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A hidden cost of happiness in children
Author(s) -
Schnall Simone,
Jaswal Vikram K.,
Rowe Christina
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
developmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.801
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1467-7687
pISSN - 1363-755X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00709.x
Subject(s) - happiness , psychology , mood , style (visual arts) , cognition , social psychology , cognitive style , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , archaeology , neuroscience , history
Happiness is generally considered an emotion with only beneficial effects, particularly in childhood. However, there are some situations where the style of information processing triggered by happiness could be a liability. In particular, happiness seems to motivate a top‐down processing style, which could impair performance when attention to detail is required. Indeed, in Experiment 1 , 10‐ to 11‐year‐old children ( N = 30) induced to feel a happy mood were slower to locate a simple shape embedded in a complex figure than those induced to feel a sad mood. In Experiment 2 , 6‐ to 7‐year‐old children ( N = 61) induced to feel a happy mood found fewer embedded shapes than those induced to feel a sad or neutral mood. Happiness may have unintended and possibly undesirable cognitive consequences, even in childhood.