The Law of Hedonic Assymetry: Pleasure is always contingent upon change and disappears with continuous satisfaction. Pain may persist under under persisting adverse conditions.
:Nico H. Frijda, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands in his paper on The Laws of Emotion.
“Data from questionnaire studies (Rombouts, 1987) suggest that [falling in love] is triggered by a specific sequence of events, in which the qualities of the love-object are of minor importance. A person is ready to fall in love because of one of a number of reasons – loneliness, sexual need, dissatisfaction, or need or variety. A object then incites interest, again for one of a number of reasons, such as novelty, attractiveness, or mere proximity. Then give the person a moment of promise, a brief response from the object that suggests interest. It may be a confidence; it may be a single glance, such as a young girl may think she received from a pop star. The give the person a brief lapse of time – anywhere between half an hour or half a day, the self-report suggests – during which fantasies can develop. After that sequence, no more than a single confirmation, real or imagined is needed to precipitate falling in love.”
— Nico H. Frijda, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands in his paper on The Laws of Emotion.
Satisfaction is less a matter of getting what you want than getting what you have
:Myers and Diener in their paper on Who is Happy
“Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults”
:Thomas Sasz as quoted in the paper on Who is Happy by Myers and Diener
“That man is never happy for the present is so true”
: Boswell, 1776 as quoted in the article WHo is Happy by Myers and Diener.