The data says people are saying they are less happy over some time period. There are 2 competing hypotheses to explain the cause. 1) Society has changed in a w

The data says people are saying they are less happy over some time period. There are 2 competing hypotheses to explain the cause. 1) Society has changed in a way that has made people less happy. 2) Society has changed in a way that has made people less likely to lie about being happy. If you stop to think it through for a second, you’ll quickly understand how the statement “we have some data from somewhere in the middle of the time period in question that self reported satisfaction and a actual satisfaction are correlated” isn’t evidence to support either side. That statement can easily fit either hypothesis.