Having negative views of oneself or a relationship partner is associated with low general or relationship well-being. This study examines the moderating effects of individuals' implicit personality theories-beliefs that people's attributes are either malleable or fixed. We predicted that individuals' beliefs about the malleability of attributes would moderate the relationship between views of the partner and relationship well-being and also the relationship between self-views and general well-being. These predictions were supported. When individuals had strong beliefs that people can change, the relationship between individuals' views of their partners and their relationship well-being was weaker; when individuals had strong beliefs that attributes are unchangeable, the relationship between views of partner and relationship well-being was stronger. The same moderating effect was found for self-ratings; individuals' self-ratings were less closely linked with general well-being when individuals believed that attributes are malleable.
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