What does it mean to live a good life? This question has been debated for centuries. In the field of psychology, two main concepts of the good life have been quite popular: A happy life full of pleasure and positive emotions, and a meaningful life full of purpose and sacrifice. But what if these aren’t the only options?
In recent years, a long-neglected version of the good life has been receiving greater attention: the psychologically rich life. It is full of complex mental engagement, a wide range of intense and deep emotions, and diverse, novel, surprising and interesting experiences. Sometimes they are neither pleasant nor meaningful. However, they are rarely boring or monotonous.
After all, both happy and meaningful lives can become monotonous and repetitive. A person with a steady office job, married with children, may be satisfied and find his or her life meaningful and still be bored. Also, the psychologically rich life doesn’t necessarily involve economic richness. For instance, consider Hesse’s character Goldmund, who has no money but pursues the life of a free spirit.
Research has found psychological richness is related to, but partially distinct from, both happy and meaningful lives. Psychological richness is related with openness to experience and experiencing both positive and negative emotions more intensely. But is the psychologically rich life one that people actually want?
In a new study, Oishi and his colleagues asked people in nine countries the degree to which they value a psychologically rich life, a happy life and a meaningful life. They found many people’s self-described ideal lives involve psychological richness. When forced to choose a life, however, the majority chose a happy life and a meaningful life. Even so, a minority of people still favored the psychologically rich life, ranging from 6.7% in Singapore to 16.8% in Germany.
These numbers went up when the desire for a psychologically rich life was measured indirectly. To understand what a person wishes their lives might have been, it is important to explore what people wish they had avoided in their lives. When asked what they regret most and whether undoing this event would have made their lives happier, more meaningful or psychologically richer, about 28% of Americans said undoing the regrettable event would have made their lives psychologically richer.
These findings suggest that while most people strive to be happy and have meaning in their lives, a sizable number of people are content merely living a psychologically rich existence.
As Oishi and his colleagues conclude, “We believe that taking the psychologically rich life seriously will deepen and enrich our understanding of well-being.” At the end of the day, there is no one singularly acceptable path to the good life. You have to find a path that works best for you.
12. According to the passage, the psychologically rich life _______.
A.means living a luxurious life |
B.involves various intense emotions |
C.combines pleasure with purpose |
D.emphasizes openness and repetition |
13. What does Oishi’s research indicate?
A.The Germans prefer psychological richness to a happy life. |
B.Undoing regrettable events has enriched many people’s lives. |
C.A hidden desire for psychological richness exists among some people. |
D.People with psychological richness tend to describe their lives as ideal. |
14. We can learn from the passage that _______.
A.purpose outweighs pleasure in terms of significance |
B.the choice of a good life differs from person to person |
C.a positive mindset helps us understand our well-being |
D.we should never be content and always strive for the best |
15. What is the main purpose of the article?
A.To compare different concepts of a good life. |
B.To explain how to live a psychologically rich life. |
C.To persuade people to attain psychological richness. |
D.To draw attention to a less familiar version of a good life. |