We think we need greater self-control to be happier. But a new study suggests the arrow of causation points the other way.

The new year is a time when we all try to turn over a new leaf by getting rid of bad habits and developing new ones in their place. But as we all know from personal experience, most New Year’s ...

Trying to be happy often makes people less happy. This conundrum is called the happiness paradox, and it has been studied for more than a decade. Unlike many goals, which produce better results the ...

Self-harming and self-sabotaging behaviors, from skin picking to ghosting people, all stem from evolutionary survival mechanisms, according to a compelling new psychological analysis.

A new study finds people who habitually try to be happier also tend to have less willpower. Researchers have a new explanation for why we experience the "happiness paradox" -- a phenomenon wherein ...

Researchers found autonomy boosts wellbeing globally, but wealthier societies see dramatically stronger effects on life ...

At the start of 2025, Sam Maglio, PhD, a professor of marketing and psychology at the University of Toronto Scarborough, made a resolution that he felt could defeat the so-called happiness paradox. He ...

Chasing happiness does one thing better than anything else: It emphasizes the fact you aren’t happy yet. We’re unhappy because we made happiness conditional. ‘I’ll be happy when I get to $10k per ...

These are comments I might get when people learn about my lifestyle. I’m one of those annoying people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables, exercise five times a week, save a portion of their salary, ...