FAST-TRACK REPORT A hidden cost of happiness in children

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, 10to 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, 6to 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.