Annotated bibliography

Jake Burton

Independent question- Are people in different cultures happier and more

driven toward meaning.

Source 1
Citation- Belic, Roko, director. Happy. 2011.

Summary- In this film we saw that people that were living in poverty or just living in a
different lifestyle had a higher happiness then say someone that was making a lot of
money and living luxuriously. An example of this is in America the wealth of the country
has grown so much in the last 50 years but the happiness has stayed the same. But in
places like India we met a family and they had to live off or rice and salt but because
they were very happy. In this society we try and surround ourselves with money and
power but what really gives us happiness is the people around us.

Assessment- This is a strong source because it had many reliable sources give their
opinions and facts. This source also had experiments that backed up their theories.

Reflection- This source has shown me that for many people they find happiness
through the people around them and not through money.

Evidence- You can take a bad experience and turn it into a good one.
America's wealth has gone up but the happiness levels has not.
Source 2
Citation- Smith, Emily Esfahani. “There's More to Life Than Being Happy.” The Atlantic, Atlantic
Media Company, 9 Jan. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/theres-more-to-life-than-
being-happy/266805/.

Summary- In this article we got to see what the difference between being happy and a
sense of meaning. We get to met a man by the name of Frankl and he was a therapist
and then during ww2 he and his family were captured by the nazis and thrown into a
concentration camp. This shows that his life has meaning because he sacrificed his
career and life to help his family get through the camp.

Assessment- I think that this a strong source but because I do not agree that
everyone's personal happiness is selfish because people can be happy by not taking
from others but by helping others.

Reflection- This will help me answer the question because this show not only
happiness but it shows you thats some people's happiness can be selfish. This also
shows you that sacrificing something that you want can give you a meaning.

Evidence- “ the last of the human freedoms-- to choose one’s attitude in any given set
of circumstances.”
“By 1941, his theories had received international attention and he was working as the
chief of neurology at Vienna's Rothschild Hospital, where he risked his life and career
by making false diagnoses of mentally ill patients so that they would not, per Nazi
orders, be euthanized.”
“That is, people who thought more about the present were happier, but people who
spent more time thinking about the future or about past struggles and sufferings felt
more meaning in their lives, though they were less happy.”
"then there must be meaning in suffering."
Source 3
Citation- Seligman, Martin. “The New Era of Positive Psychology.” TED: Ideas Worth Spreading,
www.ted.com/talks/martin_seligman_on_the_state_of_psychology.

Summary- He described the current state of psychology as not good enough. They
were so focused on helping people with a mental illness that they forgot about making
not just the people with theses diseases but help everyone be happy. They try and
make people feel fulfilled. There are many kinds of lives for example, the pleasant life,
good life and the meaningful life. The meaningful life is the life that you sacrifice and find
your meaning in your life.

Assessment- I think that this source is the strong for my research because It show the
different kinds of of lives that can feel happy but that is a fake happiness that people
believe to be.

Reflection- This will help me show that matreil happiness like what the U.S is living in
is a lot different then say a Denmark that finds happiness a different way.

Evidence- “Professor Seligman, what is the state of psychology today?" "Not good
enough."

“The second cost was that we forgot about you people. We forgot about improving
normal lives.”
Source 4
Citation- Killingsworth, Matt. “Want to Be Happier? Stay in the Moment.” TED: Ideas
Worth Spreading,
www.ted.com/talks/matt_killingsworth_want_to_be_happier_stay_in_the_moment#t-
484731.

Summary- In this United states people have been able to get the big houses and the
nice cars but the happiness that those are supposed to bring have not help the
happiness in the country. They have set up a program to try and find what really makes
us happy. The program sends questions to people in the middle of the day and try and
find what people are doing to make them happy. What they have found is that people
that mind wander are less happy than when they are focused on the task at hand. The
mind mostly wanders to unpleasant experiences. This then bring the happiness of the
person down. When people are focused on a task then they are more happy.

Assessment- I think that this is a strong source because they used experiments to
show that their data was correct and they had a brod amount of people that are
participating in the experiments.

Reflection- This source helps me answer this question because this has an
experiment, a different theory and a brod amount of people.

