by Dr. Steve Wright
The Oxford Happiness
Questionnaire was developed by psychologists Michael Argyle and Peter Hills
at Oxford University Oxford
Instructions
Below are a number of statements about happiness.
Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each by entering a number
in the blank after each statement, according to the following scale:
1 = strongly disagree
2 = moderately disagree
3 = slightly disagree
4 = slightly agree
5 = moderately agree
6 = strongly agree
2 = moderately disagree
3 = slightly disagree
4 = slightly agree
5 = moderately agree
6 = strongly agree
Please read the statements carefully, because some are
phrased positively and others negatively. Don’t take too long over individual
questions; there are no “right” or “wrong” answers (and no trick questions).
The first answer that comes into your head is probably the right one for you.
If you find some of the questions difficult, please give the answer that is
true for you in general or for most of the time.
The Questionnaire
1. I don’t feel particularly pleased with the way I
am. (R) _____
2. I am intensely interested in other people. _____
3. I feel that life is very rewarding. _____
4. I have very warm feelings towards almost everyone.
_____
5. I rarely wake up feeling rested. (R) _____
6. I am not particularly optimistic about the future.
(R) _____
7. I find most things amusing. _____
8. I am always committed and involved. _____
9. Life is good. _____
10. I do not think that the world is a good place. (R)
_____
11. I laugh a lot. _____
12. I am well satisfied about everything in my life.
_____
13. I don’t think I look attractive. (R) _____
14. There is a gap between what I would like to do and
what I have done. (R) _____
15. I am very happy. _____
16. I find beauty in some things. _____
17. I always have a cheerful effect on others. _____
18. I can fit in (find time for) everything I want to.
_____
19. I feel that I am not especially in control of my life.
(R) _____
20. I feel able to take anything on. _____
21. I feel fully mentally alert. _____
22. I often experience joy and elation. _____
23. I don’t find it easy to make decisions. (R) _____
24. I don’t have a particular sense of meaning and
purpose in my life. (R) _____
25. I feel I have a great deal of energy. _____
26. I usually have a good influence on events. _____
27. I don’t have fun with other people. (R) _____
28. I don’t feel particularly healthy. (R) _____
29. I don’t have particularly happy memories of the
past. (R) _____
Calculate your score
Step 1. Items marked (R) should be
scored in reverse:
If you gave yourself a “1,” cross it out and change it
to a “6.”
Change “2″ to a “5″
Change “3″ to a “4″
Change “4″ to a “3″
Change “5″ to a “2″
Change “6″ to a “1″
Change “2″ to a “5″
Change “3″ to a “4″
Change “4″ to a “3″
Change “5″ to a “2″
Change “6″ to a “1″
Step 2. Add the numbers for all 29
questions. (Use the converted numbers for the 12 items that are reverse
scored.)
Step 3. Divide by 29. So your
happiness score = the total (from step 2) divided by 29.
Record your score and the date. Then
you’ll have the option to compare your score now with your score at a later
date. This can be especially helpful if you are trying some of the exercises,
and actively working on increasing your happiness.
INTERPRETATION OF SCORE
1-2 : Not happy. If you answered honestly and got a
very low score, you’re probably seeing yourself and your situation as worse
than it really is. I recommend taking the Depression
Symptoms test (CES-D Questionnaire) at the University
of Pennsylvania ’s “Authentic
Happiness” Testing
Center
2-3 : Somewhat unhappy. Try some of the exercises on
this site like the Gratitude
Journal & Gratitude Lists, or the Gratitude Visit.
3-4 : Not particularly happy or unhappy. A score of
3.5 would be an exact numerical average of happy and unhappy responses. Some of
the exercises mentioned just above have been tested in scientific studies and
have been shown to make people lastingly happier.
4 : Somewhat happy or moderately happy. Satisfied.
This is what the average person scores.
4-5 : Rather happy; pretty happy.
-6 : Very happy. Being happy has more benefits than
just feeling good. It’s correlated with benefits like health, better marriages,
and attaining your goals.
6 : Too happy. Yes, you read that right. Recent
research seems to show that there’s an optimal level of happiness for things
like doing well at work or school, or for being healthy, and that being “too
happy” may be associated with lower levels of such things.
The highest score you can get on an item is a 6, and
the lowest a 1. If you add up all your scores and divide by the number of
questions (29 questions), you’d get an average score for all the questions. The
highest possible average would be 6, the lowest possible would be 1. Right in
the middle would be 3.5, so you might think that’s what the average person
would get, but this is just a raw score. In fact, other studies show that
people are generally somewhat happy on average. So it may not be surprising to
hear that the average score on the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire is right
around a 4, which is essentially what you got (since you got 3.9 out of 6).
Rather than compare yourself to other people, it’s
probably more meaningful to compare your score now to your score later, and see
if there’s a change. Some of the exercises on this site have been shown in
scientific studies to make a lasting, positive impact on happiness.
Reference
Hills, P., & Argyle, M. (2002). The Oxford
How happy are you?
Natalia Levis-Fox
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