to 10, which of the following you think moreimportant to true happiness, with 1 as the most important and 10 as least.
.Worktown Happiness Survey.
Top 3 Security
Knowledge
Religion
Bottom 3 Pleasure
Leadership
Politics
.
Leo Bormans
Contemporary Views of Happiness.
.
Professor Martin SeligmanThe pleasant life
The engaged life
The meaningful life
.Bury College Students.(2013, n = 338) Ian Platt, Steven Barnes, Ruqiah Fatima, Lynda Thorpe and Jerome Carson.
Top 3 Security
Humour
Equality
Bottom 3 Authority
Religion
Politics
.Happiness across the years
Worktown (1938) Bury (2013) Bolton (2014)
Top 3 Security Security Security
Knowledge Humour Humour
Religion Equality Equality
Bottom 3 Pleasure Authority Leadership
Leadership Religion Politics
Politics Politics Religion
1938 – 10 aspects of happinessdiscourse /explanation for 2014
More equality More politics
More equality in wealth More say in political decisions
More beauty More religion
More attractive living & working environment
More religious influence in society
More leadership More good humour
More direction from local & national decision makers
More smiling and laughter for myself & those around me
More leisure More knowledge
More time to do the things I enjoy More access and opportunities to learn new things
More economic security More action
More certainty for maintaining & maybe improving my living standards
More action to solve not shelve my problems
.
.The prize draw
Contact Details
oesso
SSS
Sandie [email protected]
Professor Jerome Carson,[email protected]
Sandie McHugh,[email protected]
