Appreciation and happiness

Pages:34-37
Mahesh C. Gupta (Independent Practice, Savannah, Georgia, USA)

While feelings of appreciation and happiness are obviously related, the factors that explain this relationship are not well understood. This paper suggests that feelings of appreciation play a significant causal role in happiness. Given that happiness is a mental state aspired by all human beings, we looked at happiness from the single and unique perspective of human interactions being the essential base of happiness. Then we focus on the function of appreciation in the structure and process of these interpersonal interactions. Based on the research literature on P-O-X structure of dyadic interaction, we suggest that two persons, P and O, experience from their interaction the satisfaction that could not be otherwise fulfilled individually. The co-dependency of P and O is highly affected by the factor of appreciation. Appreciation is a necessary element for the structure and development of positivity in dyadic interactions. Throughout the paper we emphasize the process of how appreciation is linked with happiness.