Students' Professional Biography
Rachel Mills grew up in Shawnee, Kansas where she attended Mill Valley High School. Following graduation she attended Grand View University where she studied Graphic Design. After discovering she had a strong interest in math, she decided to fuse her love for art and math together and change her major to Urban Planning and Design. She now attends the University of Missouri, Kansas City to study said major with a minor in Philosophy. In the future she hopes to develop cities around the world and eventually partner with Habitat for Humanity.
Mentor's Name
Brittany Cottrill
Mentor's Department
Other Institution Department
Abstract
In the fall of 2012, I undertook a two-week study to test the impact friendships have on my happiness. My overall intention for this experiment was to change how I approached and treated my friendships. The experiment consisted of focusing my attention on my friend’s happiness before my own and to track my behavioral changes towards others. Throughout the two weeks, I tested multiple theories to see if, in fact, they affected my happiness. The most interesting finding in this study was that a variety of social groups are the most influential and important aspect to increasing my own happiness. Only through conducting my own experiment could I confirm other author’s theories are true. Overall, I learned that through hard work, planning and determination happiness is accessible for everyone. Though I realize that happiness is subjective to each individual, my research and experiment proved that friendships are the most influential on one’s happiness.
Recommended Citation
Mills, Rachel
(2013)
"A Study of Happiness,"
Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato: Vol. 13, Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56816/2378-6949.1004
Available at:
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/jur/vol13/iss1/5
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