July 22nd 2008.

Scientists say this need for community may be a result of humanity’s long evolution in groups. Living together conferred an advantage, they say. In the hunter-gatherer world, relatedness, autonomy, curiosity, and competence – the very things that psychologists find make people happy – “had payoffs that were pretty clear,” says Richard Ryan, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester in New York. “Aspiring for a lot of material goods is actually unhappiness-produ­cing,” he says. “People who value material good and wealth also are people who are treading more heavily on the earth – and not getting happier.”

Click here for the full article:

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Living-Green/2008/0722/why-your-happiness-matters-to-the-planet

By Moises Velasquez-Manoff, Staff Writer of The Christian Science Monitor