But the term “life circumstances” is extremely broad and includes (as Lyubomirsky and her colleagues noted in 2005) “the national, geographical, and cultural region in which a person resides.” But studies done in a single country probably won’t capture the widest possible variation in life circumstances like these, which may explain why the 10 percent slice is too small. The 10 percent figure was based on studies mainly measuring demographics-like age, income, education, race, and sex, they point out. For example, Brown and Rohrer cite recent research suggesting that the heritability of happiness is 70 to 80 percent. In the other direction, genes can influence our tendency to engage in activities that will make us happier, such as exercise, acts of kindness, or pursuing goals.Įven assuming these three factors could be totally separated, critics argue that the 50 percent for genes and 10 percent for life circumstances are underestimates-making the 40 percent figure too high. Rohrer write in their 2019 paper, perhaps you have a genetic disposition toward anxiety-activated by the circumstances of your stressful childhood-that is putting a damper on your happiness.Īs these examples illustrate, and new studies are showing, genes may be expressed or not depending on what happens in our lives (both what happens to us-our circumstances-and what we choose to do-our intentional activities). Or, as the University of Groningen’s Nicholas Brown and the University of Leipzig’s Julia M. They can also influence each other, muddying those distinctions.įor example, Kashdan writes, you may have a gene for leadership, but you won’t necessarily turn into an adept leader unless you find yourself in the right life circumstances (for starters, a supportive social environment). While the pie has separate slices, he argues, our genes, our life circumstances, and our activities aren’t three isolated factors that influence our happiness directly. “When you are given a graph that is this clean, it seems reasonable to be skeptical,” warns George Mason University professor Todd Kashdan in his blog post critiquing the pie chart.
From the GGSC to your bookshelf: 30 science-backed tools for well-being.