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> participants were asked to imagine having a given amount of discretionary time... [and then] asked to report the extent to which they would experience enjoyme
by jrochkind1 5y ago
> participants were asked to imagine having a given amount of discretionary time... [and then] asked to report the extent to which they would experience enjoyment, happiness and satisfaction.
This seems like a weird research design to me with limited power to actually tell us anything. Why would we think the amount of enjoyment people imagine having in response to an amount of free time we tell them to imagine would correlate well with actual experiences? Are people generally good at predicting how much they would enjoy random imaginary circumstances?
Now that might be an interesting study, how much do the things we predict will make us happy actually make us happy?
- jrochkind1 5y agoOr actually, replying to myself, this study maybe did tell us something: Most people say they need some leisure time, but would also like to do something productive with their lives, not just sit around all day doing nothing. OK, fine, good to know I guess, that that's what most people want. I guess it's a kind of inspiring view of humanity, people want to do something useful.
- ikr678 5y agoI think there is still some values in studying these 'purpose' thresholds and how they differ between places and cultures.