Irrational Happiness Beliefs: Conceptualization, Measurement and its Relationship with Well-being, Personality, Coping Strategies, and Arousal

This thesis proposes a new psychological concept, irrational happiness beliefs, by developing a measure for irrational happiness beliefs and testing the usefulness of this measure within wider psychology. To this end, seven studies were conducted using cross-section, longitudinal, and experimental designs. A total of 1,305 participants – including students and community samples – completed measures of irrational happiness beliefs, valuing happiness, well-being, personality and coping. Study 1 sought to develop an irrational happiness beliefs measure, whereupon it was demonstrated that the irrational happiness beliefs measure is reliable and valid. Study 2 confirmed a unidimensional factor structure of irrational happiness beliefs. Study 3 and 4 tested the factor structure of irrational happiness beliefs against valuing happiness, subsequently indicating that irrational happiness beliefs and valuing happiness are two distinct-yet-related constructs. Study 5 sought to provide evidence of the role played by irrational happiness beliefs in predicting subjective well-being over time and its test-retest reliability, however the results of this study failed to offer evidence as to this predictive ability while an adequate test-retest reliability was found for the scale of r = .72. Study 6 set out to examine irrational happiness beliefs within the context of the adaptational-continuum model by using the Functional Dimensional Coping and Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) and Behavioural Activation System (BAS) model of personality. The results of this study found that irrational happiness beliefs can be best described within the dimensions of the BAS personality and approach, emotional regulation and reappraisal copings. Study 7 aimed to investigate the effect of irrational happiness beliefs on arousal using the Cold Pressor Task, here revealing a medium effect of irrational happiness beliefs on arousal. Overall, the results suggest that the concept and measurement of irrational happiness beliefs are useful in understanding negative aspects of happiness and its negative relation with well-being and positive psychological constructs.