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The Art of Living by Dispositionally Happy People

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Abstract

The cognitive and motivational processes by which happy people are able to artfully sustain their happiness are examined within a subjectivist construal approach. Individuals who perceive themselves as happy respond to ordinary experiences differently than their less happy peers. Research from our laboratory has revealed these differences in a variety of contexts, including people's responses to decisions, their reactions to social comparisons, and their interpretations of life events. Our research has also shown that, after experiencing failure, happy people tend not to engage in negative self-reflection and are able to perform subsequent tasks without dwelling. Although happy people experience negative moods and negative life events similar to those of less happy people, they evaluate these events less negatively and respond to them in more positive, affirming ways. These group differences suggest a number of possible ways to sustainably enhance happiness, and current experimental interventions designed to test the effectiveness of several intentional happiness-increasing strategies are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of California, CA, 92521–0426, Riverside, U.S.A.; E-mail

    Sonja Lyubomirsky

Authors
  1. Allison Abbe
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  2. Chris Tkach
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  3. Sonja Lyubomirsky
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Correspondence to Sonja Lyubomirsky.

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Abbe, A., Tkach, C. & Lyubomirsky, S. The Art of Living by Dispositionally Happy People. Journal of Happiness Studies 4, 385–404 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOHS.0000005769.54611.3c

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