Bliss is Ignorance: The Interpersonal Costs of Being Very Happy

Abstract

Across four studies, we demonstrate that the magnitude of emotion matters. The same emotion (e.g., happiness) can have very different effects at high levels than it does at moderate levels. In our studies, we show that the magnitude of an emotion expression significantly influences social cognition. Participants perceive very happy individuals to be more naïve than moderately happy individuals, and these perceptions are mediated by the belief that very happy individuals shelter themselves from negative information about the world. As a consequence of these inferences, very happy people are taken advantage of more than moderately happy people are.

Keywords: emotion and social judgment, trait inferences, naiveté, conflict of interest