That’s the central conclusion of a new study published in the British Medical Journal. Fortunately, unhappiness is far less so. Here’s one press summary:
A sociology professor at Harvard University, Nicholas Christakis, has discovered that happiness is contagious. In a report published today by the British Medical Journal, Christakis finds that happiness can spread like a virus through social networks, extending up to three degrees of separation: in other words, to the friends of one’s friend’s friends. Christakis concludes: “People’s happiness depends on the happiness of others with whom they are connected. This provides further justification for seeing happiness, like health, as a collective phenomenon.” … Thankfully, Christakis’s report shows that unhappiness is not nearly as contagious as happiness. “Unhappiness doesn’t spread as intensely or as consistently as happiness,” says the professor.
The full paper is here (h/t: Charlotta Mellander).
December 8th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
I would have thought it was completely the other way around – that unhappiness is way more infectious than happiness. I think there are a lot of variables though. If you’re already teetering on the edge of a bad mood, if someone else close to you is cranky then it’s much easier to spiral down into further unhappiness. If you’re indifferent about your mood then you are probably less likely to be affected by someone’s unhappiness and lean toward the happy folks. I prefer to be happy, but there’s something to be said for the dark days too – they’re important in their own right.