Final answer:
Richard Papen chose Hampden College to escape his life in California, seeking intellectual stimulation and an opportunity for reinvention in a New England collegiate setting, not necessarily for financial gain or happiness.
Step-by-step explanation:
The character Richard Papen in Donna Tartt’s novel The Secret History chooses Hampden College as a way to escape his mundane and unsatisfactory life in California. The allure of Hampden College is not explicitly linked to a quest for happiness through monetary gain as described by Psychologist David Myers, but rather it represents an opportunity for reinvention and the pursuit of a different, more intellectually stimulating way of life. Hampden provides a stark contrast to Richard's previous environment, with its New England setting offering the promise of a romanticized collegiate experience filled with academic pursuits.
Richard was drawn to the picturesque, elitist elements of Hampden, reminiscent of the idyllic institutions of higher learning. However, the pursuit of education at Hampden becomes complicated by Richard's involvement with a close-knit group of Classics students, leading to dark and tragic events. This engagement ultimately shapes his college experience in ways he could never have predicted, highlighting the sometimes unforeseen impacts of our choices regarding education.