No abstract

In the last decades, our understanding of human well-being and development has shifted from a traditional focus on income and consumption towards a richer multidimensional approach. This shift has been strongly influenced by a body of research in subjective well-being (SWB) and the capabilities approach, which emphasizes the role of freedom and opportunities on well-being. This paper explores the relationship between di↵erent measures of subjective well-being and two "hidden dimensions" of development, agency and discrimination. Using statistical techniques that allow to isolate personal traits that could a↵ect both SWB and capabilities perceptions, we document a strong relationship between life satisfaction and agency, comparable to the e↵ect of income variables. Discrimination perceptions seem to a↵ect more job satisfaction than life satisfaction for those who work.

No abstract

No abstract

The theory of false alarm for laughter could explain the involuntary laugh when someone is tickled. To put this hypothesis to the test, we handed out a questionnaire (180 items) with two hundred university students. Our main results are: In women who like being tickled, we discover components related to pleasure, erotism, feeling of affection, arousal, uncontrollability, domination, sexism and Darwinian (golden ratio) and psychological traits (empathy, low schizotypy and external locus of control) that are not present in the laughter at a stumble. The relation of both types of laughter with sense of humor is also differential. In men who like being tickled, we discover components related to masturbation, sexual fantasies, erotism, arousal, domination, sexist humour and Darwinian (square chin, feeling of masculinity) and psychological traits (empathic stress, low schizotypy, external locus of control and overall self-esteem). The relationship between being tickled and self-esteem shows a double aspect in men: It is positive in men who like being tickled and negative in men who do not like being tickled. For women there is not a relationship between self-esteem and tickling. Our conclusion is that laughter of ticklishness is a Darwinian feature related to empathy.