Overview
Provides access to unique qualitative and comparative data on happiness that can provide insight into how perceptions have changed from 1938-2016
Examines the theoretical and historical underpinnings of happiness as well as the varying definitions and changing nature of the concept over time
Outlines suggestions for future directions in happiness research and potential opportunities and challenges
Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
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Table of contents (9 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This book shines a light on the meaning of happiness and how public perceptions of it have changed over time. A question that has engaged philosophers from the days of Aristotle, happiness is a subject of growing academic interest, and its recent integration into government policy is provoking increased debate into its definition and nature. Sandie McHugh and her associates build on the work of social anthropologist Tom Harrison’s ‘Worktown’ Mass Observation study from 1938, repeating the original study today. Together these accounts show how perceptions of happiness have changed over the years for the people of Bolton, UK, and reveal major difference between its definition then and now. This unique study is a useful tool in the understanding and study of happiness, offering invaluable insights for scholars and practitioners working in the fields of social psychology, positive psychology, health psychology and wellbeing.
With chapters by Martin Guha and Jerome Carson; John Haworth; Robert Snape; and Matthew Watson and Linda Withey.
Reviews
“This book takes readers to a journey of happiness starting from 1938 to the present time. Read this book – and learn to find happiness in your own life.” (Professor Samuel M.Y. Ho, City University of Hong Kong)
“In 1938 the social investigative organisation, Mass Observation, asked the people of Bolton 'What makes you happy'. Nearly 80 years later Boltonians were again asked this question. Using the results of both surveys, this excellent collection of essays explains what changed between these years and what has stayed the same. It will be welcomed by scholars across disciplines as an expert intervention in the ongoing happiness debate and as an enlightening account of life in Mass Observation's 'Worktown'.” (Professor Claire Langhamer, University of Sussex, UK)
“A community study of happiness is long overdue, and equally rare, a study with an eye to its historical unfolding. This fine work by McHugh and her colleagues helps close this gap.” (Professor Robert A. Stebbins, FRSC University of Calgary, Canada)
Editors and Affiliations
About the editor
Sandie McHugh is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Bolton, UK. She originally became interested in applied psychology as a sports competitor and while working in the public sector. Her current research interests centre on cultural psychology, positive psychology and happiness.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Changing Nature of Happiness
Book Subtitle: An In-Depth Study of a Town in North West England 1938–2016
Editors: Sandie McHugh
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65651-9
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and Psychology, Behavioral Science and Psychology (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-65650-2Published: 07 December 2017
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-88073-0Published: 31 August 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-65651-9Published: 24 November 2017
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXI, 152
Number of Illustrations: 10 b/w illustrations
Topics: Health Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology, Community and Environmental Psychology, Historical Sociology, Urban Studies/Sociology