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Comment by lordnacho | Hacker News Reader

My main question with the happiness surveys is whether what you're really getting is the answer you want to hear.

So for instance if you're Scandinavian you're expected to say you're happy. This is pretty much one of the first things everyone says when it comes to the region. And if you haven't thought too much about it lately, perhaps you are inclined to just tell the researcher a stock answer.

How do we know that people are not just saying what is expected of them? I think there's at least some evidence that people tend to do that when asked a question.

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It goes the other way too, some cultures have the belief that outward displays of happiness invite misfortune, especially around nosy strangers, aka happiness researchers.

> So for instance if you're Scandinavian you're expected to say you're happy.

I can't remember where I read it, but I read something that explained Scandinavian happiness through low expectations. At the beginning of the year, people were asked how they think they feel and be doing in a year, and the answer was marginally better. In a year, the researchers checked in, and people were generally doing marginally better. So it's probably closer to satisfaction than happiness.

Well, neurosciences tend to find generally good correlations between what people say they feel, and what can be measured by other means (IRMf and so on).

Plus, it seems human minds is completely sensible to auto-persuasion with methods as trivial as daily individual "say it loudly" and "visualize the situation has you already succeeded in the goal". So being completely acculturated to a social belief of "we are so happy in our land" can surely be granted some favorable credits.

> So for instance if you're Scandinavian you're expected to say you're happy.

That implies that not only they are not that happy but they are systemically lying for some reason. I find this scenario hard to believe.

> How do we know that people are not just saying what is expected of them?

I don't know much about statistics, but given a large enough sample size these folks probably an edge case. Source: gut feeling.

>That implies that not only they are not that happy but they are systemically lying for some reason. I find this scenario hard to believe.

I don't think this is outlandish. In Japanese there are words for true feelings vs reported, societally expected ones:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honne_and_tatemae

The concept is also deeply British "stiff upper lip" etc, although I am struggling to think of good words to describe the difference (the Wikipedia article uses "private mind" which is deeply unsatisfactory).

> That implies that not only they are not that happy but they are systemically lying for some reason. I find this scenario hard to believe.

I don't at all. Everytime my boss or coworkers have asked how I'm doing I've always said great unless I had an amusing anecdote. Even if I'm having a fight with my wife, I'm experiencing anxiety, or I'm feeling depressed. I could totally imagine this social rule being broader and stronger in other countries.

>> That implies that not only they are not that happy but they are systemically lying for some reason. I find this scenario hard to believe.

Hmm, I find it believable that people may systematically lie when asked at work whether they are happy with their personal life.

This is very different survey compared to when HR asks you the same questions. Even in workplace scenarios I wouldn't lie if my personal life were suffering from difficulties.

I believe you might be in the minority at least in the u.s. Here most blue and white color workers don't feel comfortable sharing negative events in their personal life except under certain exceptions.(especially close work friends, in an informal setting)

Yeah, I'm in Easter Europe. I had a 1:1 and shared it with my boss that I just had a break up with my GF so that's why my focus is not that sharp lately. He appreciated it and we moved on to other topics.

So you would be fine to share at work that your gf cheated on you and left for another dude and so you are a little bit destabilized/unhappy now? (it is just a hypothetical case)

Why not? Maybe not all details, but at some people should be aware that it's not the job or co-worker relations that makes me look like shit.

Actually I know a guy who had in a bar fight after a scenario you just described. He's still fine at his job.

>> Actually I know a guy who had in a bar fight after a scenario you just described. He's still fine at his job.

It is not like you are going to be fired if you are a software engineer talking a bit about your life. However, "bringing you shit" and discussing it at work is not always welcomed especially in most competitive environments. I guess that people who worked in such environments know what I am talking about.

As an example, have a look at what two other users reply above.

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