This study examines how students at top universities value well-being and how university identity shapes this tendency. Using a survey with two existing tasks — one asking students to trade off happiness against other objectives, and the other examining the alignment of individual choice, predicted happiness outcomes, and perceived norms — we compare the results from top university students with those from nationally representative samples (from US and UK), and explore the role of identity and accuracy of perceived norms. Our findings reveal that top university students value happiness less than the general public, and that stronger university identification is linked to a reduced emphasis on happiness. Additionally, students believe fewer of their peers value happiness, despite many doing so privately, suggesting pluralistic ignorance. This study contributes to understanding how social norms and group identity influence happiness valuation and underscores the impact of social contexts on well-being attitudes and behaviors.

Authors:
Cian Lin, Norwegian School of Economics, Norway

About the Presenter(s)
Cian is a PhD research scholar at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), affiliated with the FAIR research center.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cian-lin/

See this presentation on the full schedule – Wednesday Schedule

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