Open AccessReview
The ABC Model of Happiness—Neurobiological Aspects of Motivation and Positive Mood, and Their Dynamic Changes through Practice, the Course of Life
by
Institute for Integrative Health Care and Health Promotion, School of Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, 58455 Witten, Germany
Academic Editors: Shahar Lev-Ari, Marc Wittmann and Aviva Berkovich-Ohana
Received: 17 May 2022
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Accepted: 30 May 2022
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Published: 31 May 2022
Simple Summary
This article proposes a new model for exploring happiness primarily from a neurobiological perspective. Such understanding includes the dynamics of positive mood states and how they change throughout life. Happiness is not a cognitive construct: it is an immediate emotional experience—a feeling that relies on neurophysiological activation in the brain’s reward system. With this in mind, three types of happiness are proposed: (A) wanting, approaching, and pleasure, (B) avoiding, departing, and relief, (C) non-wanting, staying, and satisfaction. Behind this is a sophisticated (neuro)biological dynamic, ranging from the search for autonomy and ecstasy, which is particularly characteristic of young people, to the way we cope with stress, as we find it pronounced in the middle-aged, to deep contentment, peace, and inner joy, as it is mainly attributed to older people. Paradoxically, it is in fact the elderly who appear to be the happiest and most content—this phenomenon is also known as the “satisfaction paradox”. Apparently, these dynamic changes in happiness can be amplified with practice. Happiness is biological in this context, but can still be “learned”. Contemplative practices can serve as an example here to demonstrate this trainability, and they may themselves influence the course of happiness.