Victor Meldrew in the TV series One Foot in the GraveIf you've got up on the wrong side of bed today, here's a little something from the world of science that just might cheer you up.

According to new research, the grouches among us are less gullible and better at making sensible decisions than those happy-go-lucky whistling types.

In fact a cheerful demeanour can lead us into all kinds of mistakes by believing anything.

Professor Joseph Forgas, a psychology expert, began studying the effects of our moods in a series of experiments.

And the findings revealed that the Victor Meldrew outlook made for more accurate eyewitness accounts of events, while further experiments backed up the results by confirming that the grumpier we are, the more likely we are to get our problems sorted out.

Writing in the Australian Science Journal, Professor Forgas said: "Whereas positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, co-operation and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world.

"A sad person can cope with more demanding situations than a happy one because of the way the brain promotes information processing strategies."

The experiments involved asking volunteers to judge the truth of urban myths having put them in either a good or bad mood with a film, and the grumpy group were less likely to believe the stories.

So the next time a cheery passer-by tells you to "cheer up, it might never happen", you can smile in the knowledge that it's probably more likely to happen to them.