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. 2011 Aug;11(4):807-15.
doi: 10.1037/a0022010.

Can seeking happiness make people unhappy? [corrected] Paradoxical effects of valuing happiness

Iris B Mauss  1 , Maya Tamir, Craig L Anderson, Nicole S Savino
Affiliations

Can seeking happiness make people unhappy? [corrected] Paradoxical effects of valuing happiness

Iris B Mauss et al. Emotion. 2011 Aug.

Erratum in

  • Emotion. 2011 Aug;11(4):767

Abstract

Happiness is a key ingredient of well-being. It is thus reasonable to expect that valuing happiness will have beneficial outcomes. We argue that this may not always be the case. Instead, valuing happiness could be self-defeating, because the more people value happiness, the more likely they will feel disappointed. This should apply particularly in positive situations, in which people have every reason to be happy. Two studies support this hypothesis. In Study 1, female participants who valued happiness more (vs. less) reported lower happiness when under conditions of low, but not high, life stress. In Study 2, compared to a control group, female participants who were experimentally induced to value happiness reacted less positively to a happy, but not a sad, emotion induction. This effect was mediated by participants' disappointment at their own feelings. Paradoxically, therefore, valuing happiness may lead people to be less happy just when happiness is within reach.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study 1: Mean trait hedonic balance (positive/negative mood; Panel A), subjective well-being (Panel B), psychological well-being (Panel C), and depression symptoms (Panel D) as a function of participants’ levels of valuing happiness (low versus high) and emotional context (low versus high stress). Values depict estimates at ± 1 SD for values and levels of life stress. Error bars are standard error of the mean (SEM).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Study 2: Mean hedonic balance (explicitly measured positive/negative emotion ratings) as a function of experimental condition (control versus valuing happiness) and emotional context (happy versus sad film). Error bars are standard error of the mean (SEM).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Study 2: Implicitly measured positive emotion as a function of experimental condition (control versus valuing happiness) and emotional context (happy versus sad film). Error bars are standard error of the mean (SEM).
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