Revisiting the Happiness Contagion

Towards the end of last year I wrote about the happiness contagion findings of Drs. Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler. Namely, how good and bad social habits and behaviors were socially contagious within your social network. Some of their findings were that happiness was more contagious than sadness or loneliness, and directionality of the relationship mattered, that is, if I hold a friend in high regard their behavior will have a greater effect on me even if the opposite is not true.

The linked article offers a more nuanced critique of both the confirmations and uncertainties of their findings.

Needless to say, I'm still curious how these behaviors would affect the mind of a mentally ill person. Would the number of mentally individuals matter in a group? How would gender affects follow the same correlations as with the Framingham dataset? I'm also curious about how coupling or bundling behaviors can affect say weight loss and joy to overall mental health of your friend's friend's friend. These are just some of the questions that I have to get them started.

Enjoy the read!

The Afterw@rd