Abstract

The present research examined the link between people's lay theories of happiness and individual differences in subjective well-being level. Specifically, it was predicted that those who strongly believe that only a fixed amount of happiness exists in this world and also in each person's life would be less happy than others, even after controlling for extraversion and neuroticism. In addition to mean levels, this belief in limited happiness was expected to predict various relational, behavioral, and cognitive characteristics of the person. It was found that those who strongly endorsed the BIFAH 1) were rated less favorable by others, 2) capitalized less on positive events, and 3) made trend-reversing forecasts of future happiness.