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Happiness and success tend to go hand-in-hand, but not necessarily in the way most people think, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that, contrary to popular belief, success doesn't necessarily bring happiness but rather that happy people tend to be more successful.

“This may be because happy people frequently experience positive moods and these positive moods prompt them to be more likely to work actively toward new goals and build new resources,” said lead author Sonja Lyubomirsky of the University of California, Riverside.

Researchers reviewed 225 studies in the American Psychological Association's Psychological Bulletin, using three different methods to try to figure out how “happiness and positive affect are related to culturally valued success.

“The results of all three types of studies suggest that happiness does lead to behaviours that often produce further success in work, relationships and health and these successes result in part from a person's positive effect,” the study found.

Evidence from a review of cross-sectional studies – those which compare different groups of people and their responses to questions – also confirmed that “a person's well-being is associated with positive perceptions of self and others, sociability, creativity, pro-social behaviour, a strong immune system, and effective coping skills.”

Most previous research has been based on the belief that happiness came from success and other accomplishments in life.

“We found that this isn't always true,” Ms. Lyubomirsky said.

“Positive affect is one attribute among several that can lead to success-oriented behaviours. Other resources, such as intelligence, family, expertise and physical fitness, can also play a role in people's successes.”

In addition to success in the work place, researchers also suggested that findings indicated that happy people are more likely than their less jovial peers to have “to have fulfilling marriages and relationships, high incomes, superior work performance, community involvement, robust health and even a long life.”

The study's authors also included researchers from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and the University of Illinois.