Wealth, Warmth, and Well-Being: Whether Happiness is Relative or Absolute Depends on Whether it is about Money, Acquisition, or Consumption
研究区分了金钱、获取和消费三种幸福，发现金钱和获取幸福是相对的，消费幸福则取决于消费是否易于评价，对提升消费者幸福有启示。
A central question in consumer and happiness research is whether happiness depends on absolute or relative levels of wealth and consumption. To address this question, the authors evaluate a finer level than overall happiness and distinguish three specific types of happiness: with money, with the acquisition of an item, and with the consumption of an item. They find that happiness with money and with acquisition is relative and that happiness with consumption can be either absolute or relative, depending on whether the consumption is inherently evaluable or not. Including both lab and field data, this research yields implications for how to increase consumer happiness from one generation to the next.