Yesterday the weather was unseasonably warm and pleasant here in Virginia. I opened the windows at home, and felt pleased by the fresh air. I thought I was happier because of the nice weather. A new paper
I agree: there's a lot of trade-offs in matters such as the climate one lives in. If you're not happier living in the Australian desert that doesn't mean you wouldn't generally be happier from living in a warm temperate climate than living in Siberia, all else being equal.
I think this is a case of all things not being equal. We recognize trade-offs in all things. We might prefer to live on the coast but not in dense cities and devote half our income to rent. We might prefer to live somewhere warmer but not without everyone we know or all the time, including those when it is very hot. We may prefer sunnier days but not desert landscapes. We may prefer showers but not the humidity they bring. Preferences are diverse both in climate and in trade-offs and we can choose to focus on the positives more than the negatives where ever we are.
But I do find it incredible that climate doesn't make a difference to happiness. If we apply Kahneman's adage that something affects our happiness only when we think about it, we think about climate a lot when it's very hot or cold. (And most places have seasons where it's one or the other some of the time.)
I think we have a stereotype of what a good climate is like. This is what affects initial impressions. The long-term effect isn't necessarily in line with the cultural stereotype. We're "biodiverse" as to what climate we prefer, and as far as I can readily detect, the evidence neglects this.
Correction: the northernmost areas (with their all-day-darkness winter days) of the Nordic countries (like Greenland and Svalbard), the southern regions are just as temperate as Germany or the UK.
"...I opened thewindows at home, and felt pleased by the fresh air. I thought I washappier because of the nice weather." Sure, that sounds like a fine topic for some light poetry, right? Well, not at Overcoming Bias. Here, such subjects are instead addressed rigorously and quantitatively. :-)
esterday the weather was unseasonably warm and pleasant here in Virginia. I opened the windows at home, and felt pleased by the fresh air. I thought I was happier because of the nice weather. - See more at: http://www.overcomingbias.c...Yesterday the weather was unseasonably warm and pleasant here in Virginia. I opened the windows at home, and felt pleased by the fresh air. I thought I was happier because of the nice weather. - See more at: http://www.overcomingbias.c...Yesterday the weather was unseasonably warm and pleasant here in Virginia. I opened the windows at home, and felt pleased by the fresh air. I thought I was happier because of the nice weather. - See more at: http://www.overcomingbias.c...
Men had three times the preference for sunny weather, and when people moved to very different climates, that climate change had no effect on their happiness, controlling for weather at the time of their answer!
What if many individuals prefer cold weather? Could climate make a difference that isn't apparent because the effects cancel out? Some are happier, some less happy, when it's sunny, temperate, etc.
It's probably about the extremes: Nordic countries really do have higher rates of suicide and depression and are prime exporters of death/black metal amd their citizens scramble to spend every holiday in sunnier places. But once you get more sunshine and nice weather than Northern California you'll get vastly diminshed returns with regards to happiness.
I know in temperate regions most people feel more energetic and amorous in the summertime, but I don't know if these effects persist in significant amounts for people living in warmer climates over extended periods of time.
I don't think that is what it means. More that happiness is best measured transient relative to a normal level, now rather than over the last year(s) or lifetime. This is why moving doesn't matter; we accustomize to the change. They didn't ask whether you have had a satisfying life (so far) which would put the onus on lifetime.
Why didn't you include the effect size? 'A bit happier' means what? 20% happier? 10% happier? 1% happier?
Line from a song: "Heat is only skin deep. Cold is to the bone."
This makes much sense to some folks, none to others.
I think: 1) We give too little weight to climate in making choices; and 2) We don't have very good knowledge of what climate we actually prefer.
Me, I go hot. The most compatible climate I found was in the deep South. I wouldn't have predicted it.
I agree: there's a lot of trade-offs in matters such as the climate one lives in. If you're not happier living in the Australian desert that doesn't mean you wouldn't generally be happier from living in a warm temperate climate than living in Siberia, all else being equal.
I think this is a case of all things not being equal. We recognize trade-offs in all things. We might prefer to live on the coast but not in dense cities and devote half our income to rent. We might prefer to live somewhere warmer but not without everyone we know or all the time, including those when it is very hot. We may prefer sunnier days but not desert landscapes. We may prefer showers but not the humidity they bring. Preferences are diverse both in climate and in trade-offs and we can choose to focus on the positives more than the negatives where ever we are.
We accustomize to adversity only partly.
But I do find it incredible that climate doesn't make a difference to happiness. If we apply Kahneman's adage that something affects our happiness only when we think about it, we think about climate a lot when it's very hot or cold. (And most places have seasons where it's one or the other some of the time.)
I think we have a stereotype of what a good climate is like. This is what affects initial impressions. The long-term effect isn't necessarily in line with the cultural stereotype. We're "biodiverse" as to what climate we prefer, and as far as I can readily detect, the evidence neglects this.
Fulltext: https://www.dropbox.com/s/u...
Yes, the link works now. Thank you!
Correction: the northernmost areas (with their all-day-darkness winter days) of the Nordic countries (like Greenland and Svalbard), the southern regions are just as temperate as Germany or the UK.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...sweden is ranked 58 in the suicide stat grid here, the US 50.
See alsohttp://nymag.com/scienceofu...
Oops, Mr. Editor, please edit/fix that. There wasn't supposed to be anything after the smiley face. Darn hidden text.
"...I opened thewindows at home, and felt pleased by the fresh air. I thought I washappier because of the nice weather." Sure, that sounds like a fine topic for some light poetry, right? Well, not at Overcoming Bias. Here, such subjects are instead addressed rigorously and quantitatively. :-)
esterday the weather was unseasonably warm and pleasant here in Virginia. I opened the windows at home, and felt pleased by the fresh air. I thought I was happier because of the nice weather. - See more at: http://www.overcomingbias.c...Yesterday the weather was unseasonably warm and pleasant here in Virginia. I opened the windows at home, and felt pleased by the fresh air. I thought I was happier because of the nice weather. - See more at: http://www.overcomingbias.c...Yesterday the weather was unseasonably warm and pleasant here in Virginia. I opened the windows at home, and felt pleased by the fresh air. I thought I was happier because of the nice weather. - See more at: http://www.overcomingbias.c...
Men had three times the preference for sunny weather, and when people moved to very different climates, that climate change had no effect on their happiness, controlling for weather at the time of their answer!
What if many individuals prefer cold weather? Could climate make a difference that isn't apparent because the effects cancel out? Some are happier, some less happy, when it's sunny, temperate, etc.
Ok, but I don't see how the evidence you cited indicates that weather doesn't make us feel more content with our lives, at least at that time.
It's probably about the extremes: Nordic countries really do have higher rates of suicide and depression and are prime exporters of death/black metal amd their citizens scramble to spend every holiday in sunnier places. But once you get more sunshine and nice weather than Northern California you'll get vastly diminshed returns with regards to happiness.
I know in temperate regions most people feel more energetic and amorous in the summertime, but I don't know if these effects persist in significant amounts for people living in warmer climates over extended periods of time.
I don't think that is what it means. More that happiness is best measured transient relative to a normal level, now rather than over the last year(s) or lifetime. This is why moving doesn't matter; we accustomize to the change. They didn't ask whether you have had a satisfying life (so far) which would put the onus on lifetime.
Words and feelings can differ. We need not say what we feel.