Money and Happiness
Rank of Income, Not Income, Affects Life Satisfaction
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23324944 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christopher J Boyce (0000-0002-5515-1936, University of Warwick, corresponding author), Gordon D A Brown (0000-0002-2257-1459, University of Warwick), Simon C Moore (Cardiff University), Simon Moore (0000-0001-5495-4705, Cardiff University) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 471-475 |
| Publication date | 2010-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychological Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0956-7976 • E-ISSN: 1467-9280 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0956797610362671 |
| PMID | 20424085 |
| OpenAlex | W2126944594 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 205 |
| References cited | 31 |
Does money buy happiness, or does happiness come indirectly from the higher rank in society that money brings? We tested a rank-income hypothesis, according to which people gain utility from the ranked position of their income within a comparison group. The rank hypothesis contrasts with traditional reference-income hypotheses, which suggest that utility from income depends on comparison to a social reference-group norm. We found that the ranked position of an individual’s income predicts general life satisfaction, whereas absolute income and reference income have no effect. Furthermore, individuals weight upward comparisons more heavily than downward comparisons. According to the rank hypothesis, income and utility are not directly linked: Increasing an individual’s income will increase his or her utility only if ranked position also increases and will necessarily reduce the utility of others who will lose rank.
Happiness · Financial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 205 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 12,81 |
| Citation span | 2010 - 2026 (17) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 196 |