According to author Sonja Lyubomirsky, what is the good news about hedonic adaptation?

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The question asks about Sonja Lyubomirsky's view on hedonic adaptation and what she considers the good news. 
Option 1: 'Most people are too poor to maintain hedonic adaptation' — This is not a central claim Lyubomirsky makes about hedonic adaptation; financial status is not the core point of her good news about adaptation. The statement misattributes a socioeconomic limitation as the key feature, which makes it inaccurate in relation to her theory.
Option 2: 'Hedonic adaptation does not affect overall happiness' — This contradicts the concept of hedonic adaptation itself, which describes how people return to a baseline level of happiness after changes. Saying it does not affect overall happiness ignores the well-established idea that adaptation occurs, even if happiness levels may eventually recover. It also overstretches by implying no impact at all, which is misleading.
Option 3: 'Hedonic adaptation only occurs with positive events' — This is incorrect because hedonic adaptation applies to both positive and negative life changes. It is about the tendency to return to a baseline after various events, not limited to positive ones. Limiting it to positive events mischaracterizes the scope of the concept.
Option 4: 'People have the ability to recover much of their happiness after a negative event' — This aligns with Lyubomirsky’s good news about hedonic adaptation: people tend to rebound toward their baseline happiness after adverse events, though not necessarily fully in every case. It reflects the resilient aspect of adaptation and is the statement most supported by her research.
Option 5: 'Hedonic adaptation can be prevented with the right mindset' — While mindset and interventions can influence well-being and coping, the core empirical claim of hedonic adaptation emphasizes a natural tendency to revert toward a baseline after life changes. Saying it can be prevented overstates the effect and diverges from the established concept, making this option misleading.
In sum, the options 1, 2, 3, and 5 each misstate or misconstrue the core idea of hedonic adaptation as discussed by Lyubomirsky, whereas option 4 accurately reflects the optimistic takeaway about recovery of happiness after negative events.

Accelerated ELL Writing 2 | The How of Happiness Quiz: Chapter 2 (p. 49-68)

According to author Sonja Lyubomirsky, what is the good news about hedonic adaptation?

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