Feeling Depressed? This May Be the Thing You Need to Feel Happier (Hint: It's Not Money)

If someone handed you a big pile of cash right this second, would you be happy? OK, I admit, I would hardly be weeping into my breakfast if this happened to me--but bear with my entirely-hypothetical example for a second, because a new study is showing that money doesn't actually seem to make people happier at all. But this does...

It's respect (Aretha had it right all along!). According to a study in the journal Psychological Science, being respected and admired by your peers and colleagues will give you a greater feeling of happiness than having wealth or a higher socioeconomic status.

Study researcher Cameron Anderson, a psychological scientist at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, said: "One of the reasons why money doesn't buy happiness is that people quickly adapt to the new level of income or wealth. Lottery winners, for example, are initially happy but then return to their original level of happiness quickly."

In a series of four experiments, researchers surveyed participants in order to assess their standings in different groups (such as sororities) by "combining self-reported ratings, reports from peers and any senior role they had within their group." They also asked about the participants' incomes.

The more accepted and well-liked the participants felt, the happier they were. Money didn't seem to impact their happiness at all.

Respect! OK, great. Now, let's just figure out how to get our hands on more of it...