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Personal Life Satisfaction as a Measure of Societal Happiness is an Individualistic Presumption: Evidence from Fifty Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Kuba Krys

    (Polish Academy of Sciences
    Kyoto University)

  • Joonha Park

    (NUCB Business School)

  • Agata Kocimska-Zych

    (SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities)

  • Aleksandra Kosiarczyk

    (SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities)

  • Heyla A. Selim

    (King Saud University)

  • Agnieszka Wojtczuk-Turek

    (Warsaw School of Economics)

  • Brian W. Haas

    (University of Georgia)

  • Yukiko Uchida

    (Kyoto University)

  • Claudio Torres

    (University of Brasilia)

  • Colin A. Capaldi

    (Carleton University)

  • Michael Harris Bond

    (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

  • John M. Zelenski

    (Carleton University)

  • Vivian Miu-Chi Lun

    (Lingnan University)

  • Fridanna Maricchiolo

    (University of Roma Tre)

  • Christin-Melanie Vauclair

    (Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), CIS-IUL)

  • Iva Poláčková Šolcová

    (Czech Academy of Sciences)

  • David Sirlopú

    (Universidad del Desarrollo)

  • Cai Xing

    (Renmin University of China)

  • Vivian L. Vignoles

    (University of Sussex)

  • Wijnand A. P. Tilburg

    (University of Essex)

  • Julien Teyssier

    (Université Toulouse II)

  • Chien-Ru Sun

    (National Chengchi University)

  • Stanislava Stoyanova

    (South-West University “Neofit Rilski”)

  • Ursula Serdarevich

    (Universidad Nacional de La Matanza)

  • Beate Schwarz

    (Zurich University of Applied Sciences)

  • Ruta Sargautyte

    (Vilnius University)

  • Espen Røysamb

    (University of Oslo)

  • Vladyslav Romashov

    (Polish Academy of Sciences)

  • Muhammad Rizwan

    (The Delve Pvt Ltd)

  • Zoran Pavlović

    (University of Belgrade)

  • Vassilis Pavlopoulos

    (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)

  • Yvette Osch

    (Tilburg University)

  • Ayu Okvitawanli

    (University Ngurah Rai)

  • Azar Nadi

    (Polish Academy of Sciences)

  • Martin Nader

    (Universidad ICESI)

  • Mustaffa Nur Fariza

    (International Islamic University Malaysia)

  • Oriana Mosca

    (University of Cagliari)

  • Tamara Mohorić

    (University of Rijeka)

  • Pablo Eduardo Barrientos

    (Universidad del Valle de Guatemala)

  • Arina Malyonova

    (Dostoevsky Omsk State University)

  • Xinhui Liu

    (Renmin University of China)

  • J. Hannah Lee

    (Indiana University Northwest)

  • Anna Kwiatkowska

    (Polish Academy of Sciences)

  • Nicole Kronberger

    (Institute for Education and Psychology, Johannes Kepler University Linz)

  • Lucie Klůzová Kračmárová

    (Palacký University)

  • Natalia Kascakova

    (Palacky University
    Psychiatric Clinic Pro Mente Sana)

  • İdil Işık

    (Istanbul Bilgi University)

  • Eric R. Igou

    (University of Limerick)

  • David O. Igbokwe

    (Baze University Abuja, Federal Capital Territory)

  • Diana Hanke-Boer

    (University of Koblenz-Landau)

  • Alin Gavreliuc

    (West University of Timisoara)

  • Ragna B. Garðarsdóttir

    (University of Iceland)

  • Márta Fülöp

    (Hungarian Academy of Sciences
    Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University)

  • Vladimer Gamsakhurdia

    (Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University)

  • Carla Sofia Esteves

    (Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), CIS-IUL)

  • Alejandra Domínguez-Espinosa

    (Iberoamerican University)

  • Patrick Denoux

    (University of Essex)

  • Salome Charkviani

    (University of Oslo)

  • Arno Baltin

    (Tallinn University)

  • Arévalo D. M. Mira

    (HULAB, Comprometidos con tu desarrollo)

  • Lily Appoh

    (Nord University)

  • Isabelle Albert

    (University of Luxembourg)

  • Charity S. Akotia

    (University of Ghana)

  • Mladen Adamovic

    (Monash University)

Abstract

Numerous studies document that societal happiness is correlated with individualism, but the nature of this phenomenon remains understudied. In the current paper, we address this gap and test the reasoning that individualism correlates with societal happiness because the most common measure of societal happiness (i.e., country-level aggregates of personal life satisfaction) is individualism-themed. With the data collected from 13,009 participants across fifty countries, we compare associations of four types of happiness (out of which three are more collectivism-themed than personal life satisfaction) with two different measures of individualism. We replicated previous findings by demonstrating that societal happiness measured as country-level aggregate of personal life satisfaction is correlated with individualism. Importantly though, we also found that the country-level aggregates of the collectivism-themed measures of happiness do not tend to be significantly correlated with individualism. Implications for happiness studies and for policy makers are signaled.

Suggested Citation

  • Kuba Krys & Joonha Park & Agata Kocimska-Zych & Aleksandra Kosiarczyk & Heyla A. Selim & Agnieszka Wojtczuk-Turek & Brian W. Haas & Yukiko Uchida & Claudio Torres & Colin A. Capaldi & Michael Harris B, 2021. "Personal Life Satisfaction as a Measure of Societal Happiness is an Individualistic Presumption: Evidence from Fifty Countries," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 2197-2214, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:22:y:2021:i:5:d:10.1007_s10902-020-00311-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-020-00311-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joseph Stiglitz & Amartya Sen & Jean-Paul Fitoussi, 2009. "The measurement of economic performance and social progress revisited: Reflections and Overview," Sciences Po publications 2009-33, Sciences Po.
    2. Joseph Henrich & Steve J. Heine & Ara Norenzayan, 2010. "The Weirdest People in the World?," RatSWD Working Papers 139, German Data Forum (RatSWD).
    3. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/5l6uh8ogmqildh09h4687h53k is not listed on IDEAS
    4. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5l6uh8ogmqildh09h4687h53k is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Mohsen Joshanloo & Veljko Jovanović & Tim Taylor, 2019. "A multidimensional understanding of prosperity and well-being at country level: Data-driven explorations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(10), pages 1-31, October.
    6. Joseph E. Stiglitz & Amartya Sen & Jean-Paul Fitoussi, 2009. "The measurement of economic performance and social progress revisited," Documents de Travail de l'OFCE 2009-33, Observatoire Francais des Conjonctures Economiques (OFCE).
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    Cited by:

    1. Magdalena Mosanya & Anna Kwiatkowska, 2023. "Multicultural Identity Integration versus Compartmentalization as Predictors of Subjective Well-Being for Third Culture Kids: The Mediational Role of Self-Concept Consistency and Self-Efficacy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-15, February.
    2. Cristina Díaz-Prieto & Jesús-Nicasio García-Sánchez & Alejandro Canedo-García, 2022. "Patterns of Quality of Life and Perceived Satisfaction in Adults and Elderly in Spain: Daily Practices, Life Experiences and Psychological Profiles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-17, June.

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