One of the most infamous findings in happiness research is that money doesn’t buy a lot of happiness – or at least not as much as we think it should. According to the economist Richard Easterlin, part of the reason for this is that we care a great deal more about what other people earn than what we do ourselves.
       幸福研究领域的最著名发现之一是，很多幸福是金钱买不来的，或者至少不像我们想象的那么多。经济学家理查德•伊斯特林(Richard Easterlin)表示，部分原因在于，我们对于别人收入的关心程度，要远远超出对我们自己收入的关心。
 
       For those whose most basic needs are already met, money buys additional happiness only if it can lead to higher status in society, which is hard when everyone else is also getting richer over time. Since people’s comparison group varies from place to place, those living in more affluent areas of London, for example, would probably need to earn at least £200k a year to ensure that they are staying well ahead of most other Londoners – and even that might not be enough.
        对于那些最基本需求已得到满足的人而言，只有当金钱可以带来更高的社会地位时，才会意味着更多幸福。要做到这一点很难，因为其他人也逐渐变得更为富有。不同地区的人们的对比群组不同，举例而言，那些生活在伦敦较富裕地区的人，每年或许得挣至少20万英镑，才能确保自己的处境远远强于多数其他伦敦人——即使是这样的收入或许都不够。
 
      Moreover, according to the Princeton University psychologist Daniel Kahneman, the weak relationship between happiness and income can also be explained, in part, by the evidence that richer people tend to spend more time engaging in activities associated with no greater happiness, on average, but with slightly higher tension and stress – such as work, childcare and shopping. By contrast, people with lower incomes tend to spend more time engaging in happiness-rich experiences such as socialising with friends and other passive leisure activities such as resting and watching TV.
       此外，普林斯顿大学(Princeton University)心理学家丹尼尔•卡纳曼(Daniel Kahneman)表示，之所以说幸福与收入的关系较为松散，一定程度上是因为有证据表明，一般而言，更富有的人往往用更多时间从事不会带来更大幸福感的活动，这些活动的紧张及压力程度略高——例如工作、育儿和购物。相比之下，收入较低的人往往把更多时间花在幸福感十足的事情上，例如与朋友社交，以及休息和看电视等其它被动的娱乐活动。
 
      However, when these high- and low-income earners are prompted to think about the impact of income on their happiness, both tend to focus more on the conventional possibilities of money when evaluating its effects. This leads to the conclusion that life must be significantly happier for the rich than for the poor.
       然而，当有人提醒这些高收入者和低收入者考虑收入对幸福的影响时，他们在评估时往往更多地关注金钱的传统潜在价值。由此得出了以下结论：富人的生活肯定远比穷人幸福。
 
      The truth is quite the opposite: poorer people can – and often do – lead significantly happier lives than the rich.
      实际情况恰恰相反：穷人能够——而且确实经常——比富人生活得更加幸福。