Bumps on the Treadmill

First, individuals' set points are not hedonically neutral. Second, people have different set points, which are partly dependent on their temperaments. Third, a single person may have multiple happiness set points: Different components of well-being such as pleasant emotions,
unpleasant emotions, and life satisfaction can move in different directions. Fourth, and perhaps most important, well-being set points can change under some conditions.  Finally, individuals differ in their adaptation to events, with some individuals changing their set point and others not changing in reaction to some external event.

Authors of a number of recent reviews have concluded that individuals with spinal cord injuries are less happy than are people in the general population, with effect sizes in the moderate to large range (Dijkers, 1997, 2005; Hammell, 2004). However, the studies cited in these reviews are often published in rehabilitation journals and are rarely cited in psychological literature on adaptation.

Finally, Lucas (2005a) used two large, nationally representative panel studies to examine adaptation to the onset of disability. Participants in this study (who were followed
for an average of seven years before and seven years after onset) reported moderate to large drops in satisfaction and very little evidence of adaptation over time. For instance,
those individuals who were certified as being 100% disabled reported life satisfaction scores that were 1.20 standard deviations lower than their nondisabled baseline levels.
Thus, although people with paraplegia and other individuals with disabilities usually are not subjectively miserable, happiness levels do seem to be strongly affected by this important life circumstance.

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