A person's politeness has a significant impact on their happiness level.

Modern psychologists are actively investigating the factors that contribute to happiness. According to recent studies, friendship has the strongest impact on happiness levels in young people, and individuals in relationships report greater life satisfaction compared to those who are single.

Experts from the Turkish Air Force Academy examined whether politeness can be considered a characteristic psychological trait of the Turkish people and if it is linked to their subjective sense of happiness. The results of their research were published in the scientific journal Psychological Reports.

In the publication, the authors defined politeness as a form of prosocial behavior—voluntary actions aimed at benefiting others. Examples of this quality included friendly interactions with those around, compassion, and a willingness to communicate and cooperate.

The study consisted of two parts. The first focused on the portrait of a "typical" Turk and demonstrated that good manners can indeed be regarded as a distinguishing feature of this population.

The second part examined how politeness affects levels of depression and subjective happiness. At this stage, the study involved 372 adult participants (184 women and 188 men), with an average age of 23 years. All participants completed scales measuring politeness, depression, and happiness.

The findings revealed that individuals who are more polite exhibit milder symptoms of depression. Furthermore, compared to others, they report feeling happier.

According to the researchers, assessing politeness could serve as a valuable tool for psychological studies, especially when focusing on the Turkish population. However, they noted that it is not possible to draw causal connections between politeness, depression, and happiness based solely on the data obtained.