THESIS
2013
viii leaves, 77 pages : illustrations ; 30 cm
Abstract
Two studies investigated lay people’s beliefs about the nature of happiness and how these beliefs
influence social judgments. A new scale for assessing these beliefs was developed in Study 1.
The results demonstrated the reliability and the validity of this scale and showed that lay people’s
beliefs about the nature of happiness include four aspects: whether happiness is biologically
based, whether happiness is consistent and stable across time and situations, whether happiness
is controllable, and whether happiness is informative. Study 2 examined whether these beliefs
shape the process of making social judgments. The results showed that lay people’s beliefs about
the Biological Basis, Consistency–Stability, and Informativeness of happiness moderate their
judgments on persons w...[
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Two studies investigated lay people’s beliefs about the nature of happiness and how these beliefs
influence social judgments. A new scale for assessing these beliefs was developed in Study 1.
The results demonstrated the reliability and the validity of this scale and showed that lay people’s
beliefs about the nature of happiness include four aspects: whether happiness is biologically
based, whether happiness is consistent and stable across time and situations, whether happiness
is controllable, and whether happiness is informative. Study 2 examined whether these beliefs
shape the process of making social judgments. The results showed that lay people’s beliefs about
the Biological Basis, Consistency–Stability, and Informativeness of happiness moderate their
judgments on persons with different levels of happiness. This research bridges the gap in the
literature by understanding lay beliefs about the nature of happiness. It contributes to the
psychology of happiness, the literature about lay theories of happiness, and the research on lay
theories.
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