Implicit Theories of Happiness: When Happiness Is Viewed as Changeable, Happy People Are Perceived Much More Positively Than Unhappy People

Abstract

Happy people are often perceived positively, perhaps more than they actually are, whereas unhappy people are often perceived negatively, perhaps more than they actually are. What would make this bias stronger or weaker? The present research addresses this question by exploring the roles of implicit theories of happiness in the trait perceptions toward happy and unhappy people. Specifically, four studies ( N = 998) tested hypotheses that an incremental theory of happiness would enhance and an entity theory of happiness would attenuate the trait perceptions favoring happy over unhappy people. Results found converging evidence that believing happiness as changeable (incremental theory) enhances the positive perceptions toward happy people, while providing less consistent evidence that believing happiness as fixed (entity theory) mitigates the negative perceptions toward unhappy people. The current research contributes to the literature on essentialism and advances the understanding of the roles of implicit theories of happiness in person perception.