Born lucky - or just lucky to be born rich? A note

Abstract

A paper by social psychologists proclaimed that, for UK citizens, it could be shown that being born in the summer half-year was associated with a significantly higher belief in being lucky, compared with being born in the winter half-year. Are we that much determined by nonsocial forces? A test with German data about well-being also yielded a summer high, but smaller and somewhat time-lagged. However, the observed peak in well-being in the summer half-year was entirely due to a corresponding seasonal class distribution of births.