# The Price of Happiness: Part 1 - URL: https://alisanburak.com/en/mutlulugun-fiyati-bolum-1 - Language: en - Last updated: 2026-09-07 - Page title: The Price of Happiness: Part 1 | Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alişan Burak Yaşar > This article explores the relationship between happiness, money, and psychology, a subject that has recently been widely discussed in the media. This page was translated automatically from Turkish. [Read the original](https://alisanburak.com/mutlulugun-fiyati-bolum-1) [← Back to blog](https://alisanburak.com/en/blog) # The Price of Happiness: Part 1 September 7, 2026Articles in Bilim ve Ütopya This article explores the relationship between happiness, money, and psychology, a subject that has recently been widely discussed in the media. It is a great pleasure to share a brief summary of our forthcoming book, soon to be published by Nobel Kültür, in my first article for the Bilim ve Ütopya portal. Here is the first installment of our two-part series, “The Price of Happiness.” Ever since the Lydian civilization invented money, humanity has placed enormous value on this small, round piece of metal. We have attached such profound meanings to this object we call money that we have come to believe it brings us power, prosperity, status, security, independence, and much more. Money can buy all these things, but can it also buy happiness? Perhaps you answered this question with an unhesitating “Of course!” After all, with the latest technology, sports cars, spacious villas, and endless vacations that money can buy, how could it not bring happiness? In fact, research across many fields, particularly economics, sociology, and psychology, does not offer a simple “Yes” to this question. One reason can be found in Abraham Maslow’s groundbreaking 1943 paper on the hierarchy of needs, which sought to understand human motivation [1]. You will agree that money is essential for meeting the basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid—it gives us access to food to fill our stomachs, a warm home for shelter, and a safe life. As we move toward the top of the pyramid, however, we approach higher-level needs such as love/belonging and self-actualization [2]. These cannot be bought; they can only be attained over time. A study examining the relationship between money and the needs proposed by Maslow found that while money helps people feel secure and, depending on their status, more respected in society, it does not fulfill their need for self-actualization [3]. Although Maslow has been criticized for not grounding this work in scientific research and for using a limited cultural sample, his framework continues to be actively used in many fields today. Meanwhile, according to hedonic adaptation theory, we all have a baseline level of happiness, and beyond a certain point, no purchased object can raise it: in a sense, we grow accustomed over time to the happiness that material possessions bring us [4]. For example, the first car you buy with money you have saved for a long time will initially make you feel very good. But suppose you begin earning much more over time. You will find that a second car or a larger house eventually fails to evoke the feelings you initially experienced. If hedonic adaptation did not exist, no one in the world would be happier than Bill Gates or Elon Musk. Another example is very wealthy families raising their children by providing them with every opportunity. Does my five-year-old daughter want the large dollhouse in the store? Fine. Does she want a white pony when she turns ten? Of course. So why, when she turns eighteen, does she no longer enjoy the designer handbags, lavish birthday parties, or luxury accommodations I buy for her? At this point, we might ask ourselves: do we really become accustomed to every kind of experience, leaving our happiness at a stable level? Research suggests that, compared with material possessions, the happiness provided by close friendships, a warm family environment, and positive relationships in general continues to warm our hearts [5]. Human beings are social creatures. We are constantly interacting with colleagues, people we encounter in daily life, friends in our social circles, family members, and even complete strangers. The growth of online platforms and social media accounts, particularly during the pandemic, has shown us just how large a community we belong to. Our view of ourselves is closely linked to how we position ourselves within this vast group [6]. Our body image, achievements, and desires do not develop independently of society; they evolve alongside it. Similarly, your satisfaction with your income is influenced by how you compare yourself with others [6]: whose bank balance has more zeros—yours or that of Ahmet Bey in the sales department? Your next-door neighbor has bought a new car; should you replace yours too? Everyone in class has a tablet; why should you be any different? So, regardless of the prosperity of the society you live in, your satisfaction with your position in the economic hierarchy plays a role in your relationship with money [7]. Taking all this into account, money emerges as a tool for meeting our most basic needs. But when we look beneath the surface, those who make money the central focus of their lives and an end in itself fail to reach the top of the pyramid by realizing their own potential. Meanwhile, those who trade time with loved ones for objects with price tags lose something priceless: meaningful relationships whose contribution to happiness never diminishes. According to a study conducted at Stanford University, other people’s assessments of them, and whether they are doing better than those around them, cause substantial mood shifts in people with low life satisfaction. By contrast, people who describe themselves as happy draw on their own inner resources rather than being influenced by others’ comments or their ranking within a group [8]. Rather than buying small, short-lived moments of happiness, then, the true source of happiness lies in what we do throughout our lives in accordance with our values. ## References Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological review, 50(4), 370. Diener, E., Horwitz, J. & Emmons, R.A. Happiness of the very wealthy. Social Indicators Research 16, 263–274 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00415126 Oleson, M. (2004). Exploring the relationship between money attitudes and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 28(1), 83–92. doi:10.1111/j.1470-6431.2004.00338.x Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B., Schkade, D., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2006). Would you be happier if you were richer? A focusing illusion. Science, 312(5782), 1908–1910. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1129688 Johnson, W., & Krueger, R. F. (2006). How money buys happiness: Genetic and environmental processes linking finances and life satisfaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(4), 680–691. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.4.680 Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human relations, 7(2), 117-140. Deaton, “Income, Health, and Well-Being Around the World: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 22 (2008): 53–72 Lyubomirsky, S., & Ross, L. (1997). Hedonic consequences of social comparison: A contrast of happy and unhappy people. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(6), 1141–1157. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.73.6.1141 --- *This article was originally published on the web portal of Bilim ve Ütopya magazine. Since the portal has been taken offline, I am republishing the text here.* [← Previous If You Had ADHD, You Couldn't Have Finished School](https://alisanburak.com/en/dehb-olsan-okul-bitiremezdin)[Next → The Brain’s Illusion: The Neurobiology of Extraordinary Experiences](https://alisanburak.com/en/beyin-yanilgisi-olagan-disi-yasantilarin-norobiyolojisi) --- Kaynak / Source: https://alisanburak.com/en/mutlulugun-fiyati-bolum-1 İletişim / Contact: Bağdat Caddesi, Veli Güneysu Apt. No:453 K:4 D:9, Suadiye / Kadıköy, İstanbul · +90 532 642 95 25 · info@alisanburak.com · https://alisanburak.com/bagdat-caddesi-psikoterapi-iletisim