PSYCHOLOGY MASTER'S THESIS ABSTRACT

Steven Sugarman

MA-Research
August 1997

Happiness and Population Density: A Brief Look at Southern California

    With world population soaring and resources dwindling, it is imperative that we study the cumulative impacts of our human numbers upon the psyche of mankind.  The present study utilizes the unique landscape of Southern California, with its huge metropolitan centers and remote towns.  Five hundred respondents were interviewed from both high population density (HPD) areas and low population density (LPD) areas in order to assess both the intensity and frequency of affect, i.e., the quality and quantity of happiness through the use of a standardized questionnaire, the Happiness Measures (HM).  It was hypothesized that those individuals living in LPD areas would be more happy than their counterparts in HPD areas.  This was not found to be the case, however.  Potential explanations for the results are presented, along with suggestions for future research.

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