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and less irritability. Membership of leisure and sports groups, notably those that involve dancing, music, volunteer charity work or all-consuming sports have been found in surveys to be conducive to higher ratings of well-being. Membership of such leisure groups probably leads to increased well-being because it involves interaction with others, often within the context of a mini-culture that has its own ethos, values and a system for structuring time, activity and social relationships. Leisure groups that involve music, in addition to the foregoing, reap all the positive benefits of music for the induction of positive moods. Thus, group-based leisure activities may increase happiness by meeting certain needs such as: the needs for affiliation and altruism; the need for autonomous execution of skilled activity; the need for excitement; and the need for competition and achievement.

EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVES ON OBSTACLES TO HAPPINESS

In western civilised countries our environment is in many respects luxurious compared to that of our cave-dwelling ancestors. We have reduced infant mortality, virtually eliminated many fatal infectious diseases, overcome food shortages and developed energy, housing and transport systems that have greatly reduced the destructive impact of extreme weather conditions. We have also developed ways of protecting ourselves from most predators, created machines to carry out many menial tasks, designed a lifestyle which includes education, sport, art and leisure activities, and doubled the average person’s lifespan. However, we are still not happy some of the time and some people are unhappy much of the time. There are many obstacles to our happiness, and evolutionary psychology offers insights into some of these (Axelrod, 1984; Buss, 1999, 2000; Pinker, 1997; Zahavi and Zahavi, 1997).

Obstacles to happiness with evolutionary origins include our innate tendencies to habituate or adapt to pleasurable situations and to have inequitable reactions to equal losses and gains. Another obstacle to happiness is the tendency to make comparisons between the self and others, which in ancestral times was adaptive but can be maladaptive in modern society where highly salient and unrealistically positive images of others are presented in the media. A further obstacle to happiness is the fact that we have been naturally selected through the process of evolution to experience certain distressing emotions such as anxiety, depression and anger because they were adaptive for the survival of our species before the development of our modern society. Let us consider each of these obstacles to happiness in turn.

Habituation and adaptation to pleasurable situations

We have evolved in a way that we are designed to quickly habituate or adapt to situations that give us pleasure because it was adaptive for our hunting and gathering ancestors (Buss, 2000; Frederick and Lowenstein, 1999). People who quickly habituated to the pleasures of any gains they made in obtaining better food or shelter were naturally selected. Those who rested on their laurels for a long time on each occasion when they achieved a goal that entailed the experience of long-lasting pleasure did not survive. In modern times this evolutionary design feature of humans underlies the tyranny of consumerism. People believe that they will be happy when they get this new type of food, clothing, household appliance, car or house but once they have it for a while, they habituate or adapt and want one that is bigger or better.

Brickman and Campbell (1971) coined the term ‘hedonic treadmill’ to describe this process of rapid adaptation whereby people react strongly to both positive and negative recent events with sharp increases or decreases in happiness but in most instances return to their happiness set-point over relatively short periods of time (e.g. a few weeks or months). Subsequent research (e.g. Diener et al., 1999; Diener, 2000) has shown that while rapid habituation occurs for some positive and negative events (e.g. imprisonment or winning the lottery), people adapt more slowly to certain types of events (such as marriage or death of a spouse) and do not adapt at all to others (e.g. noise and sex). Why this occurs is not fully understood. It follows from our knowledge of habituation that an acceptance of its inevitability may reduce the disappointment and dysphoria that comes with expecting increases in happiness arising from material gains to be enduring.

A second important finding concerning adaptation is that habituation to discrete pleasures, such as eating a favourite food or hearing a favourite piece of music, occurs less rapidly if the pleasurable experiences are spaced apart. Such discrete pleasures have a greater positive effect if the craving for a further episode of pleasure is allowed to dissipate before the pleasure is indulged in again. This finding is based on animal studies of addictive processes (Shizgal, 1997). It follows from this that to increase our happiness we should indulge ourselves in pleasures at optimally spaced intervals, so that each time we listen to our favourite music or eat our favourite food, we do so after our craving to do so based on past indulgence of the pleasure has passed (Seligman, 2002).

Negative social comparisons

Our level of happiness is influenced by how we rate ourselves and our current circumstances, not only in comparison with our recent circumstances, but also in comparison with those of others (Wood, 1996). We compare ourselves with other people in terms of health, personal attractiveness and that of our partners and children, wealth, social status, academic and athletic achievement, and so forth. This process of social comparison in ancestral times was adaptive because it led us to strive to be the best and to have the best resources in our group and so propagate our genetic line. In ancestral society, it was possible for a handful of people within each human group (which typically numbered about 50 to 200) to have the best lifestyle, to be the most attractive male or female and to be the best at work, sport or relationships. Thus a handful of people in each

human grouping were happy because they were the best in their group in some particular domain. Also, it was realistic for many people within the group to aspire to be the best in their group at something at some point in their lifecycle. Modern media, including TV, films, video, magazines, newspapers and the internet, present images of lifestyles, physical attractiveness and levels of excellence in work, sport and human relationships which most people will never be able to attain. When we measure our success against the standards presented in the media, rather than the best in our immediate reference group, this can lead to unhappiness because we cannot attain the standards set by media images (Buss, 2000). This is due in some instances to the fictitious nature of the standards. For example, the images of physical attractiveness and happiness portrayed by film stars or musicians are partially fictitious. In other instances, standards set by the media are unattainable because, for most of us, the constraints of our lifestyles do not allow us to devote all our energy to one thing such as singing, playing chess, or ballet dancing and all of us are not equally gifted. When we judge ourselves as failing to meet very high standards set by media images, we can experience low self-esteem and unhappiness.

