How does winning the biggest lottery prize in history affect a person?

Do we become a little oblivious when we get rich from a stroke of luck?

There are numerous studies on what happens to lottery winners after winning a substantial amount of money.. After an American nurse scooped $758 million in the Powerball drawing, the debate about whether or not winning the lottery brings happiness gained even more momentum. Her name was Mavis Wanczyk, and her prize became the highest ever awarded in lottery history to a single person.

Most people who play the lottery do so with a better life and no hardship in mind. Mavis bought a Powerball ticket for just that purpose, and found out she had matched all the numbers on the night of the drawing. His feelings became a mixture of excitement and nervousness, so he decided to take a few weeks to consult with financial advisors.

Does winning the lottery make us "crazy"?

In this situation, some researchers claimed that the prize would bring new responsibilities and pressures to the winner, on the grounds that money does not bring happiness. Others, on the other hand, argued that if she had a clear idea of what happiness was for her, a financial injection into her bank account would not really hurt her.

Mavis quit her job at the hospital and, just a few weeks later, opted to receive the award in a lump sum, after taxes were deducted. She then claimed that her dream had "come true." In the days that followed, her name was all over the media, and the garden of her home was filled with security measures as a precaution.

The concern he might feel at that moment was eclipsed by the joy of the prize, as the experts assured him. As to whether he would find happiness or not, the studies appeal to the concept of "hedonic adaptation", which is the tendency of people to be "always dissatisfied", and to always need something more to feel happy.and always needing something more to feel happy.

The science of the brain... and its relationship with money

In 2008, a study conducted on lottery winners in the Netherlands concluded that, indeed, those who made more money felt happier than those who did not, those who won the most money felt happier.... However, as time went by, they went back to feeling as they did at the beginning, because, once their needs were met, they went back to setting their goals at higher odds. In Mavis's case, she chose to stay out of the media spotlight and try to manage her fortune responsibly. Others, on the other hand, were unable or unwilling to do the same. The most extreme case, and fortunately an exception, is that of Jack Wittaker, an American who squandered his $90 million on unnecessary luxuries that did not help him to be happy (quite the opposite).

The way in which winning a big lottery prize affects each person, depends, therefore, on the person himself.

Bibliographical references:

• Loria, K. (2017). How winning the lottery affects happiness, according to psychology research. Business Insider. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/winning-powerball-lottery-happiness-2017-8
• Mestre N., José M. and Palmero C. Francesc (2004). Basic psychological processes. Mexico, McGraw Hill.
• Nahin, P. J. (2000). Duelling Idiots and Other Probability Puzzlers. Paul J. Nahin. Princeton University Press.
• Ronan, M. (2006). Symmetry and the Monster: One of the Greatest Quests of Mathematics. Oxford University Press.