Pursuing Happiness Together or Alone? Social and Solitary Happiness-Pursuit Activities Differentially Relate to Older Adults’ Emotional Happiness

People are motivated to pursue happiness through activities, yet not all happiness-pursuit activities yield equally positive outcomes. It remains to clarify what activities are more beneficial for the attainment of happiness among older adults. This study investigates whether social (versus solitary) happiness-pursuit activities are more effective in promoting emotional happiness among older adults. Through a 21-day daily diary design, we assessed 166 Chinese older adults’ engagement in social and solitary happiness-pursuit activities, emotional happiness, and perceived meaningfulness of daily activities. The results of this study indicated that both social and solitary activities were positively associated with momentary (same-day) happiness at the within-person level. However, social happiness-pursuit activities, but not solitary happiness-pursuit activities, were positively associated with one’s average level of happiness over the 21-day measurement period at the between-person level. These findings suggest that social activities tend to be more effective in benefiting one’s average level of happiness over an extended time period. The results provide important implications for the promotion of emotional happiness and well-being in late adulthood.