In the pursuit of happiness: Attaining a greater number of high-status positions increases well-being but only in select groups

Abstract

In the pursuit of happiness, how does an individual's standing in each of their groups affect their well-being? In ten pre-registered studies of 3554 participants, I found that attaining a greater number of high-status positions increased well-being but only in select groups. In surveys of workers (Studies 1, S1 and S2) and student athletes (Study S3), well-being was significantly positively related to the number and proportion of high-status positions a person held in their important groups, i.e., those groups central to their identity, but was not related to the status they held in their unimportant groups, regardless of how status was measured. Holding high-status in important groups increased well-being because such positions bolstered individuals' self-esteem and increased their sense of acceptance in those groups but not because such positions enhanced their sense of power. Four experiments (Studies 2, S5, S6, and S7) utilizing random assignment and a year-long longitudinal study (Study 3) established the causal relationship between well-being and high-status across groups as well as the moderating role of the groups' importance. A field study of graduate students (Study S4) utilizing a round-robin design confirmed that well-being was positively related to graduate students' self-reported status as well as the status ratings they received from their peers in an important group but not in an unimportant group. Therefore, in the pursuit of happiness, individuals would be wise to focus their energy on attaining and maintaining high-status only in those important groups that are central to their identity.