Aversion to happiness and the experience of happiness: The moderating roles of personality.

The present study examined the possible moderating roles of personality on the link between the fear of happiness and the experience of happiness, with happiness defined as the frequency of positive and negative affect. Respondents completed measures of affect, fear of happiness, and the big-five personality inventory. Result revealed substantial moderating effects of personality, but the pattern differed across positive and negative affect. Whereas higher levels of agreeableness and neuroticism potentiated the effect of fear of happiness on positive affect, higher levels of extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience weakened the effect. On the other hand, except for higher levels of extraversion that also undermined the influence of fear of happiness on negative affect, fear of happiness and negative affect were positively related at all levels of the personality dimensions. These findings highlight the need to incorporate personality into the study and theoretical articulations of the operations of the fear of happiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]