The meaning of happiness is not the same in all places. Meaning, it depends on where in the world you live "and (the) benefits from using different measures." This is what a new UC Riverside study recently discovered.
A Phys.org report indicates that studies on happiness historically have concentrated on the "Western ideal of happiness," which is comparatively "self-centered and big on thrills."
The study authors said, consequently, the predominant conceptualization of happiness is consistent with the traditionally "Protestant, self-centered world view" that underscores self-worth and hard work to achieve positive results and views happiness as a personal achievement.
The researchers wrote their findings in a recently-published paper, "Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries."
Western Concepts Are Not Universal
While most studies specify happiness as focused on the Western notion of happiness, authors of this new research claimed, such concepts are not universal.
According to recent David Funder's Situations lab's PhD graduate Gwen Gardiner, also the study's lead author, the "East Asian world view has been described" as one in which the self is more entangled with others, such that one's own happiness relies on position connections in social relations.
Gardiner also said, the Eastern philosophies of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism highlight the interrelatedness of everyone and everything, putting priority on balance and harmony over individual success.
Koreans identify happiness with family, for instance. In fact, previous studies have shown even, probably, the most evident gauge of happiness, a smile, is different in the eastern and western parts of the world.
Tests of Happiness Measured in Worldwide Participants
Such differences led the researchers to their current study, targeted at measuring which of the tests of happiness would be the most effective among more than 15,300 worldwide participants.
The two measures employed included the "Subjective Happiness Scale" developed in the United States, and the Interdependent Happiness scale, a somewhat new test developed in Japan.
Research showed, the Western measure, the first-mentioned test, proved the most dependable when it comes to gauging happiness in Western European nations such as Denmark, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.
The same study showed that more developed countries with less growth in population and colder climates were more likely to get a similar score in the Western, "or independent, measure."
On the other hand, the Western scale was found to be ineffective in terms of identifying happiness in Eastern nations, including China, Vietnam, and Japan. It also performed poorly in other nations, specifically African countries.
Eastern Measure
The Eastern measure, which is the "Interdependent Happiness scale, was found to be the most reliable test in the Asian countries such as South Korea and Japan.
It was more challenging for the study authors to relate the scores to country-by-country factors, which include cultural and economic development factors. More so, the Eastern measure was generally a less dependable predictor in the Western nations.
Both measures of happiness were highly reliable in the US and Japan. That was of specific interest to study authors as the said respective countries where the exact places Western and Eastern tests were developed.
This happiness research is one of the first results published out of the farthest-reaches original study of how humans experience everyday life.
The International Situations Project depended on a global network to survey more than 60 countries, over 40 languages, and more than 15,000 individuals, and the results are only currently being refined.
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