Can money buy happiness？ Yes, exclaim the authors of a new 【M1】______study—but only up to

Can money buy happiness？ Yes, exclaim the authors of a new 【M1】______

study—but only up to a point.

Psychology has shown that rich people generally rank the

overall quality of their lives more favourable than poor people do. At 【M2】______

the same time, their actual happy seems to be motivated less by their 【M3】______

ability to buy more than by being able to keep up with those with

comparable resources in their own age group.

"Our findings point to the possibility that, rather than

promoting overall happiness, continued income growing could 【M4】______

promote an ongoing consumption race where individuals have to

consume more and more, just to maintain a constant level of

happiness," writes Glenn Firebaugh of Pennsylvania State

University.

The study was presented at the American Sociological

Association's 100th Annual Meeting.

What the rich are happier as a whole than their less well-to-do 【M5】______

counterparts is becoming an increasingly hot topic for debate. In

recent years, many has been written regarding the "science of 【M6】______

happiness".

Richer people are happier because money can purchase goods

and services and it is the consumption of these materials increases 【M7】______

one's enjoyment of life and one' s sense of well-being.

As incomes in the U.S. tend to be rise over the course of our 【M8】______

lifetimes, individuals may find themselves on a sort of treadmill,

consuming more and more just to maintain a constant level of

happiness, they write.

Firebaugh and his colleagues measured the age, total family

income, and general happiness of individuals aged 20 to 64,

generally considered the working life span for most Americans.

Regardless of such criteria as physical health, education, and

marital status, people's happiness was effected by what others 【M9】______

earned. The higher is the income of others in one's age group, the 【M10】______

lower one's happiness.

【M1】