Consolidated Happiness
A survey of surveys
In the last decade, a proliferation of happiness and well-being surveys has provided the backbone to a growing field of happiness research. Deployed at various scales (office, city, nation, world), these surveys put forth questions about feelings and moods, often in reference to personal matters such as finances, community, and worldview. It is through a mass accumulation of imperfect data, especially over time, that trends emerge. The information that can be deduced from survey responses does not always explicitly answer the questions posed: for example, one person’s answer to a question about sense of community may indicate their perception of their own relationships, and a larger pool of answers from one location may reveal an informal social support network. Thus the work of the survey is complicated both in its making and in its production of data—the choice of which questions to ask, the use of specific syntax and terminology, and the assumption of cultural biases must all be considered.
To question the survey, to question the question, and to question the act of answering a question, we constructed a hybrid survey. The questions here were gathered and reproduced from a selection of regional and national surveys utilized in recent efforts to quantify happiness as a metric of societal progress. The survey was sent out to twenty-two individuals (CCA and external collaborators) who are contributing to the project, Our Happy Life; sixteen responded, anonymously.
50.0% Earn money
06.3% Fulfill my responsibility as a member of society
12.5% Demonstrate my talents and capabilities
31.3% Find my purpose in life
62.5% Increase the amount of free time
25.0% Increase my income
12.5% Neither
0% I do not know
12.5% None
18.8% 1 to 2 times
12.5% 3 to 4 times
06.3% 5 to 6 times
18.8% 7 times or more
31.3% Not applicable
37.5% Satisfied
43.8% Somewhat satisfied
06.3% Somewhat dissatisfied
12.5% Dissatisfied
0% I do not know
12.5% High
43.8% Upper middle
37.5% Middle
06.3% Lower middle
0% Low
50.0% Trust most of them
25.0% Trust some of them
25.0% Trust a few of them
0% Trust none of them
0% Not applicable
37.5% Most people can be trusted
50.0% You cannot be too careful in dealing
with people
12.5% Do not know
0% All of the time
0% Most of the time
12.5% Some of the time
37.5% A little of the time
50.0% None of the time
12.5% Regularly
37.5% Occasionally
06.3% Rarely
43.8% Not at all
43.8% Highly responsible
56.3% Somewhat responsible
0% A little responsible
0% Not at all responsible
37.5% More than usual
50.0% Same as usual
12.5% Less than usual
0% Much less than usual
