Happiness

Three women chatting and laughing on stone steps at night with people relaxing in the background.
GENDER

Is being single a happier experience for women or men?

More people than ever are going solo. We identified a gender difference that hints at the ingredients needed to enjoy it

by Elaine Hoan & Geoff MacDonald

Renaissance painting of a man with curly hair wearing a dark hat and clothing against a dark background.
EMOTION REGULATION

Asking one simple question can entirely change how you feel

Positive and negative emotions respond differently to ‘affect labelling’ – the act of giving a name to your feelings

by Christian Waugh

A candid photo of three smiling children slightly out of focus, showing joy and togetherness against a dark backdrop.
LAUGHTER AND COMEDY
6

How to laugh more

You don’t have to wait to be amused, there are ways to train yourself to enjoy the ‘cheap medicine’ of laughter every day

by Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky

Photo of a person in an elephant costume standing in a tiled indoor area near a mini cab office with signs and posters.
MEANING AND THE GOOD LIFE
18

How to be a happy nihilist

Exhausted by the modern pressure to squeeze meaning out of every moment? Here’s a radical way to reset your priorities

by Wendy Syfret

Photo of a smiling person in vibrant attire and a large blue head wrap against a dark background.
NEUROSCIENCE

The fascinating science of pleasure goes way beyond dopamine

Pleasure and happiness are too important for our mental health to be reduced to the single brain chemical dopamine

by Dean Burnett

Photo of a smiling person taking a selfie indoors, wearing a blue and yellow jumper, with plants and a clock in the background.
EMOTIONS
8

What makes ‘toxic positivity’ different from a healthy attitude

Influencers and self-help gurus are preaching a form of positive psychology that risks doing more harm than good

by Lucas Dixon

Photo of a family holding hands walking on a beach with a golden retriever in the foreground and ocean waves in the background.
HAPPINESS

As a psychiatrist, I’ve seen how chasing happiness leads to misery

My clinical work has shown me that happiness is a ghost that’s not worth pursuing – there are far wiser goals in life

by Rafa Euba

Photo of two people in pink bunny costumes with carrot designs, holding drinks and standing by a tiled wall under a sign.
PERSONALITY
1

To improve your life, consider changing your personality

New research supports the idea that intentionally developing certain traits is not only possible, but comes with benefits

by Christian Jarrett

Photo of a person sitting and holding a large map covering their face outdoors with people walking in the background.
THINKING AND INTELLIGENCE

A love for thinking brings benefits way beyond school and work

Having a passion for mental effort – a trait that’s distinct from being intelligent – has some wide-ranging upsides

by Josephine Zerna

Photo of three older men in a pub, smiling and wearing caps. The background has pub mirrors and a red wall.
FRIENDSHIP
8

Is it better to have friends who are like you or different from you?

Studies of longterm friends offer surprising insights as to whether friends who are more or less alike tend to endure

by Christian Jarrett

Painting of an elderly man with a beard and a young woman in a red dress, both in a warm embrace with a landscape backdrop.
MONEY AND ECONOMICS
7

How your attitudes to money could be affecting your relationship

Do you see money as a way to gain freedom or status? If your partner takes a different view, there could be consequences

by Johanna Peetz

A naked young woman walking on a rippled sandy beach towards the sea, clear blue water and distant islands in view.
Psyche Exclusive
FREEDOM AND CHOICE

For Lucy, surviving on a remote island was hard, but returning was harder

Directed by Jesper Wachtmeister

Retro photo of a waitress serving pizza to a smiling couple seated at a table with beer and glasses.
COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION
7

If smiles are so easy to fake, why do we trust them?

Smiles can be a way to dupe people because they’re easy to fake – but we’ve figured out which smiles can be trusted

by Alexander Danvers

Photo of a red taxi with passengers in an urban setting, a sign saying “Life is War” visible in the background.
FREEDOM AND CHOICE

Relationships are important, but so is feeling free to end them

Comparing ‘relational mobility’ and people’s average happiness across different cultures reveals some intriguing patterns

by Thomas Talhelm & Liuqing Wei

Photo of a sumo wrestler in traditional attire, making a facial expression, with an audience in the background.
EMOTIONS
4

There’s something in my eye: why we happy-cry and what it does for us

Happy tears are often neglected in emotion research. But there are many types, and they have an important function

by Janis Zickfeld

Animation of a girl in a red cap sitting in a tree, with a fox below and vibrant plants and mushrooms surrounding them.
HAPPINESS

Martha’s adventures through the washing machine looking-glass

Directed by Hannah Jacobs