In Artificial Intelligence:

The view that happiness is a reinforcement state can apply to some non-biological systems as well, such as a program or robot could be said to be "happy" when it is in a state of reinforcing previous actions that led to satisfaction of its programmed goals. For instance, imagine a search engine that has the capacity to gradually improve the quality of its search results by accepting and processing feedback from the user regarding the relevance of those results. If the user responds that a search result is good (i.e. provides positive feedback), this tells the software to reinforce (by adjusting variables or "weights") the decision path that led to those results. In a sense, this could be said to "reward" the search engine. However, even if the program is made to act like it is happy, there is little doubt that the search engine has no subjective sense of being happy. Current computing technology merely implements abstract mathematical programs which lack the causal and creative power of natural systems. This does not preclude the possiblity that future technologies may begin to blur the distinction between such machine happiness and that experienced by an animal or human.

Behaviors and emotions associated with happiness:

The following behaviors and emotions are commonly associated with happiness:

Material:

  1. money and business, prosperity
  2. food
  3. massage
  4. using certain psychiatric or recreational drugs
  5. refuge - taking from the material things in life, getting back to nature.

Social:

  1. freedom
  2. peace
  3. nonviolence
  4. closure
  5. shopping
  6. friendships (also penpals)
  7. dating
  8. flirting
  9. gifts
  10. greeting cards and postcards
  11. family and parents
  12. lifestyles and alternative lifestyles
  13. music

Emotional:

  1. kissing
  2. sexuality
  3. love
  4. romantic relationships and romance
  5. compassion
  6. pets and animals

Spiritual:

  1. Tantra
  2. religion
  3. philosophy, Epicurus, Epicureanism
  4. spirituality
  5. meditation and yoga
  6. enlightenment

Other:

  1. sleeping
  2. drinking, alcohol
  3. hobbies
  4. decoration
  5. sports
  6. science
  7. books
  8. work
  9. cinema
  10. expanding knowledge, reading and learning new things
  11. Epicurus taught that although it is good to satisfy our natural desires for food and drink, pleasures often conceal painful consequences.