What Makes Happiness and Joy Different?:

Isn't it interesting how your probability of feeling happy increases by 15.3% when someone you're close to is happy? Undoubtedly, happiness and joy seem to be the same thing. Nevertheless, they are actually quite different when closely analyzed.

Same Emotion, Contrasting Concepts:

Happiness, as stated in the Merriam-Webster, is "a state of well-being and contentment". In other words, happiness is a temporary effect of materialistic qualities and external euphoria. For instance, listening to your favorite songs or getting something you've been wanting are some situations which may trigger one's happiness.

Joy, on the other hand, is defined to be "the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or fortune..." Therefore, joy is the result of inner satisfaction that contains a moral aspect. In this case, enduring events such as marriage would be a time in which a person is joyful.

Decisively, happiness and joy are very similar emotions. However, there are several differences that make up these contrasting experiences.