Subjective construal of happiness among urban educated Bengali youth: A preliminary study using grounded theory approach

Pages:78-82
Soma Pramanik and Deepshikha Ray (Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata )

A quick glance at the vast number of contemporary researches on happiness brings out terms like subjective well-being, satisfaction with life, contentment. Few researchers, in the current decade, however, have followed the qualitative paradigm, with the aim to “discover” the idea of and beliefs regarding happiness, as they occur in the society. The current research was a similar attempt, intended to extract the de-facto ideas that four contemporary young, urban, Bengali individuals, residing in Kolkata had regarding happiness. Sample constituted two males and two females; constructivist grounded theory was the method that was used. Analysis revealed conception of happiness to be intrinsic, which was expressed in terms of peace and contentment, and associated with compassion, forgiveness and “letting go”. Activities such as pursuing one’s hobbies, participating in adventurous activities, focussing on one’s goals and distraction were enumerated as ways and means that led to happiness. A harmonious relationship with individuals close to the participants was mentioned as a significant factor behind happiness.