Happiness Index and Performance a Psychological Perspective

Thus, effective activists are essentially political organizers who have devoted time to keenly develop skills in bringing people together through community education and promoting inter-personal relationships based on respect and solidarity. A notable historical instance of collective violence occurred in 1922. When Mahatma Gandhi called off a planned demonstration of non-violence and non-cooperation because of his followers, impulsive and emotional youths, took to rock throwing in the name of their leader [1]. Similar heightened violence was exhibited in 1942, 1947 and 1965. Collective violence is the ultimate expression of a violating tendency and behaviour when imitation or identification with any Particular impulsive action speaks of the group character. Individuals who actively participate in mass violence are frequently motivated by unconscious Psychological conflicts rather than purely political ones. Historically, in times of crisis, student activism has been a crucial force for social change. Students around the world have been at the forefront of movements to promote democracy and human rights [2]. Student movements have toppled powerful dictatorships and military giants. Student activism has often served as the conscience for nations, reminding people in times of turmoil of the founding ideals of their countries and the aspirations of all people for justice, dignity, and equality. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the world’s most repressive government’s jail and often murder student activists, close down college campuses during times of crisis, and enforce strict guidelines about what can and cannot be taught in school systems. Those in power understand the significance of student movements – often more so than student activists themselves. For decades young people have been at the forefront of social movements and social change, making activism anything but a fad. Rather, it is a tool for those who feel that an injustice has occurred and decide to act against it [3]. Although only a fraction of the young people fall into the „activist‟ category, those who do carry an energy that has proven significant in achieving social change. Activists have learnt to use the tools and processes of globalization to push for social change [4].

he should be aware of the work already done in the field of his research. The knowledge of previous studies helps the researcher to find what is already known, what others have attempted to find out, what methods have been utilized and with what result and what problems remain to be solved. It enables him to know the means of getting to the frontier in the area of his research, unless he has learnt what others have done and what still remains to be done, he cannot succeed in his mission of investigation of the problem in question. The very purpose of this paper to review the available research studies produced in the past bearing on the theme of the present piece of research work specially in order to identify the void of knowledge [5]. For this purpose researcher has surveyed the different journals, magazines and abstracts as the means to highlight the importance and relevance of the study. Researchers in the area of psychology and sociology while studying the phenomenon of youth/student activism have also tried to see the relationship between activism and psycho-social variables such as personality traits, aspirations, personal values; personality needs, sex, culture and adjustment, etc. [6]. of such students. From the findings of these researches it has been proved that student activism gets to a considerable extent, its bearing on the psychological and sociological variables of activist students. The psychological and ideological oriented backgrounds of such students are entirely different from other students.

It is obvious enough that people want to be happy. It is much less obvious that the normal, typical, equilibrium state for most people the state to which they keep reverting is one of high well-being [7]. The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence that in most countries and even in the most disadvantaged sections of society, the majority of people report high levels of well-being [8]. We then describe the perceptions or constructions of reality that maintain this surprising equilibrium state. At the same time it is also appropriate to show the extent to which feelings and symptoms of distress co-exist with high subjective well-being.

A person who knew nothing about research on well-being would probably expect it to show that some people are very happy, some are very miserable and most are in between. In other words this person would expect a normal curve. Other reasonable expectations might be that people in rich countries would experience higher levels of well-being than people in poor countries and that, within one country, people whose objective social and economic conditions were

At the same time as a majority of people report high levels of well-being, they also report a few symptoms of psychological distress [10]. A number of scales have been developed to estimate the prevalence of symptoms. The most valid of these, like the Present State Examination requires highly trained interviewers, preferably psychiatrists or clinical psychologists, so they are unsuitable for use in most surveys. Evidence collected in Camber well, London, using the Present State Examination, indicated that just over 42 per cent showed no symptoms of neurosis, about 40 per cent had non-specific symptoms, 7 per cent had specific symptoms and about 12 per cent were either on the threshold or were definite cases of neurosis [11]. An Australian study showed rather lower rates of neurosis and a Ugandan study much higher. More straightforward measures, like the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), can be included in national surveys and give results which quite closely match diagnoses made by psychiatrists. A major Australian study, for example, found a correlation of 0.76 between scores on the GHQ and the Present State Examination. The same study also found that short scales measuring negative affect also gave results well correlated with psychiatric reports [12]. Some people may repress feelings of depression and anxiety to the point of being unaware of them. However, quite high proportions of the population directly report such feelings. In study of neurosis in the Australian capital, Canberra, 21 per cent reported suffering depression in the last month and 24 per cent suffered anxiety. A national welfare survey in Germany, with a sample of over 2000, found that 47 per cent often had spells of complete exhaustion or fatigue, 21 per cent had recurring frightening thoughts, 16 per cent were constantly keyed up and jittery, 15 per cent were usually unhappy or depressed and 8 per cent often shook or trembled. Only 43 per cent said they had none of these symptoms [13-15].

People strongly desire to experience a high level of well-being. High well-being is a fundamental human goal. Regardless of their objective social and economic conditions, the majority of people report high levels of well-being. In any stable life situation, that is, in the absence of recent major life changes, people arrive at an equilibrium state in which their present life is viewed as being almost as satisfying as the best life they could aspire to, the life they feel they deserve and the best previous period of their life. Their present life is regarded as considerably better than the worst previous period of their life and then the life of the average person in the country. Despite high average

per cent are on the threshold or definitely suffer neurosis. Well-being and psychological distress are distinct dimensions, not opposite ends of the same dimension. People, who perceive small gaps between their present life and the life they expect, aspire to and feel they deserve (sense of equity) rate high on well-being. People who perceive large gaps rate low on well-being.

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5. Buitendach, J., & de Witte, H. (2005) Job insecurity, extrinsic and intrinsic job satisfaction and affective organisational commitment of maintenance workers in a parastatal South African Journal of Business Management, 36(2), 27-37. 6. Calder head, J. (1996). Teachers: Beliefs and knowledge. In D. C. Berliner & R. C. 7. Camp, S. D. (1994). Assessing the effects of organisational commitment and job satisfaction on turnover: An event history approach. Prison Journal, 74(3), 279-306. 8. Campbell, J., Kyriakides, L., Muijs, D., & Robinson, W. (Eds.) (2004). Assessing teacher effectiveness: Developing a differentiated model. New York: Routledge Flamer. Retrieved July 11, 2011 from http://books. google.co.in/books?id=Bfbt- 9. Campbell, J., Swank, P., & Vincent, K. (1991). The role of hardiness in the resolution of grief. OMEGA, 23(1), 53-65. doi: 10.2190/QVHR-5FWW- 74LA-F884 10. Campbell, J. D., Assanand, S., & Di Paula, A. (2003). The structure of self-Concept and its relation to psychological adjustment. Journal of Personality, 71, 115- 140. doi: 10.1111/1467-6494.t01-1-00002

13. Carr, A. (1993). Anxiety and depression among school principals: Warning, principal ship can be hazardous to your health. Journal of Educational Administration, 32, 18-34. 14. Cartier, Gary (2011, February 17). How to develop emotional maturity. Retrieved January 02, 2013 from Addictionrecoveryinternational.com/how-to develop- emotional-maturity