Psychologie positive et modèle de l’adaptation hédonique

Abstract

Empirical and anecdotal evidence for hedonic adaptation suggests that the joys of loves and triumphs and the sorrows of losses and humiliations fade with time. Notably, adaptation to positive experiences in particular has been identified as one of the primary obstacles to maintaining well-being. In this article, we first review evidence of hedonic adaptation to both negative and positive life changes and then discuss how these adaptation processes can serve as obstacles to sustained happiness. Finally, we propose the Hedonic Adaptation to Positive and Negative Experiences (HAPNE) model, which describes the processes and mechanisms underlying hedonic adaptation, and propose several ways through which people can slow down adaptation in response to positive experiences or speed it up in response to negative experiences.