Evidence- “Now in the last 50 years, we Americans have gotten a lot of the things that
we want. We're richer. We live longer. We have access to technology that would have
seemed like science fiction just a few years ago. The paradox of happiness is that even
though the objective conditions of our lives have improved dramatically, we haven't
actually gotten any happier.”
“the contents of our moment-to-moment experiences. It certainly seems that we're going
about our lives, that what we're doing, who we're with, what we're thinking about, have a
big influence on our happiness, and yet these are the very factors that have been very
difficult, in fact almost impossible, for scientists to study.”
“ As human beings, we have this unique ability to have our minds stray away from the
present. This guy is sitting here working on his computer, and yet he could be thinking
about the vacation he had last month.”

Source 5
Citation- Insider, Thomas Colson Business. “7 Reasons Denmark Is the Happiest Country in the
World.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 26 Sept. 2016,
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/7-reasons-denmark-is-the-happiest-country-in-the-
world-a7331146.html.

Summary- The country is based off of togetherness and a word that they call hygge.
The home in denmark is the headquarters and the family will gather and play after work
or school. In denmark the homes have the biggest living space in all of europe. Food
and drink was another reason why the country is happy,the average dane eats 1 kilo of
bacon a year. Christmas is another big part of the country and the people strive to have
hygge at the end of the month. This goal is striving for togetherness and to find
happiness in family.

Assessment- This source is strong for me because it shows how this country can be
happy and not strive for money. This shows how togetherness is a how this country is
happy and shows how human interaction brings true happiness.

Reflection- This helps me answer the question because I have not just this resource
that shows us that family and friends are important to happiness. This resource also
does not mention that the country is happy because of money.

Evidence- “the best predictor of whether we are happy or not is our social
relationships,”

Source 6
Citation-“Here's How Happy Americans Are Right Now: Harris Poll.” Time, Time,
time.com/4871720/how-happy-are-americans/.

Summary- In 2016 the happiness survey 31% of americans said that they were
happy. In 2017 33% of americans said that they were happy. This is only a 2%
difference in one year. In the news their is so many promises for change that they have
become immune.The americans that said they were the happiest were men and woman
of high income houses. Also men have experienced more growth in happiness. 79% of
Millennials said that they were optimistic about the future. But 77% said that they were
worried about finances.More than half of them were frustrated with their career. 53%
were also worried about their health. 71% said spiritual beliefs were a guiding force for
them in life.“Maybe we are turning off cable news and turning back into our
families and communities and faith.” Close to 40% of Americans said in 2017 that
they rarely engage in hobbies and pastimes they enjoy. Many also didn't feel their voice
was heard.

Assessment- I think that this is a strong source for me because this had a nationwide
survey that involved all kinds of generations. Also this survey has been around for a
while and they compare the different years.

Reflection- This will help me find the question because this shows why the future
generations are worried about and what they are excited about in the future.

Evidence- “Maybe we are turning off cable news and turning back into our
families and communities and faith.”
“Millennials were the most likely to say they were optimistic about their future:
79% said they were. However, 77% said they worried about finances”
“ 53% of Americans surveyed said they rarely worry about their health”

Source 7
Citation- “Africa's 'Happiest' Countries Revealed.” CNN, Cable News Network, 22 Mar. 2016,
www.cnn.com/travel/article/world-happiness-report-africa/index.html.

Summary- Six key factors were measured to establish a global ranking of the happiest
countries; GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life
choices, generosity and perceptions of corruption. Of all of these I think that social
support is the most important because humans are social creatures and we need strong
relationships to feel meaning. I did notice in this article that social support was one of
the main reasons for that country's happiness. This article kept mentioning the country's
GDP and how that's why the countries happy. I disagree because in america its wealth
is high but its people aren't happy. GDP doesn't mean everything.

Assessment- This is a strong source because this helps me see that togetherness
and social support means alot to a country's happiness.

Reflection- It's another way to show that people all over the world need this social
support to find happiness and meaning.

Evidence- “Ranking number 38 on the global list of the happiest countries in the world
is Algeria, North Africa. GDP per capita played a big role in this ranking, followed by
social support”
“Just beneath Mauritius on the global list is Libya, North Africa at number 67 out of a
total of 147 countries. GDP per capita contributed slightly less to people's happiness in
Libya in comparison to Mauritius, with social support being slightly more important.”