ZNAMO LI ŠTO NAS ČINI SRETNIMA? VAŽNOST LAIČKIH UVJERENJA O UZROCIMA SREĆE I VRIJEDNOSTI ZA DOŽIVLJAJ SREĆE
DO WE KNOW WHAT MAKES US HAPPY? THE RELEVANCE OF LAY THEORIES OF HAPPINESS AND VALUES FOR CURRENT HAPPINESS

Summary/Abstract: Pursuit of happiness represents one of people’s most valued personal goals that has, in recent decades, gained a lot of attention among researchers interested in discovering factors that influence and may increase people’s happiness levels. While numerous studies addressing this topic have focused exclusively on identifying the objectively important correlates of happiness, the present study explored individuals’ lay beliefs regarding the causes of happiness using The Causes of Happiness Questionnaire and their association with basic personal values. The study was conducted on a sample consisting of 401 students of various social sciences and humanities in Croatia. In addition, the present study investigated the relevance of lay beliefs regarding the causes of happiness and values for the current levels of happiness. The results of the conducted factor analysis of The Causes of Happiness Questionnaire revealed its five‒factor structure, indicating life achievements, access to luxury, social support, personal strengths as well as health and security as potential causes of happiness that were moderately correlated with individuals’ values. Finally, the results of the hierarchical regression analysis indicated openness to change as a basic personal value and social support as a cause of happiness as predictors of current happiness levels. These findings support and extend previous results in this field, indicating that lay beliefs of the causes of happiness and values both contribute, albeit not prominently, to individuals’ current happiness.

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