page_title: Sonja Lyubomirsky
section_title: The How of Happiness
hierarchical_section_title: Sonja Lyubomirsky / The How of Happiness
caption_attribution_description: English: A table illustrating statistics mentioned in the source's journal article. The graph attempts to account for, not the role of genetics and environment and behaviour in the happiness of one person, but the role for those ingredients in explaining why one person may be happier than another.
context_page_description: Sonja Lyubomirsky is an American professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside and author of the bestseller The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want, a book of strategies backed by scientific research that can be used to increase happiness.
  She is often quoted in news articles about positive psychology and happiness. In the book The Only Self-Help Book You'll Ever Need, a criticism of self-help books, Lyubomirsky's The How of Happiness is praised as a self-help book that has claims backed by empirical data.
  Lyubomirsky is also an associate editor of the Journal of Positive Psychology.
context_section_description: Published in 2008 by Penguin Press, the book has been translated into 22 languages.
  The premise of The How of Happiness is (1) that happiness is worth striving for, and (2) that 50 percent of a given human's long-term happiness level is genetically determined (based on twin studies), 10 percent is affected by life circumstances and situation, and a remaining 40 percent of happiness is subject to self control that can make a difference. The strategies offered in the book are designed to target the 40 percent of happiness that is subject to manipulation.
  The How of Happiness has spawned an iPhone application called Live Happy, produced by Signal Patterns. Lyubomirsky is on the company's scientific advisory board.
  The How of Happiness has also spawned a song called The How of Happiness Book Tune, which acts as a mnemonic aid to help readers remember the content within the book.
  The book was mentioned in various magazines and newspaper articles, and also led to Lyubomirsky's appearing in multiple TV and radio shows, and feature documentaries in North America, South America, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
caption: Breakdown of sources of happiness, according to The How of Happiness
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