We already know lots and lots and lots about happiness.
Now it turns out perceiving others more positively is more likely to result in your own happiness.
Watch out, what you say about others may actually be like holding a mirror to yourself. A recent study examined “perceiver effects”, a tendency for people to view others as having the same personality and motives as they do. Your IQ, your gender, and your attitude may reveal more about your own personality than you think.
Research participants with positive perceptions of others were more likely to be satisfied with their own life. They were less likely to be depressed. Plus, the study participants who liked people, had a greater sense of fitting in.
On the flip side, those with negative perceptions of others were more likely to judge others as more extraverted, less agreeable, and less emotionally stable. The researchers found “negative perceivers” were also more likely to experience bouts of the “blues”. Read more here.
Tags: Psychology, Science
