The Science of Joy: Conceptualizing and Measuring Joy

Joy is the last major unexplored positive emotion. Fundamental to human existence and well-being, “we cannot understand human beings unless we understand joy and how joy comes to be” (Vaillant, 2008). What is joy and how can it be measured? How does joy differ from other positive emotions, such as happiness, gratitude, and contentment, and what is the significance of this distinction for human flourishing? Researchers have rarely distinguished between happiness and joy, and this lack of differentiation has hindered progress. Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio wrote “the current scientific knowledge regarding joy supports the notion that it should be actively sought because it does contribute to flourishing” (2003). Yet this knowledge rests upon an extremely thin evidentiary base, which we hope to broaden and deepen through our research program. The primary aim of this project is to develop and validate a measure of joy based on theoretical conceptualizations advanced by theologians, philosophers, and social scientists. Measurement is foundationally key to an empirically informed systematic study of joy, but a measure that reflects a sophisticated view of the components of joy does not exist. The absence of measurement instruments has been, and will continue to be, the major impediment to advancing the science of joy.