What if feeling happier didn’t require deep soul-searching or a total personality overhaul? What if the key was something much simpler—like talking a bit more, saying what you think, or being slightly more spontaneous than usual? It sounds almost too easy, yet psychological research suggests that small shifts in how we act can meaningfully change how we feel.
For years, psychologists have known that extraverted people tend to be happier. They laugh more, feel more positive emotions, and report stronger social connections. But this raised an important question: are extraverts happier because of who they are, or because of what they do? A 2019 study by Margolis and Lyubomirsky set out to find an answer—and the results were more surprising (and encouraging) than many might expect.
Can You “Act” Your Way To Happiness?
Most personality research relies on correlations. Extraversion is linked to happiness, but that doesn’t prove causation. Margolis and Lyubomirsky (2019) took a bold step by experimentally manipulating behavior instead of simply measuring traits.
Participants—college students living their everyday lives—were asked to do something unusual. For one week, they were instructed to act in an extraverted way: be more talkative, assertive, and spontaneous. For another week, they were asked to do the opposite—to act more introverted by being quiet, reserved, and deliberate. The order was randomized, and participants regularly reported on their mood, well-being, and behavior throughout the study.
This wasn’t a quick lab exercise or a forced conversation with a stranger. It was a real-life experiment that unfolded over two full weeks. And that’s exactly what makes the findings so compelling.
What Changed—And What Didn’t
When participants acted extraverted, their well-being increased. When they acted introverted, their well-being declined. The clearest changes appeared in positive emotions—feelings like enthusiasm, joy, and energy—but the effects went further than mood alone.
Participants also felt more socially connected, more autonomous, more competent, and more “in the zone” (a state psychologists call flow) during the extraversion week (Margolis & Lyubomirsky, 2019). In contrast, these same experiences weakened when participants deliberately pulled back and behaved more introverted.
Not every measure shifted dramatically. Life satisfaction and overall happiness—broader, more stable judgments about one’s life—were less sensitive to a single week of behavior change. That’s not surprising. Big-picture life evaluations usually take longer to move. But emotions and feelings of connection responded quickly.
But What About Introverts?
Here’s where the study really challenges popular assumptions. You might expect introverts to feel drained, uncomfortable, or unhappy when acting extraverted. But that’s not what happened. The benefits of extraverted behavior did not depend on whether participants were naturally introverted or extraverted.
Introverts, on average, experienced similar boosts in positive emotion and well-being when they acted extraverted. This supports earlier findings showing that introverts often underestimate how good social engagement will feel—a classic affective forecasting error (Margolis & Lyubomirsky, 2019).
In other words, feeling awkward beforehand doesn’t mean you’ll feel bad afterward.
Can Behavior Actually Change Personality?
The study also explored a fascinating secondary question: can repeatedly acting differently change how people see their own personality? During the extraversion week, participants reported higher levels of trait extraversion. During the introversion week, those ratings dropped.
The authors are careful here. These shifts may reflect short-term states or self-perception biases rather than permanent personality change. Still, the findings align with newer theories suggesting that personality is not as fixed as once believed. Repeated behaviors can become habits, and habits may slowly shape traits over time (Margolis & Lyubomirsky, 2019).
Why Does Acting Extraverted Feel Good?
One reason may be psychological needs. According to self-determination theory, people feel better when they experience connection, competence, and autonomy. Acting extraverted often involves reaching out to others, expressing opinions, and engaging actively with the environment—all behaviors that naturally satisfy these needs.
Another important factor was actual fit. Participants who found acting extraverted enjoyable or meaningful experienced the biggest benefits. Notably, expected fit—how good participants thought the behavior would feel—did not predict outcomes. Trying the behavior mattered more than imagining it.
What This Means In Real Life
This research doesn’t argue that introversion is a problem or that everyone should become an extravert. Instead, it suggests something far more flexible: happiness may depend less on your personality label and more on how you choose to behave in specific moments.
You don’t need to become the loudest person in the room. Even small shifts—speaking up once, starting a conversation, or being a little more spontaneous—may be enough to boost positive emotions and connection.
Final Thoughts
Margolis and Lyubomirsky’s (2019) study reminds us that personality isn’t destiny. How we act—even temporarily—can meaningfully shape how we feel. Happiness, it turns out, may be less about discovering who you are and more about experimenting with what you do.
References
Margolis, S., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2019). Experimental manipulation of extraverted and introverted behavior and its effects on well-being. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000668