Study Shows How Canceling Unwanted Plans Can Affect Your Happiness

We know that humans are ultimately social creatures, but as any introvert will tell you, some of us are more social than others. For this study, researchers wanted to look at how the choice to make plans affects happiness.

The study looked at 155 students who were tasked with reporting their social interactions three times a day for 10 days. They recorded whether they were alone or with other people and whether it was by choice. The participants would then record whether the experience was positive or negative, how satisfied they were with the experience, plus whether the experience gave them a sense of meaning and control.

Looking at the reported satisfaction levels of the participants, it appears that feeling able to make the choice about whether to socialize has more of an impact on happiness than whether we decide to be alone or with other people.

Namely, the study found being in a social setting against your will has a worse effect on well-being than being alone against your will. The greatest satisfaction was seen in those who were with other people by choice—but the lowest was in those who were hanging out with people not by choice.

"Being with others is associated with desirable effects if it reinforces one's sense of agency, and it is detrimental in the absence of control," the researchers write in the paper.