Also, the media’s presentation of images of dominant males and attractive females can weaken people’s commitments to their own partners who do not compare favourably with media images. This, in turn, in some instances can impact negatively on marital satisfaction, family stability and the health and well-being of offspring (Myers, 1992).

According to multiple discrepancy theory (Michalos, 1985) our level of satisfaction is determined by comparisons we make between our current circumstances and multiple standards. These include: people who are better and worse off than ourselves; our past circumstances; our future aspirations and ideals; and our needs and personal goals. This theory suggests that we have a choice about improving our happiness and low self-esteem associated with negative comparisons with media images. We can value the relationships, personal strengths, achievements and acquisitions that we have, compared to those worse off than ourselves. We can judge our circumstances against realistic personal goals and aspirations which are consistent with our personal abilities and resources. We can judge ourselves against our immediate local reference group, not the false images of the media.

We can also check out the validity of the health, wealth, happiness, and so forth, of media images. There is evidence that we have the flexibility to choose to make these alternative comparisons and so improve our sense of well-being (Diener et al., 1999).

Inequitable reactions to equal losses and gains

We are also designed in evolutionary terms so that losses lead to more intense emotional experiences than gains of the same magnitude, because this was adaptive for our ancestors (Buss, 2000). So, loss of an animal that had been hunted long and hard and got away led to a far more intense emotional experience than that associated with successfully killing the same animal after a long chase. Those who experienced intense emotions following loss were strongly motivated to work hard to avoid loss and so survived. Those that did not experience intense emotions in response to loss were not motivated to work hard to avoid loss and probably experienced multiple losses of food, shelter and other things necessary for survival and so died out. In modern times, this legacy remains with us. The despair experienced at losing €100 is not matched in magnitude by the satisfaction of earning or winning €100. One outcome of being

designed in this way by the process of natural selection is that to achieve intense satisfaction a great deal must be acquired. However, to experience intense distress, only a little needs to be lost. Both of these factors compromise our capacity for happiness.

Furthermore our disappointment at the small increments in happiness that arise from big gains and the large decrements in happiness entailed by small losses may further detract from our happiness. However, if we accept that this is the way we are designed, then we will not be disappointed when moderate achievements bring only small increases in happiness. We can also take steps to enhance the support available to us from friends and family when we anticipate or experience moderate losses.

Adaptive but distressing emotions

As a species we have evolved in such a way that we are designed to have certain distressing emotions such as anxiety, depression, jealousy or anger in certain circumstances because these reactions were adaptive for our ancestors (Buss, 2000).

When faced with certain dangers or threats (e.g. snakes or separation from a parent) our ancestors experienced anxiety. This motivated them to avoid the threat and so survive.

When faced with loss of status or power in a social hierarchy or close relationships they experienced depression. This motivated others within their group not to challenge or attack them and so they survived. When faced with the threat of spousal infidelity, they, like us, experienced jealousy. This motivated them to be vigilant and protective of their spouses so that their children could survive. When faced with obstacles to attaining a valued goal such as food or sex they experienced anger. This motivated them to remove obstacles and so survive. We have inherited this distressing emotional legacy from our ancestors, because it was adaptive for them. Thus, we all have some propensity to experience anxiety in the face of threat; depression following loss; jealousy in response to possible infidelity; and anger in response to obstruction. This distressing emotional legacy is an obstacle to happiness. Advances in psychotherapy, particularly cognitive-behavioural and systemic therapies suggest ways of managing distressing emotions by making changes in the way we think, act and manage relationships (Carr, 2000c; Nathan and Gorman, 2002).

For depression, avoid distressing situations. If this is not possible, focus on the non-distressing aspects of the situation. If this is not possible, assertively ask others who are distressing you to behave in less stressful ways. If you begin to feel depressed, challenge pessimistic and perfectionistic thinking and look for evidence to support more optimistic alternative ways of making sense of each situation. Increase your activity level by engaging in regular exercise and schedule events that you find stimulating and pleasurable. Meet regularly with close friends and family members whom you can count on to offer you social support.

For anxiety, challenge threat-oriented thinking and look for evidence to support less threatening ways of interpreting these distressing situations. Practise being courageous by actively going into situations that frighten you and remaining there until your anxiety subsides. When you take on these challenges, ask close friends and family members to support you and celebrate your success. Prepare well for challenges by practising coping skills such as relaxation exercises, listening to calming music, and so forth.

For anger, avoid anger-provoking situations. If this is not possible, focus on the non-distressing aspects of the situation. If this is not possible, assertively ask others who are provoking you to behave in less stressful ways. If you begin to feel anger, stand back from the situation and allow your physiological arousal level to decrease, so you can think more efficiently. We cannot think efficiently when we are highly physiologically aroused by anger, fear or excitement. Then try to hear, understand and empathise with the other person’s point of view. This may allow you to see that there are no grounds for being aggrieved, or, if there are, you will be better able to see more constructive ways of settling the grievance.