Happiness refers to the subjective feeling of pleasure and it can be measured using subjective well being which takes an individual's life satisfaction, pleasure, and lack of pain into account (Kristjánsson, 2010).

Happiness was operationalized using the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). The SHS is a 4-item self-report scale that assesses an individual's sense of happiness. The measure is scored by calculating the mean of all four items with the fourth item being reverse coded.

Sample Questions:

• "In general, I consider myself:"

• "Compared to most of my peers, I consider myself:"

• "Some people are generally very happy. They enjoy life regardless of what is going on, getting the most out of everything. To what extent does this characterization describe you?"

• "Some people are generally not very happy. Although they are not depressed, they never seem as happy as they might be. To what extent does this characterization describe you?"

The SHS possesses good internal consistency (alphas ranging from .79 to .94) and good test-retest reliability (r = .55 to .90). The measure has been shown to have convergent and discriminant validity.

UMD's Grand Challenges initiative consists of five main categories that focuses on addressing global issues using health, science, technology, and policy. The five categories is: Climate Change, Social and Racial Injustice, Global Health, Threats to Democracy, and Ethical, Fair, & Trustworthy Technology. Focusing on sustainability and having a healthy relationship with the environment can improve an individual's quality of life and wellness. Experiences with social and racial injustice can negatively affect one's happiness. Global health relates to happiness because it is an essential component to improving mental health and wellbeing.  Having a goverment with polices that prioritizes human rights, access to healthcare, and equity can lead to a happier society. Lastly, access to technology can reduce barriers to education and make daily life more efficient. Overall, happiness relates to UMD's  Grand Challenges in various ways because achieving the objectives of these challenges can promote collective and individual happiness. 

Check out the research below that the students of the Spring 2025 PSYC 300 class have conducted on this topic!