We asked whether “economic fluctuations affect my happiness.” Agreement with that item
predicted significantly lower happiness but had a nonsignificant positive trend on meaningfulness. In
principle, recognizing that one’s happiness depended on the economy could operate equally in good
or bad directions, but in empirical fact people associate that recognition with bad things. This may
reflect the general principle that bad things have stronger effects than good ones (Baumeister,
Bratslavsky, Finkenauer, & Vohs, 2001). In any case, recognizing that one is dependent on the
economy has more impact on happiness than meaning.