John Sommers-Flanagan | Source | Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Counseling at University of Montana

When cultures emphasize hedonic happiness (aka materialism), happiness ratings tend to fluctuate depending on the acquisition of material belongings. Hedonic adaptation speaks to the fact that new things may briefly elevate mood, but over time (and sometimes a short time period), the new things get stale and happiness plummets back down. When cultures emphasize eudaimonic happiness, there tends to be less fluctuation in how people describe their happiness states of mind. Meaning and purpose-oriented living tends to stabilize mood. But, People seem to need some of both forms of happiness. Fun is fun and good for short-term mood-boosting. But focusing too much on short-term mood-boosting activities seems to be a recipe for eventual discontent.