Happy People Talk More, New Study Finds

A team of American psychologists from the University of Arizona studied if happy and unhappy people differed because of the types of conversations they had.

Photo: Happy People Talk More, New Study Finds

They asked a team of volunteers to wear an unobtrusive device called an Electronically Activated Recorder for four days, as part of their project. The device recorded 30 seconds of sounds every 12 minutes, even while the people had conversations with friends and colleagues.

In the end, it was noted that the happiest participants indulged in more deep and meaningful conversations. Also, they engaged in one third as much small talk as the unhappiest participants.

The study further noted that the happiest participants spent 25 per cent less time alone and 70 per cent more time talking than the unhappiest, Oneindia reports.

Those with the biggest smiles had twice as many deep and meaningful conversations as the least happy. They also indulged in a third of the small talk that the unhappy volunteers admitted to.

Study co-author Matthias Mehl, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, said: 'These findings suggest that the happy life is social and conversationally deep rather than solitary and superficial.'

The study concluded: "Just as selfdisclosure can instill a sense of intimacy in a relationship, deep conversations may instill a sense of meaning in interaction with partners," The Daily Mail reports.

The findings, to be detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science, suggest that happy lives are social and conversationally deep, rather than solitary and superficial.

The researchers think that deep conversations may have the potential to make people happier, though the findings from this study don't identify cause-and-effect between the two, LiveScience.com reports.