ABSTRACT
The science of happiness explores what makes people happy and seeks to understand which pursuits, behaviors, and thought patterns are most conducive to happiness. In this chapter, the authors explore the science underlying these important findings. They start with discussion of the positive psychology movement, which tracks the advent of scientific investigation into happiness. The science of happiness began in earnest with the development of the field of positive psychology. Most trace the emergence of positive psychology to a 1998 address to the American Psychology Association by Martin Seligman, in which Seligman argued that, as a field, psychology ought to expand its focus to include the study of positive human strengths and flourishing.
