According to Chapter 1 of The How of Happiness, what is the most common error people make when it comes to achieving happiness?

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Question restatement: According to Chapter 1 of The How of Happiness, what is the most common error people make when it comes to achieving happiness?

Option 1: 'Thinking that money will bring long-term happiness.' This is a common misconception, but many researchers and summaries of the book point to a more general misattribution about positive events rather than money specifically delivering lasting happiness. It’s a plausible error, yet not identified as the single most common by the chapter.

Option 2: 'Comparing themselves to others and feeling inferior.' Social comparison is a well-known source of unhappiness, but the chapter emphasizes a slightly different bias related to the impact of positive events rather than the general tendency to compare.

Option 3: 'Pursuing goals that are not aligned with their values.' Misalignment between goals and values can undermine well-being, but this is a strategic misalignment problem rather than the single most common error described in Chapter 1.

Option 4: 'Assuming that positive events will bring more happiness than they do.' This option points to the general hedonic adaptation or the tendency to overestimate how much happiness a positive event will generate. The chapter identifies this as a widespread error people make when evaluating happiness, making it the most commonly cited mistake.

Option 5: 'Being too busy to appreciate the gifts of life.' Being busy can reduce present-moment awareness, but the text highlights overestimating the impact of positive events as the primary habitual error rather than time pressure alone.

Summary of reasoning: While several items describe factors that can influence happiness, the core takeaway of Chapter 1 centers on the overestimation of happiness gains from positive events. This miscalculation leads to disappointment when the event’s impact fades, which is highlighted as the most common error. The other options describe meaningful issues related to happiness, but they are not identified as the foremost error in the chapter.

Accelerated ELL Writing 1 | The How of Happiness: Chapter 1 Quiz

According to Chapter 1 of The How of Happiness, what is the most common error people make when it comes to achieving happiness?

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