Hedonism and the choice of everyday activities

Abstract

Most theories of motivation have highlighted that human behavior is guided by the hedonic principle, according to which our choices of daily activities aim to minimize negative affect and maximize positive affect. However, it is not clear how to reconcile this idea with the fact that people routinely engage in unpleasant yet necessary activities. To address this issue, we monitored in real time the activities and moods of over 28,000 people across an average of 27 d using a multiplatform smartphone application. We found that people's choices of activities followed a hedonic flexibility principle. Specifically, people were more likely to engage in mood-increasing activities (e.g., play sports) when they felt bad, and to engage in useful but mood-decreasing activities (e.g., housework) when they felt good. These findings clarify how hedonic considerations shape human behavior. They may explain how humans overcome the allure of short-term gains in happiness to maximize long-term welfare.hedonism | emotions | motivation | decision making | happiness W hat will you be doing in an hour? Working? Doing your laundry? Having a beer with a friend? Behind this simple question lies one of the most important decisions we face in our lives, namely, how to spend our time. On average, people live about 600,000 h, and whether we decide to spend a greater or lesser number of these hours working, sleeping, socializing, or watching television has crucial consequences for our mental and physical health (1-3).There are many factors that influence our everyday activitiesfrom financial considerations to social norms to political constraintsyet most theories of motivation have highlighted the crucial role played by negative and positive affective states (4-6). In particular, human behavior is believed to be guided by the hedonic principle, according to which our choices of activities aim to minimize negative affect and maximize positive affect (7).The hedonic principle has been tested empirically through laboratory studies that have used a wide variety of mood induction techniques (e.g., writing about negative or positive life events, watching sad or happy movies) and then asked individuals to choose among various activities. Results have largely supported the hedonic principle: when they feel bad, most people try to decrease their negative emotions by choosing to engage in activities that make them feel better (e.g., eating comfort food, seeking social support) (8-12); when they feel good, most people try to maintain or even maximize their positive emotions (e.g., playing, engaging in various social, physical, and leisure activities) (13-15)-at least when positive emotions are not considered inappropriate due to social norms or utilitarian concerns (16)(17)(18). Do these laboratory findings generalize to our everyday decisions? Although widely supported in the laboratory, the hedonic principle, without further specification, does not explain much of people's everyday behavior: if we always try to improve our moods, when are we motivate...

Symptoms of Depression in a Large Healthy Population Cohort are related to Subjective Memory Complaints and Memory Performance in Negative Contexts

“…Mood fluctuates throughout the day as well as the lifespan, though overall most individuals feel "fine" most of the time (Taquet et al, 2016). At one time or another, however, virtually everyone will experience low mood that is significant enough to endorse one or more symptoms of depression.…”

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“…Mood fluctuates throughout the day as well as the lifespan, though overall most individuals feel ‘fine’ most of the time (Taquet et al 2016 ). At one time or another, however, virtually everyone will experience low mood that is significant enough to endorse one or more symptoms of depression.…”

A Daily Diary Investigation of the Link Between Television Watching and Positive Affect

“…Indeed, engaging in distraction tactics provides hedonic benefits only for a limited period of time (e.g., Kross and Ayduk 2008). There is also evidence indicating that watching TV leads to small, short-term increases in happiness (Taquet et al 2016) and relaxation (Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi 1990), but these feelings of relaxation tend to go away after TV viewing ends. These findings are consistent with past work indicating that effects of positive affect are short-lived (Bachmann et al 2018;Sheldon et al 1996).…”

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