Positive affect (PA) was associated with positive interpretations of neutral faces; PA & life satisfaction were associated with positive interpretations of ambiguous and positive, but not negative, social interaction vignettes

Subjective Well-Being, Social Interpretation, and Relationship Thriving. Samantha J. Heintzelman. Ed Diener. Journal of Research in Personality, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.11.007

Highlights
•    Happiness related to interpretations of ambiguous social stimuli.
•    Happiness did not relate to interpretations of negative situations.
•    Positive social interpretations were associated with social thriving.
•    Happiness indirectly related to social thriving through social interpretations.

Abstract: Social interactions are open to a range of interpretations. We examine the associations among subjective well-being, social interpretations, and social thriving. In Study 1 (N=276) positive affect (PA) was associated with positive interpretations of neutral faces. In Studies 2 and 3 (Ns=295, 298) PA and life satisfaction were associated with positive interpretations of ambiguous and positive, but not negative, social interaction vignettes. In Study 4 (N=501) there were indirect relationships of PA and life satisfaction on social thriving through interpretations. Subjective well-being’s association with social interpretations provides a critical base of support for conclusions from previous methodologically limited mood and social interpretation studies. This work also provides initial evidence for a role of social interpretation tendencies in social thriving.