Spending money makes people happier than making money

Question

A new study finds that spending more money makes us happier than earning more of it.

The article states that the joy of spending money is unmatched in contrast to earning it.

Answer 1

Here is the study itself: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1948550619835215

Furthermore, here are the study methods used: https://psidonline.isr.umich.edu/Guide/documents.aspx

Those who have studied psychology or sociology will probably look at this claim and ask "How do you measure happiness?" This is called operationalizing a variable. The outline of the study (the first link) explains how they measured happiness through self-reporting of one's life satisfaction.

"From 2009, the PSID has included a standard self-reported life satisfaction question phrased as follows: 'Please think about your life as a whole. How satisfied are you with it? Are you completely satisfied, very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, not very satisfied, or not at all satisfied?'" (from the first link)

If you want to get super technical, happiness and life satisfaction are technically two different things. However, the average reader isn't going to understand that well, so it makes sense that they would simplify the information for the general public to understand.

There are some graphs and charts included in the first link that display the information very well. The results reported in the article align with the results the study describes. While I'd consider this a simplified version of the truth, it's still true.

Comments

I really liked that you took into consideration how one might measure happiness. Solid fact-check. Are there other studies related to this that also indicates the claim is true?

---

You used a great deal of sources and did a great job explaining what you found. These sources do well in backing up the claim.

---

I'm really glad you included the methods the study used! I think it's really important to consider how research was conducted as well as the results it produces!

---

Great job! I enjoyed how thorough you were in this factcheck :)

---

I like how you gathered information from the study and interpreted the results, but I also think it would be valuable if you pulled outside information from news sites to back up the study results.

---

@chloeb4 News sites wouldn't back up the study results because the evidence is the study itself. They would use the study to back up claims.

---

This is a very thorough check as it shows what the research is and if the information is true or not. I also liked your use of sources in your analysis as it shows exactly where you got your information and why you believe the source is indeed right.