February 11, 2009 1:55 PM
- Text
Study: Happiness Is Contagious
(AP)
Scientists reported Friday that happiness is contagious, and that you may have complete strangers to thank for the smile on your face.
In a paper published Friday in the BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal, American researchers tracked more than 4,700 people in Framingham, Massachussetts, as part of a heart study from 1983 to 2003.
When they analyzed the data looking for happiness trends, the scientists found that happy people passed on their cheer to people they didn't personally know - and this transferred happiness lasted for up to a year.
"Happiness is like a stampede," said Nicholas Christakis, a professor in Harvard University's sociology department, one of the study's authors. "Whether you're happy depends not just on your own actions and behaviors and thoughts, but on those of people you don't even know."
Christakis and James Fowler, an associate professor of political science at the University of California in San Diego, previously found that obesity and smoking habits spread socially as well.
For this study, they examined questionnaires that asked people to measure their happiness and found distinct happy and unhappy clusters that were significantly bigger than would be expected by chance alone.
Happiness lasted for up to three cycles: to the friends of friends of friends.
Happy people tended to be at the center of social networks and had many friends who were also happy. Having friends or siblings live nearby increased peoples' chances of being upbeat.
Happy spouses helped too, but not as much as happy friends of the same gender. No effects were seen with coworkers.
Christakis and Fowler estimate that each happy friend boosts your own happiness chances by 9 percent. Having grumpy friends decreases it by about 7 percent.
Being happy also brings other benefits.
"Happiness has a protective effect on your immune system and you produce fewer stress hormones," said Andrew Steptoe, a professor of psychology at University College London who was not linked to the study.
Other experts said people shouldn't assume they can make themselves happy just by making the right friends.
Because the study was done in a single community, further research is needed to confirm its findings. The study was also conducted before the rise of online social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.
"This type of technology enhances your contact with friends, so it should support the kind of emotional contagion we observed," Christakis said, though he couldn't say if being on Facebook would make you happier.
Fowler said the study was the first tentative evidence of karma.
"The fact that happiness spreads from person to person to person suggests that these waves of happiness we radiate could eventually wash up on our own shores," he said.
In a paper published Friday in the BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal, American researchers tracked more than 4,700 people in Framingham, Massachussetts, as part of a heart study from 1983 to 2003.
When they analyzed the data looking for happiness trends, the scientists found that happy people passed on their cheer to people they didn't personally know - and this transferred happiness lasted for up to a year.
"Happiness is like a stampede," said Nicholas Christakis, a professor in Harvard University's sociology department, one of the study's authors. "Whether you're happy depends not just on your own actions and behaviors and thoughts, but on those of people you don't even know."
Christakis and James Fowler, an associate professor of political science at the University of California in San Diego, previously found that obesity and smoking habits spread socially as well.
For this study, they examined questionnaires that asked people to measure their happiness and found distinct happy and unhappy clusters that were significantly bigger than would be expected by chance alone.
Happiness lasted for up to three cycles: to the friends of friends of friends.
Happy people tended to be at the center of social networks and had many friends who were also happy. Having friends or siblings live nearby increased peoples' chances of being upbeat.
Happy spouses helped too, but not as much as happy friends of the same gender. No effects were seen with coworkers.
Christakis and Fowler estimate that each happy friend boosts your own happiness chances by 9 percent. Having grumpy friends decreases it by about 7 percent.
Being happy also brings other benefits.
"Happiness has a protective effect on your immune system and you produce fewer stress hormones," said Andrew Steptoe, a professor of psychology at University College London who was not linked to the study.
Other experts said people shouldn't assume they can make themselves happy just by making the right friends.
"The psychological health of your friends is a predictor of your own mental health, but to say you can manipulate who your friends are to make yourself happier would be going too far," said Stanley Wasserman, an Indiana University statistician who studies social networks.
Because the study was done in a single community, further research is needed to confirm its findings. The study was also conducted before the rise of online social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.
"This type of technology enhances your contact with friends, so it should support the kind of emotional contagion we observed," Christakis said, though he couldn't say if being on Facebook would make you happier.
Fowler said the study was the first tentative evidence of karma.
"The fact that happiness spreads from person to person to person suggests that these waves of happiness we radiate could eventually wash up on our own shores," he said.
Popular Now in Health
- Cancer drug reverses Alzheimer's in mice: Study
- Marijuana-smoking motorists twice as likely to crash
- 4.5 million Americans over 50 have artificial knees
- Skin cancer self-exam: What to look for (PHOTOS)
- Norovirus outbreak hits Rider University in N.J
- America's pets also have an obesity epidemic
- Things You Didn't Know About Your Penis
- PICTURES: 15 Shocking Sexual Fetishes
- John Dye Dies: What Killed "Angel" Star?
- America's sodium problem: Not from salty snacks?
- Let's Move! campaign turns 2 today: Is it working?
- Caffeine inhalers - the next club drug?
- Chinese mom gives birth to 15-pound baby
- Woman spotlights uterus didelphys on talk show
- Christina Hendricks: Too Big for Hollywood?
- 8 Tips For Losing Weight After Pregnancy
- Online dating downsides, romantic tattoo gone wrong: HealthPop Valentine's Day video
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook
on CBS News
- Richardson hits nine 3s, Magic top Bucks 99-94
- Smith stops 38 shots, Coyotes top Blackhawks 3-0
- Whitney Houston's voice will never be forgotten
- Reactions to Whitney Houston's death
on Facebook
- Adele sings a cappella for Anderson Cooper
- Occupy protestors kicked out of CPAC
- CPAC: Will Sarah Palin spring a surprise?
- Beyonce and Jay-Z post first photos of Blue Ivy Carter
on CBS News
