"Do you want to be happy?"… What's the secret, according to a psychology professor at Yonsei University? (tvN You Quiz)

Professor Seo Eun-guk, known as a happiness scholar, added strength to the argument that 'happiness is the frequency, not the intensity, of pleasure.'

 

On the tvN entertainment program "You Quiz on the Block," which aired on the 28th, Professor Seo Eun-kook, one of the "World's Top 100 Happiness Scholars" and a professor of psychology at Yonsei University, appeared. Professor Seo is a disciple of American psychologist Ed Diener, who coined the phrase "happiness is not the intensity of pleasure, but the frequency."

 

Professor Seo said, "The assumption that 'happiness is something that appears as a bonus when unhappiness is eliminated' has been a long-standing misconception in psychology," and that "happiness is not a state of being free from worry or unhappiness, but can be judged by the presence or absence of joy." He continued, "Happiness is the sum of subjectively felt physical and mental pleasure," and explained, "A happy person is someone who 'feels joy often' no matter where it comes from." Therefore, you can naturally feel happiness by discovering things that bring you joy and incorporating them into your daily life. Professor Seo also discussed happiness through personality traits and comparisons across countries. Let's take a closer look at how a person's personality and the country they belong to affect how well they feel happiness.

◇People get the most enjoyment from other people.

 

The most representative human characteristic related to happiness is 'extroversion'. In fact, various domestic and international studies published in the 'Journal of Personality and Social Psychology' and 'Science Direct' support this. The studies explain the reason why extroverts are relatively happy because 'other people are important resources and can provide stimulation to humans, and extroverts meet more people and more frequently than introverts.' Professor Seo said, "Many studies show that introverts are less happy on average, but it may actually be introverts who enjoy interpersonal interactions. There is research that shows that the degree of happiness amplification is greater when introverts interact with others."

 

◇The more you are conscious of others' evaluations, the further you get from happiness.

 

Social comparison is a classic example of a behavior that erodes happiness. This phenomenon is relatively more prevalent in countries like Korea, Japan, and Singapore, where collectivism is emphasized. This is because individual freedom is less guaranteed in these countries compared to the Nordic countries, where individualism is strongly oriented. Consequently, according to the "2024 World Happiness Report" published by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), Korea ranked 52nd out of 143 countries surveyed. Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden ranked first through fourth, respectively.

 

The more important others' evaluations are, the lower the happiness level can be. Professor Seo explained, "Individualism can be understood as an inclusiveness that respects each person's thoughts, rather than judging right and wrong within a framework." Professor Seo reported that when he asked people in Northern European countries what type of person they disliked the most, everyone unanimously answered, "People who evaluate others' lives." In fact, there are several research results proving that "people with lower happiness use SNS more often" and "excessive SNS immersion increases the risk of mental illness such as depression" regarding SNS, where stark comparisons between people occur.

 

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People say that they have the greatest fun when they are human.

The wounds that the elderly receive from people.

They say it heals people... I don't know if that's what it means.

 

Being compared to others is not only unpleasant.

I feel like my self-esteem is going down too.