The Hacking of the American Mind

Differences exist between pleasure and happiness and between reward and contentment.

Pleasure and happiness can seem like virtually the same thing. People seek television shows they like, a bottle of wine, successful marriages and careers. Human culture preoccupies itself with pleasure and happiness, and thinkers have sought to define them for millennia. Yet in recent decades, these two concepts have been systematically conflated, with destructive consequences.

Neurology can provide more precise, biochemical meaning to pleasure and happiness. Pleasure associates with reward. In the brain, a reward pathway manages pleasure in specific ways. Happiness, by contrast, is associated with contentment: A specific “contentment pathway” in the brain manages contentment differently from the reward pathway.

Reward and contentment differ on multiple levels. Reward is fast and furious, while contentment extends over time. Reward is a thrill, driving your heart rate up. Contentment is a condition – serene and relaxing. You can attain reward through drugs, alcohol and food, but you achieve contentment through actions and accomplishments. Reward is about getting something for...