“The How Of Happiness” by Sonja Lyubomirsky states that happiness is worth striving for. It also states that 50 percent of human’s happiness is genetically determined, 10 percent is affected by life circumstances, and a 40 percent is achieved with choices and self control. “The How Of Happiness” offers strategies to target the 40 percent of happiness that is subject to enhancement. The seminal research title “Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change” by Sonja Lyubomirsky, David Schkade and Kennon M. Sheldon, published on the Review of General Psychology in 2005, can be freely accessed on http://www.psych.umn.edu/courses/fall06/macdonalda/psy4960/Readings/LyubomirskySustain_RGP05.pdf

Additional Happiness research by Sonya Lyubomirsky includes:

• Lyubomirsky, S., Sousa, L., Dickerhoof, R. (2006). The costs and benefits of writing, talking, and thinking about life’s triumphs and defeats. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 692-708.

• Lyubomirsky, S., King, L. A., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803-855.
• Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111-131.

• Boehm, J. K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2009). The promise of sustainable happiness. In S. J. Lopez (Ed.), Handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed.; pp. 667-677). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Sin, N. L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2009). Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: A practice-friendly meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session, 65,467-487.

The How of Happiness has been taken to the iPhone, in the form of an application called Live Happy. Sonja Lyubomirsky is on application developer (Signal Patterns)  scientific advisory board.

These are some videos where Sonja Lyubomirsky describes her happiness scientific research and approach to happiness:

Sonja Lyubomirsky lecture @ Google

Sonja Lyubomirsky interview @ GMA

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