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Activity, Time, and Subjective Happiness: An analysis Based on an Hourly Web survey

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  • Hideaki Sakawa
  • Fumio Ohtake
  • Yoshiro Tsutsui

Abstract

This paper investigates how people's happiness depends on their current activities and on time. We conducted an hourly web survey, in which 70 students reported their happiness every hour on one day every month from December 2006 to February 2008. This method is an extension of the experience sampling method (ESM), since it uses mobile phones and personal computers. Our new method has the same strength of ESM in that it can measure real-time happiness data and thus avoid reflection and memory bias. Using our new method, we can obtain diurnal happiness data of respondents and also grasp their behavior at each of their reporting times over 14 months. Analyzing the data of our survey, we found (a) happiness significantly depends on activities, hours, and months, (b) while most of the time-variation of happiness is attributable to the time pattern of activities, happiness varies predictably with the hour in a day, even when activities are controlled for, and (c) while activities affect both genders similarly, there are gender gaps in the diurnal happiness pattern after controlling for activities.

Suggested Citation

  • Hideaki Sakawa & Fumio Ohtake & Yoshiro Tsutsui, 2015. "Activity, Time, and Subjective Happiness: An analysis Based on an Hourly Web survey," ISER Discussion Paper 0926, Institute of Social and Economic Research, The University of Osaka.
    • Handle: RePEc:dpr:wpaper:0926
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    File URL: https://www.iser.osaka-u.ac.jp/static/resources/docs/dp/2015/DP0926.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Jonathan Gruber & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2006. "Do Cigarette Taxes Make Smokers Happier?," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Yew-Kwang Ng & Lok Sang Ho (ed.), Happiness and Public Policy, chapter 6, pages 109-146, Palgrave Macmillan.
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    Cited by:

    1. Aderonke ODETAYO & Daniel Tan Lei SHEK & Ken Hok Man HO & Daphne Sze Ki CHEUNG & Summer Cho Ngan SIU & Jasmine CHEUNG & Elaine Hoi Yee CHOW & Shun CHAN & Jenny Hiu Wai TSE & Jessie Kaur DHALIWAL & Viv, 2025. "Predictors of Family Happiness in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in Hong Kong," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 20(2), pages 833-850, April.

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