Eros, roses, and candle light dinners for two. In a word: February.

As an expert in all things familial, CMC Professor Diane Halpern, director of the Berger Institute for Work, Family, and Children, offers her perspective on how Americans may be measuring their own happiness and fulfillment as Valentine's Day approaches.

"When psychologists study what makes people happy," says Halpern, "the list is surprisingly short. In general, most people list 'being in love' as one of the most important ingredients in happiness." Halpern says that although many people complain about marriage, married people - both men and women - give higher ratings of happiness than people who have never been married, or are separated or divorced.

Says Halpern, "It is tempting to conclude that marriage makes people happy, but it could also be true that people who are happy are better able to sustain long-term intimate relationships and stay married, while less happy people have more difficulty in finding and keeping a spouse."

Can you guess the second most important variable in self-ratings of happiness? (Hint: It's not chocolate.) "Despite the frequent grousing about work, job satisfaction is second only to love as a 'happiness variable,' " Halpern says. "Like love," she says, "we cannot make a casual connection between job satisfaction and happiness because it may be that people who are happy are also more likely to have satisfying jobs."

To learn more about love, work, and happiness, Halpern suggests a book by social psychologist David Myer, The Pursuit of Happiness - Who is Happy and Why.