University of Arizona psychologist Matthias Mehl and Simine Vazire from Washington University in St. Louis published a study which found that happier people talk about the big topics—love, ethics, the meaning of life, and so on.
In a news release from the university, Mehl said, “The initial indication is that the happy life is social rather than solitary and conversationally deep rather than superficial.”
Researchers eavesdropped on participants using an electronically activated recorder, or EAR. The device sampled thousands of conversations at regular intervals. Participants and their friends described their well being. The happiest people had one-third as much trivial chat and twice as much deep, philosophical conversation as the unhappiest people in the study.
