“The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success?”, 2005 ():
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. 3 classes of evidence—cross-sectional, 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.
[Keywords: happiness, subjective well-being, positive affect, positive emotions, meta-analysis]