I think you have some good arguments. If you remove the external factors (parents, etc) the first argument simplifies to: People are happier when they meet the

I think you have some good arguments. If you remove the external factors (parents, etc) the first argument simplifies to: People are happier when they meet their own expectations, and people who are "smart" have higher self expectations. There may be some transfer of parental expectations ("you are smart, you can do anything when you grow up"), but I suspect (apologies, I cannot cite anything) that even if you remove the external expectations, smarter people have higher standards for themselves. Thus, they are less happy. The second argument is a variant on: ignorance is bliss ... which is pretty well supported in literature. I am not sure if the futility/frustration causes unhappiness more than just increased awareness of issues, but it falls in line with that general theme. Just my 2 cents, as someone who often falls into this category.