Evening star., 1932-11-13


H Well, perhaps you'll be happy to
know that everybody is lot hap
pier than most Of us happen to
realize.
Science is able and ready to prove
It. Or, at least, to give the prescription by
which any person may determine now happy
he Is
It all came about because DIR. Rowena Ripin,
a psychologist of Long Island University, New
York decided to evolve a set of tests and try
them out on man and woman college students
in what she called 'quantitative study OF
emotions -~..
Being scientist. although she looks like a
coed herself DR.. Ripin has all the traditional
scientific reticence about building generahties
llpon the results of her experiments. Her tests
show for instance, that the men In the group
she studied were happier than the women but
that the women experienced a greater amount
aad variety of emotions than the more seoaio
males.
Yet DR. Ripin would be very reluctant TO
Aeaaim that the average American man is hap
pier than the average woman That happened
to be true for the subjects of her research, but
the differences were too slight to be decisive.
DUT what the psychologist does believe uni
~ Fersally true that there is much more
happiness than mhappiness in our daily lives.
For the rich man and poor man-persons Of
any age or either seK-the thoughts and events
which give rise to pleasant emotions far over
balance the unpleasant-and probably in the
ratio Of about two to
The catch in this, as she explains it, is that
We may be happy without actually knowing 1t!
And in any case, we fail to appreciate fully
the agreeable aspects of our existence
The trouble is" said DIR. Ripin, that
given to thinking much more of the unpleasant
things than the pleasant. Our memories play
tricks on us, and in our recollectionS the dis
agreeable things are magnified.
~As proof of this ask some one TO tell you
of any simple recent emotional experience -ie
has had. Unless some unusual good fortune
has come to him. he will recount an unpleasant
experience That's the first thing he remem-
bers.
~But if each of us were to make detailed
report of everything that happens to us for
a period Of say. week, the results would be
astonishing The person who can discipline
himself to survey his own feelings and emotions
Na purely objective way will probably discover
that this is brighter world than he had
imagined"
THE state OF happiness, as psychology con-
! siders it. is simply favorable balance of
agreeable thoughts and emotions against the un-
pleasant ones. 1t isn't matter OF momentary
exaltation, or joy in any single phase of living.
Even the dictionary does rather Dadly IN ue-
filming it. Samuel johnson, who never claimed
to be a scientist did better when he said: Hap
niness consists in the multiplicity Of agreeable
consciousness.
So everything counts. Did you enjoy your
breakfast this morning? Did you have an ex-
hiiarating walk? Do you remember now that
you had a half -subconscious thrill of pleasure
in some small routine happening?
All those things contribute to your happiness.
Your mind tries automatically to add them 10
gether and balance them against the days big
and little disappointments.
But your memory is fallble. says DR.. Ripin.
It tends to lose its grasp Of little pleasantries,
but hangs on to disagreeable incidents for more
then they are worth. And that is why she rec
ommends deliberate introspection-to recapture
all the elements of fair perspective.
THIS same method of self-research the
! basis Of DR. Ripins tests of the emotional
lives of a large group of college students For
q solid month these subjects followed a strict
routine of recording four times daily the in
eensity and duration of the different emotions
which they experienced.
Each was supplied with a fairly compreheu
siye list of all the emotions human being can
experience. Some of them, in fact never stirred
within the breast of a single subject during the
Ncompanionship" food" and tenderness"
sometimes were entered in the record books sew
eral times daily.
During the test the men and women led their
normal lives, only taking time out every four or
ssffve hours tor few minutes Of retrospection
Tney attended classes, cut them, according TO
their usual habits They crammed for qixiziEes