The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success?

2005/11/01 by Sonja Lyubomirsky, Laura King, Ed Diener · 4 citations
Psychology · #Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction #Optimism, Hope, and Well-being #COVID-19 and Mental Health #Happiness #Affect (linguistics) #Psychology #Friendship #Social psychology #Positive psychology #Well-being #Empirical research #Subjective well-being #Life satisfaction #Mechanism (biology) #Psychotherapist

paper · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803

openalex publication_date 2005/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Numerous studies show that happy individuals are successful across multiple life domains, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health. The authors suggest a conceptual model to account for these findings, arguing that the happiness-success link exists not only because success makes people happy, but also because positive affect engenders success. Three classes of evidence--crosssectional, longitudinal, and experimental--are documented to test their model. Relevant studies are described and their effect sizes combined meta-analytically. The results reveal that happiness is associated with and precedes numerous successful outcomes, as well as behaviors paralleling success. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that positive affect--the hallmark of well-being--may be the cause of many of the desirable characteristics, resources, and successes correlated with happiness. Limitations, empirical issues, and important future research questions are discussed.

Citations

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Cited by

• Gonzalo Guerrero and the Psychology of Identity
• How ideological migration geographically segregates groups
• Coping styles and affect.
• Moral psychology [wikipedia]