On Happiness

The big 5 trait personality theory states that extroverts are happier than introverts. That is, extroverts have more positive emotions compared to introverts. According to the theory, it does not mean that introverts are unhappy people, it just means that introverts are neutral in the ratio between happy and not-so-happy emotions.

However, the big 5 trait theory fails to explain other kinds of happiness. According to some positive psychology researchers there are at least 3 kinds of happiness. The three kinds are:

1) Pleasant life
2) Good or fulfilling life
3) Meaningful life

The extroversion scale concentrates on the pleasant life which basically means higher number of positive emotions felt through interactions with people, interests and hobbies. It concentrates on joy and cheerfulness, but not fulfillment and meaning. We are quite aware that happiness consists of and is defined by most people as more than just cheerfulness. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "Happiness" is defined as: a): a state of well-being and contentment : joy b): a pleasurable or satisfying experience. Happiness to us means more than joy. It is also contentment and satisfaction.

Before we try to find a place for fulfillment and meaning in the 5 Big Trait Personality theory, let's define what meaningfulness and fulfillment mean.

Fulfillment can be defined as feeling like one accomplished her purpose set out for her by either herself or societal expectations. It means feeling accomplished with what one has, without it handicapping one's ambition for more. It is contentment with ones abilities with respect to the challenges one faces.

Meaningfulness is similar but it has more to do with one's contribution to something external, something larger and more permanent than one's self. It could mean contributing to the society, to nature, to humanity, organizations, movements or belief systems.

Those two definitions of fulfillment and meaningfulness are incorporated by the term "happiness." Thus, when we claim that happiness is extraversion, there is something missing there.

The problem is either with the definition of extraversion or the term used to define happiness. Let's assume that extraversion has to do with nothing but the joyous feelings meant by the use of the word "happiness" when talking about the Trait theory. Now, the question is, how do we incorporate the other two aspects of happiness in the trait theory. If we can not explain the other two aspects of it, we will have to conclude that the trait theory is too limited, or that fulfillment and meaningfulness are umbrella terms for something else i.e. not well-defined.

According to the definition of fulfillment and meaningfulness, it seems like for people to feel those emotions, they need to be highly conscientiousness, low in neuroticism and possibly high in openness.

A highly conscientiousness person would be able to orient herself to do what her conscience agrees with including something meaningful for the world at large and for herself even if it doesn't provide her with immidiate gratification. Not being concerned with immidiate gratification but having the self-descipline to do the right thing even if it is more difficult, defines someone who could have a meaningful life. A person high in conscientiousness can deliberate her actions to achieve goals she considers fulfilling and meaningful in the long term. Thus, allowing herself to feel more than cheerful, if she is high on extravertedness. This means that even an introvert high on conscientiousness can be happy as we define it.

However, there is more to it. A highly consciesntious person may end up being a perfectionist, thus largely unfulfilled with life and always striving for more. To counter that trait, a person must be low in neuroticism to keep herself from getting over worked about smaller details and from being overly self-conscious to do the right thing all of the time.

Lastly, the claim that extraverts are happier people is misguided, in my opinion. It is true that extraverts are more cheerful but not happy in the complete sense of the word. Introverts can be happy too if they are living meaningful and fulfilling lives, that is if they are high in consciencetiousness and low in neuroticism, towards meaningful goals. This is the reason why most introverts would disagree if presented with this model of happiness.