When Jack Whittaker won over $300 million in a Powerball jackpot, many people thought his life would be transformed for the better. Within a few years, he was divorced, had lost his granddaughter to a drug overdose, was robbed outside a strip club, had lawsuits brought against him for sexual harassment, and encountered numerous other well-publicized problems. Based on the idea of the hedonic treadmill, how would you interpret this?
A) Whittaker's life had been plagued with problems before his win and, after a period of positive events, it simply returned to its usual state.
B) Whittaker was surrounded by negative people who, as a result of his win, tried to derail his happiness.
C) Whittaker was only happy when his life was chaotic, so he deliberately sabotaged his own good fortune.
D) Whittaker was very happy prior to the lottery win and, when winning did not make him even happier, he became depressed.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The hedonic treadmill suggests that people quickly adapt to new levels of happiness and eventually return to their baseline level of well-being. Despite winning the lottery, Whittaker's life was still plagued with problems that possibly brought him back to his baseline level of well-being.

When Jack Whittaker Won Over $300 Million in a Powerball