Student Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
5-25-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Honors Designation
yes
Program of Study
Philosophy
Language
English
First Advisor
Jonathan Gilmore
Abstract
In my study, I tackle the question of whether students believe that having greater material wealth can bring them greater happiness. This is an important question to address and answer (that can potentially provide insight into the greater issue of whether money can lead to happiness) because if the students think that attaining material wealth can lead to greater happiness (even if it actually might not), then this will affect their judgments regarding the success of their own lives. Subsequently, if they deem themselves unsuccessful because of a lack of monetary wealth, they could judge or cause themselves to become unhappy.
Based on survey responses of 100 students at Baruch College, I found that despite having an understanding of happiness (as provided by me before survey administration), millennial college students at an urban, non-residential university do believe that there is a link between material wealth and happiness. The factors of gender, ethnicity and personal income do not influence students’ views regarding whether money can make them happier; country of birth/cultural background seems to be the only factor that has a significant effect on the students’ perceptions.
Recommended Citation
Yaremchuk, Yustyna, "Do Millennial College Students at an Urban, Non-residential University Believe That There Is a Link Between Material Wealth and Happiness?" (2016). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/bb_etds/72