Abstract:

With increasing interest in happiness research from varying disciplines, a key aspect is to study the notion of hedonic adaptation. The present research first defines and reviews hedonic adaptation from different perspectives, namely its relationship with happiness, its underlying mechanism, and its thwarting ways, followed by the application of hedonic adaptation theory in other disciplines, including consumer behavior, economics, and organizational behavior. Findings from the present research will inform individuals on how to sustain happiness and enables enterprises to increase consumers’ and employees’ positive cognition by thwarting hedonic adaptation and sustaining positive emotion. Future studies should apply hedonic adaptation in other disciplines, focusing on the effect of subject and form of variability on hedonic adaptation.

Key words: hedonic adaptation, emotion, happiness, variability