Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy
Open Access

Happiness intelligence (HQ) − the ability to be happy and its measurement

29^th World Summit on Positive Psychology, Mindfulness and Psychotherapy

May 21-22, 2018 | New York, USA

Song Yan

Jacobs University Bremen, Germany

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Psychol Psychother

Abstract :

Why are some people happier than others? Apart from personal predispositions and circumstances of life, it is a matter of ability. My study proposes the concept of Happiness Intelligence (HQ), defined as the ability to become/feel/be happy and, more importantly, an ability that can be educated, trained, and improved. Specifically, HQ refers to the ability of an individual to perceive, experience, and express, and to reflect on and appraise happiness, to employ active doing/skills to enhance subjective well-being; accompanied by the drive to be happy and modulated through consciously monitoring and strategy seeking. Accordingly, HQ is a multidimensional construct with five components: emotional, cognitive, behavioral, motivational, and metacognitive. Based on psychological and neuropsychological theories and research findings, the aim of the study was to develop an operational framework for HQ for use in future research and to provide a concept applicable for training practice and clinical intervention. A Happiness Intelligence Scale (HQS) constructed along the five dimensions is under development, and its validity and other psychometric properties of the HQS are to be tested. The implications of the concept will be discussed.