Happiness and resilience may be influenced by one’s culture, and the happier you are, the more high-maintenance you may be, says a new study. People who claim to be generally very happy have a harder time recovering from negative events than do those who are less happy, reveal researchers from the University of Virginia. European-Americans tend to rate themselves at a higher level of happiness than do their Asian and Asian-American counterparts, but require twice as many positive episodes to counteract a negative one in order to return back their old, grinning selves.

Lead study author Shigehiro Oishi and his colleagues examined everyday happiness levels of 350 students in Japan, Korea and the United States. The students kept daily records of their levels of dissatisfaction or satisfaction, and of their reactions to positive and negative events.

While Korean, Japanese and Asian-American students needed only one positive event (a compliment, or a good grade) to negate the effects of an unpleasant episode (such as a parking ticket), European-American students required two positive events following a negative one in order to return back to normal.

Results did not indicate differences between assimilated Asian-Americans and recent immigrants, although existing data on this factor is mixed. “In our study, we analyzed the data for Asian Americans who were born in the U.S. and those who immigrated later, but did not find any significant differences. Other people often find such differences, however,” explains Oishi to demo dirt.

Why do happier people seem to have a harder time bouncing back than their tepid counterparts?

"We found that the more positive events a person has, the more they feel the effects of a negative event," Oishi said in public statement. "People seem to dwell on the negative thing when they have a large number of good events in their life.”

Happier people may be spoiled by their good fortune, while the less lucky have learned to navigate the bumpy roads of life with more aplomb. "It is like the person who is used to flying first class and becomes very annoyed if there is a half-hour delay. But the person who flies economy class accepts the delay in stride," continued Oishi.

Social psychologist Oishi, who grew up in Japan and moved to the U.S. at age 23, concedes that cultural differences do account for the study’s results. “European Americans on average are more optimistic about their future than are Asians/Asian Americans,” according to previous studies by other social psychologists, Oishi tells demo dirt.

How to avoid disappointment and lead a more satisfying life, no matter what your cultural background?

"In general, it's good to have a positive perspective," Oishi stated in a press release, "But unless you can switch your mindset to accept the negative facts of everyday life—that these things happen and must be accepted—it becomes very hard to maintain a comfortable level of satisfaction."

The key to contentment, apparently, is to quit chasing rainbows. "Don't try to be happier," Oishi added.