Hedonic adaptation refers to the notion that after positive (or negative) events (i.e., something good or bad happening to someone), and a subsequent increase in positive (or negative) feelings, people return to a relatively stable, baseline level of affect (Diener, Lucas, & Scollon, 2006).
This term, also known as the hedonic treadmill, generally describes how we perceive to return back to a normalised baseline of happiness even after major positive or negative events in our lives. Some instances of this happening include:
- Winning lotteries — where the initial high of the thrill eventually gets lowered back down to the baseline
- Academic or work-related achievements
Ideas to add on
- Why is hedonic adaptation a thing within humans?
- How does hedonic adaptation play a role in general self-perception and one’s level of happiness in life?
The Gen Z difference
The hedonic treadmill isn’t broken per se for Gen Z, but accelerated — a lot of which can be attributed to social media. Through introducing many new novel ideas in the span of seconds and the gesture of a swipe, it is now much more difficult to experience the highs of experiencing something new.