The article presents a new systemic Person-oriented conception of happiness (POCH) elaborated by the author as well as the main results of his three experimental investigations conducted with the help of experience sampling methods (ESM). The regularities obtained challenge common beliefs concerning the nature of happiness and its main components. There have been discovered three main notions («involvement», «egoism», «meaning») which correlate with the «happiness» construct to the greatest degree. Two qualitatively different factors, representing «easy» and «hard» happiness have been outlined. The author has discovered only positive correlations between “egoism” and “altruism”, between “egoism” and “meaning” that opens new horizons for future theorizing, experimental investigations and therapeutic practice.
Keywords: Altruism, Meaning, egoism, experience sampling methods, involvement, person-oriented conception of happiness, personal uniqueness, the flow
