Please take my survey: Happiness or Misery-Choice or Chance?

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cosmiccat
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22 May 2010, 2:34 pm

Happiness & Misery Survey

Below is the survey for you to see before taking. However, to take the survey you must click on the link I have provided above and also at the bottom of this post. It's anonymous and there are no right or wrong answers (duh) and there is no score or immediate feedback. I 'm simply interested in what percentage of survey takers believe they are responsible for their own happiness or misery, and how many believe that their happiness or misery depends on others and the world around them. I'll make visuals of the results when all responses are in. I would also like to compare results with the results I got from the same survey about twenty years ago.

At that time, I surveyed a group 136 people and divided the results into 7 sub groups according to occupation or profession. The groups were comprised of:
*16 inmates of Graterford Prison (1 on Death Row, and 2 lifers)
*16 students ranging in age from 13 to 28 years
*16 medical professionals
*16 restaurant workers
*9 teachers, high school and college level
*9 railroad workers
*54 miscellaneous (mostly people I met on the street)

I would really appreciate your participation. :D

Quote:
Happiness and Misery: Choice or Chance
Are we responsible for our own happiness or misery? Complete the following statements:

1) The real problems of the world
will never be solved
are blown up out of proportion
can surely be solved
are in the hands of God
are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people

2) I would be very happy if I could only find
a way of extracting calories from food
true love
a million dollars
a solution for world peace
a nice home in a nice neighborhood

3) I get really bummed out (depressed, sad) when
I think about world poverty
I speak and nobody listens
there's nothing to do on a Saturday night
I run out of money
there's nothing good to eat in the refrigerator

4) Life is
the opposite of death
a constant struggle to adapt to an ever-changing environment
what you make it
relatively short and meaningless
totally awesome

5) Time
heals all wounds
flies when you're having fun
waits for no one
is not created or destroyed
is heavy on my mind

6) When I'm miserable, it's usually because
someone has invaded my space
I'm bored
I ate something that disagrees with me
someone made me feel inferior
I did something I regret

7) People would be a lot happier if
they were more careful about the foods they eat
the wealth of the world was more evenly distributed
they could learn to make better decisions
low cost housing was more readily available
they lived by the golden rule

8) What is your age?
10 - 20 years old
20 - 30 years old
30 - 40 years old
40 - 50 years old
50 - 60 years old
60 - 70 years old
70 years or older

9) What is your occupation?
Student
Other (Please Specify):

10) Are you male or female?
Male
Female


Happiness & Misery Survey



Last edited by cosmiccat on 24 May 2010, 9:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.

LostAlien
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22 May 2010, 3:07 pm

Are you going to post the results on this thread?



TallyMan
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22 May 2010, 3:16 pm

Duly completed, though I found some of the questions difficult to answer - there wasn't always an appropriate option for my answer in which case I more or less just clicked anything.


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cosmiccat
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22 May 2010, 3:38 pm

@ LostAlien - Yes, I will post the results. Thanks for taking the survey. :D

@ TallyMan - I figured that the available answer options wouldn't be suitable for everyone, especially on WP where originality of words, ideas and approaches is highly and especially prized by members. Still, an approximation or most acceptable will do fine for my purposes. And thanks for taking the survey. :D



cosmiccat
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23 May 2010, 10:24 am

Update: So far we have 17 respondents. When I get 50 I will post the results. The survey will only be active for 10 days unless I pay for it (19.00 per month) which I'm not going to do - so I hope more of you will respond.

For a little sneak peak of results so far:

1) The real problems of the world (16 responses)

4 said - will never be solved
0 said - are blown up out of proportion
6 said - can surely be solved
1 said - are in the hands of God
5 said - are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people

By comparison, in 1984 out of 16 prison inmates
5 said - will never be solved
0 said - are blown up out of proportion
3 said - can surely be solved
3 said - are in the hands of God
5 said - are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people

and out of 16 medical professionals
8 said - will never be solved
0 said - are blown up out of proportion
3 said - can surely be solved
3 said - are in the hands of God
2 said - are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people

Things haven't changed much in 26 years when it comes to how people see the world's problems, and people in prison (these were so-called "hardened criminals") seemed to be more optimistic than doctors, nurses, and EMT's when it came to completing statement #1. Yet, the same percentage of respondents from each of these groups believed (or stated) that the real problems of the world "can surely be solved" and "are in the hands of God." It just seems incredible to me that people who work to save lives and people who show such little regard for life (their own and others) should be in such seeming agreement. I wonder if the results would remain stable if the size of the groups was enlarged.

One thing is certain, none of the respondents think the problems of the world are blown up out of proportion. I must confess, I sometimes do, but perhaps that is wishful thinking on my part.



cosmiccat
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24 May 2010, 8:52 pm

I rarely if ever bump one of my threads, but this one was just moved from the Off the Wall forum and I'm hoping it will get a better response here.



CockneyRebel
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24 May 2010, 9:02 pm

1) The real problems of the world
are in the hands of God

2) I would be very happy if I could only find
a million dollars

3) I get really bummed out (depressed, sad) when
I speak and nobody listens

4) Life is
totally awesome

5) Time
heals all wounds

6) When I'm miserable, it's usually because
I did something I regret

7) People would be a lot happier if
they lived by the golden rule

Cool What is your age?
30 - 40 years old

9) What is your occupation?
Other (Please Specify): Dustman

10) Are you male or female?
Lola


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cosmiccat
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24 May 2010, 9:21 pm

Thanks for your response CockneyRebel. I really appreciate it. Your answers are interesting. I should have put the link to actual survey in my previous post. My bad. :lol: It's in my first post, but it's way down at the bottom and maybe people don't notice it down there. Would you mind terribly taking it again using the link? That way your answers will be calculated into the results which I will post about a week from now. Oh, and I love your new avatar. :D

Here's the link:

Happiness & Misery Survey



Last edited by cosmiccat on 24 May 2010, 9:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

DaWalker
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24 May 2010, 9:23 pm

Been there, took that :wink:



cosmiccat
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24 May 2010, 9:24 pm

DaWalker wrote:
Been there, took that :wink:


Thanks. :) Happiness & Misery Survey



astaut
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24 May 2010, 10:34 pm

I'm about to take it.



cosmiccat
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25 May 2010, 2:54 pm

astaut wrote:
I'm about to take it.


:D Thanks a lot.



IdahoRose
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25 May 2010, 4:20 pm

I took it. I really had to think hard about my responses to the questions, but that's okay - thinking is good for me. :)



cosmiccat
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26 May 2010, 12:58 pm

IdahoRose wrote:
I took it. I really had to think hard about my responses to the questions, but that's okay - thinking is good for me. :)


Thanks for taking the survey. :D Last time I checked there were 25 responses. Hoping for 50.



IdahoRose
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26 May 2010, 2:02 pm

cosmiccat wrote:
IdahoRose wrote:
I took it. I really had to think hard about my responses to the questions, but that's okay - thinking is good for me. :)


Thanks for taking the survey. :D Last time I checked there were 25 responses. Hoping for 50.


You're welcome. You're halfway there! :D



silentbob15
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26 May 2010, 2:19 pm

1) The real problems of the world
can surely be solved

2) I would be very happy if I could only find
a solution for world peace

3) I get really bummed out (depressed, sad) when
I speak and nobody listens

4) Life is
a constant struggle to adapt to an ever-changing environment

5) Time
waits for no one

6) When I'm miserable, it's usually because
I did something I regret

7) People would be a lot happier if
they could learn to make better decisions

8) What is your age?
30 - 40 years old

9) What is your occupation?
truck driver

10) Are you male or female?
Male

I had to disable smileys for this post : )