In 2023, Kahneman and Killingsworth, who had disagreed on the question, published a joint study. For most people, well-being keeps rising with income with no clear ceiling, but proportionally: going from 1,000 to 2,000 brings roughly as much happiness as going from 10,000 to 20,000. Only the unhappiest group sees happiness level off beyond a certain income.
Remembering is not replaying a recording — it is rebuilding. Each time you recall a memory, it becomes temporarily malleable and can be altered before being stored again. That is why two people can sincerely remember the same event… differently.
In 2003, Johnson and Goldstein compared European countries. Where you must tick a box to become a donor, consent rates ranged from 4% to 28%. Where you're a donor by default unless you opt out, they topped 85%. People aren't more generous on one side; most simply stick with whatever option was chosen for them.