Publications by authors named "Bruce Headey"
Article Synopsis
- This study explored how owning dogs or cats impacts disability onset and mortality in older adults, suggesting pet ownership promotes regular exercise and better social connections.* -
- Data from over 11,000 adults aged 65+ revealed that dog owners had a lower chance (54%) of developing disabilities compared to non-owners over a 3.5-year period, while cat ownership showed no significant effect on mortality.* -
- The findings indicate that dog ownership can help prevent disabilities in older adults, especially when paired with regular exercise, highlighting the importance of pets in healthy aging.*
In Sen's Capability Approach (CA) well-being can be defined as the freedom of choice to achieve the things in life which one has reason to value most for his or her personal life. Capabilities are in Sen's vocabulary therefore the real freedoms people have or the opportunities available to them. In this paper we examine the impact of capabilities alongside choices on well-being.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLong-running German panel survey shows that personal and economic choices, not just genes, matter for happiness.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
October 2010
Psychologists and economists take contradictory approaches to research on what psychologists call happiness or subjective well-being, and economists call subjective utility. A direct test of the most widely accepted psychological theory, set-point theory, shows it to be flawed. Results are then given, using the economists' newer "choice approach"--an approach also favored by positive psychologists--which yields substantial payoffs in explaining long-term changes in happiness.
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