Here's how you can make happiness last longer

Researchers from the University of Minnesota and Texas A&M University decided to explore happiness and how much happiness people can get out of experiences. The emotional state of well-being has different meanings for different people. It could be because of a luxurious vacation coming up or simply even just a new dress. Researchers from the University of Minnesota and Texas A&M University decided to explore whether the way people frame their goals for an experience influences how much happiness they take from the experience over time.

Study author, Rohini Ahluwalia, said, "If people watch a movie with a specific goal like feeling excited, then they may be less likely to remember the funny or meaningful elements of the movie. We predicted that people with general goals would engage a broader range of emotions and experience more happiness over time." She added, "Our findings suggest that people can change the amount of happiness they get out of an experience. A general happiness goal can leave a longer-lasting positive emotional imprint."

This could apply to material purchases like buying a new watch or a new car. Another experiment in the study showed that participants with broader happiness goals experience more positive emotions after listening to a new song than the participants who had a specific goal of feeling excitement and energy.
The full findings of this research have been published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.