The DOI matches its Crossref record; 145 of the 151 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change
Abstract
The pursuit of happiness is an important goal for many people. However, surprisingly little scientific research has focused on the question of how happiness can be increased and then sustained, probably because of pessimism engendered by the concepts of genetic determinism and hedonic adaptation. Nevertheless, emerging sources of optimism exist regarding the possibility of permanent increases in happiness. Drawing on the past well-being literature, the authors propose that a person's chronic happiness level is governed by 3 major factors: a genetically determined set point for happiness, happiness-relevant circumstantial factors, and happiness-relevant activities and practices. The authors then consider adaptation and dynamic processes to show why the activity category offers the best opportunities for sustainably increasing happiness. Finally, existing research is discussed in support of the model, including 2 preliminary happiness-increasing interventions.
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“In fact, subjective well-being tends to be relatively stable over time (Diener and Lucas, 1999; Lyubomirsky et al., 2005; Nes et al., 2006).”
From The relationship between nature connectedness and happiness: a meta-analysis (2014) · cites this paper as Lyubomirsky et al., 2005
In the citing paper
“Lastly, subjective well-being can predict important life outcomes such as health, longevity, and disease (Williams and Schneiderman, 2002; Lyubomirsky et al., 2005; Chida and Steptoe, 2008).”
From The relationship between nature connectedness and happiness: a meta-analysis (2014) · cites this paper as Lyubomirsky et al., 2005
In the citing paper
“Connectedness with others is universally accepted as an important component of well-being, and this construct features prominently in current psychological theories. 24-26”
From Physical Activity for Cognitive and Mental Health in Youth: A Systematic Review of Mechanisms (2016) · cites this paper as [24]
In the citing paper
“Email correspondence with the author revealed that the data are no longer available.”
From Happy to help? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of performing acts of kindness on the well-being of the actor (2018) · cites this paper as Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005
In the citing paper
“The most highly cited paper in the kindness literature (with citations at the time of the last search) purports to provide evidence that kind acts boosts the well-being of the actor(Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005).”
From Happy to help? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of performing acts of kindness on the well-being of the actor (2018) · cites this paper as Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005
In the citing paper
“However, the article does not report the size of the sample, the dependent measure, or any inferential statistics (for example, effect size or significance).”
From Happy to help? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of performing acts of kindness on the well-being of the actor (2018) · cites this paper as Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005
In the citing paper
“Similar findings have been found for gratitude practice, where less practice (once per week) was more effective for promoting wellbeing than more practice (three times per week) [53].”
From Can mindfulness be too much of a good thing? The value of a middle way (2019) · cites this paper as [53]
In the citing paper
“A further investigation of gratitude journaling found that participants benefited more when completing longer weekly entries as opposed to shorter more frequent entries [19].”
From Disseminating Self-Help: Positive Psychology Exercises in an Online Trial (2012) · cites this paper as [19]
Citations
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Cited by
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Crowd-powered positive psychological interventions
Morris, R. R., & Picard, R. W. (2014) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2014.913671 · Cited by 23
O papel das características sociodemográficas na felicidade
Rodrigues, A., & Silva, J. A. D. (2010) · Psico-USF · doi:10.1590/s1413-82712010000100012 · Cited by 23
Assessing the sustainability of goal-based changes in adjustment over a four-year period
Sheldon, K. M. (2008) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2007.03.002 · Cited by 21
Self-citationExploring Posttraumatic Growth in Sierra Leone Using Mixed Methods
Exenberger, S., Steidl, A., Kamara, A., & Huber, A. (2022) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-021-00419-9 · Cited by 15
DuPont, C. M., Pressman, S. D., Reed, R. G., Manuck, S. B., Marsland, A. L., & Gianaros, P. J. (2023) · Affective Science · doi:10.1007/s42761-022-00148-z · Cited by 13
de Bruin, E. I., van der Meulen, R. T., de Wandeler, J., Zijlstra, B. J. H., Formsma, A. R., & Bögels, S. M. (2020) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-018-1029-6 · Cited by 11
The effectiveness of a peer-helping programme that increases subjective well-being
Eryılmaz, A. (2017) · British Journal of Guidance & Counselling · doi:10.1080/03069885.2015.1057473 · Cited by 8
Hinton, C., de la Rosa Fernández-Pacheco, P. A., Caro Samada, C., Okuzono, S. S., Hill, B., de Gregorio Vicente, O., & Moller, F. (2025) · Journal of Moral Education · doi:10.1080/03057240.2025.2509821 · Cited by 1
Metadata
- Authors
- Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Riverside (US)
- University of Missouri (US)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Corresponding author
- Lyubomirsky, Sonja
- Sheldon, Kennon M.
- Venue
- Review of General Psychology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2005-06
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 111-131
- ISSN
- 1089-2680 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1552
- OpenAlex
- W2132638854
- Semantic Scholar
- e96c510d25e7be671c5e6d6b6450ed48efad8d58
- Cited by
- 3,203
- References
- 151
- Citations by year
- 2026: 88 · 2025: 187 · 2024: 176 · 2023: 219 · 2022: 187 · 2021: 222 · 2020: 198 · 2019: 186 · 2018: 169 · 2017: 171 · 2016: 185 · 2015: 210 · 2014: 197 · 2013: 163 · 2012: 161
- FWCI
- 67.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Review of General Psychology (publishedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- happiness, subjective well-being, genetic determinism, hedonic adaptation, happiness interventions, optimism
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