Unit 1 Happiness
Part 1
Teacher: Hi, good morning. Did you hear about thelottery winner last night? The man won…what?…Two million dollars…? Student: No, three.
Teacher: Three million dollars?Threemillion. That's alot of money isn't it? Do you think that three million dollars would make you happy?…I'm asking you thisbecause when you ask people what they need to be happy,many people will answer\money!\assume thatmoney will make us happier. But is this true? Will winning the lottery help you achieve happiness?
Today we're going to look at the idea of happiness, at thepsychology of happiness--whatmakes some people happier than others. We'll look at three personality factorsthat we find in happy people. To find out about thesepersonality factors, psychologists talked to hundreds ofpeople. Now, first, they asked the people how happy theyfelt--you know, from \Then they asked some more questions,Theywanted tofind out about people's personalities, such as theirattitudes about life, and so on. They looked at the differences between happy people and unhappy people. Theyfound three factors that are very important for achievinghappiness. So…let's look at thosefactors now.
The first personality factor is that happy people are…satisfied with themselves. This means that they like themselves as they are, and they’re happy with what theyhave. Happy people may not like everything about theirlives-they may be a little bit overweight, or may nothave the best job, or may not live in a big, fancy house,but they don't need to change those things to be happy.They think more about the things they are satisfiedwith, not the changes they want to make. This feeling ofhappiness comes from the inside, not from somethingoutside. Part 2
Teacher: So…happy people feel satisfied with themselves. On the other hand, unhappy people areoften dissatisfied with themselves. They...uh...feel that something must change so they can be happy. Theythink if they lose some weight or
get a better job or anicer house they will be happy. They are always looking for something outside themselves to make them happy.
But the problem is-they never find it! No matter what they get, they're still dissatisfied and unhappy.
The second personality factor is that happy people areoptimistic-they look at the positive side of life, not thenegative. Now, we all have problems, whether we'rehappy or not. But when happy people have problems,theyassumethat things will improve. They don’t worry a lot and think about all the bad things that can happen.Instead, they have a positive attitude. However,unhappy people are the opposite. They are notoptimistic and don't have a positive attitude. Whenthey have a problem, they think about how bad everything is and assume that it'll get worse. So they makethemselves even more unhappy when they think aboutall the bad things that might happen.
Finally, the third personality factor is that happy peoplehave good relationshipswith other people. They try tohave close, loving relationships with friends and family.Studies show that close, loving relationships are one ofthe most importantfactors in achieving happiness. Sohappypeople don't spend all their time building theircareers or trying to make money.They also spend timebuilding relationships with friends and family. Now, onthe other hand, unhappy people don't have as many closerelationships. They may have trouble making friends.Or they may spend all their time working and then findthat they're very lonely and unhappy. But for whateverreason, they don't have close relationships and this makes them unhappy.
So…what does this tell us? Well, if you want to behappier, don'tassumethat winning the lottery will help. There are other, more important factors for achievinghappiness. Now, let's take a break, and when we comeback we'll talk more about thefactors that make a person happy…
1.What did psychologists want to find out? a. Which people are happy b. What makes people happy c. How people define happiness
2.How do happy people feel about their lives ? a. They like everything. b. They want to change. c. They are satisfied.
3. Why are happy people optimistic ? a. They have few problems. b. They don’t worry much. c. They have negative attitudes.
4.What factor is most important for happiness ? a. Good relationships b. A successful career c. A lot of money
5. Describe how psychologists learned what makes people happy.
Psychologists asked hundreds of people how happy they are. Then they asked questions to find out about their personalities. They looked at the differences between happy people and unhappy people.
6. What three personality factors do happy people have?
Happy people are satisfied with themselves. They are also optimistic about their problems. In addition, they have good relationships with their friends and family.