CARD 2 OF 2
hedonic treadmill
noun phrase
Reveal meaning and examples
A model of adaptation in which gains or losses in happiness may fade as people become accustomed to changed circumstances.
The discussion uses the hedonic treadmill to examine adaptation without assuming that everyone's happiness returns to a fixed level.
A separate discussion of the hedonic treadmill considers how the reader's initial happiness with a larger book collection may fade as that collection becomes familiar.