Towards the Sociology of Happiness

• In Event: 411 - Section on Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Attitudes about Inequality and Redistribution.

Abstract

Happiness research is now mainstream in the public discourse, discussed widely in policy circles, academia, and the popular media. Across the social sciences, it is flourishing, with each discipline making their own contributions to the discovery of the sources of happiness and of unhappiness. Our research showcases the sociologist’s contribution: what makes people happy depends on the social-institutional context. Accounting for social context allows us to observe that what makes people happy in one social setting may not do so in another. And, that happiness found usually owes to the right mix of social context and individual factors. While economists search for a universal model of happiness, sociologists seek answers that are specific to the institutional context.

Authors

• Hiroshi Ono, Hitotsubashi University

• Kristen Schultz Lee, University at Buffalo, SUNY