Winning the lottery would rank pretty high on most wish lists. Having a windfall of cash without actually having to work for it sounds like a dream come true, but it transpires that it’s unlikely that such an event would help improve an individual’s happiness in the long term.
This may sound pretty gloomy, but in actuality it’s a testament to how the human psyche can adapt to change and the theory that “money can’t buy happiness.” Raj Raghunathan explains hedonic adaptation in a TED-Ed talk, which has been adapted into a wonderful animation by Allen Laseter. Hedonic adaptation, which is also known as the hedonic treadmill, refers to our ability to become comfortable with both positive and negative change.
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Raj reveals that in a closed control group of 22 lottery winners, it was discovered that there was no major increase in their level of happiness in the months following their big win, and that they largely mirrored the happiness levels of 22 individuals who hadn’t won the lottery. In fact, many of the lottery winners actually felt less happy than those in the other group.
As Raj explains, hedonic adaptation means that even when an individual experiences a major positive event such as a lottery win, eventually they will grow accustomed to it and their happiness levels will go back to normal. Though this may seem depressing, it also helps us recover from traumatic events, so it has its benefits.
Watch the video below:
