Research on happiness casts doubt on the notion that increases in income generally bring greater happiness. This finding can be taken to imply that economic migration might fail to result in increased happiness for the migrants: migration as a means of increasing one's income might be no more effective in raising happiness than other means of increasing one's income. This implication is counterintuitive: it suggests that migrants are mistaken in believing that economic migration is a path to improving one's well-being, at least to the extent that well-being means (or includes) happiness. This paper considers a scenario in which it is less likely that migrants are simply mistaken in this regard. The finding that increased incomes do not lead to greater happiness is an average (non)effect -and migrants might be exceptional in this regard, gaining happiness from increased incomes to a greater extent than most people. The analysis here, using data from the World Values Survey, finds that the association between income and happiness is indeed stronger for immigrants in the USA than for nativesbut even for immigrants that association is still relatively weak. The discussion then considers this finding in light of the fact that immigrants also report lower levels of happiness than natives after controlling for other variables.

Psychological research that involves cross-cultural comparisons has increased considerably during the last decade and is expected to escalate further. Given its growing popularity within mainstream psychology, cross-cultural research no longer can be considered the sole domain of experts trained in this specialization. Concomitant with this expansion, important methodological advances in quantitative psychology (e.g., measurement, statistical analysis, and research design) impact the study of cultural differences. The purpose of this article is to heighten awareness of important methodological advances among psychologists being prepared for or engaged in teaching, research, consultation, or other forms of practice that focus on diverse cultural groups. Credible and unbiased research findings coupled with psychometrically sound selection and use of assessment instruments contribute importantly to attaining the gold standard for all psychological research and testing practices. This article highlights methodological advancements and other issues that bear importantly on both the preparation and subsequent practices of psychologists in ways that promote credibility and lessen bias.

The present study evaluated the factor structure of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2: Martens, Vealey, Burton, Bump, and Smith, 1990) using confirmatory factor analysis. Volunteer participants (N = 1,213) completed the CSAI-2 approximately 1 hour before competition and data were analysed in two samples. The hypothesised model showed poor fit indices in both samples independently and simultaneously, suggesting that the factor structure proposed by Martens et al. is flawed. The present results question the use of the CSAI-2 as a valid measure of competitive state anxiety.

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Researchers investigating the relationship between age and life satisfaction have produced conflicting answers, via disputes over whether to include individual-level control variables in regression models. Most scholars believe there is a ‘U-shaped’ relationship, with life satisfaction falling towards middle age and subsequently rising. This position emerges mainly in research that uses control variables (for example, for income and marital status). This approach is incorrect. Regression models should control only ‘confounding’ variables; that is, variables that are causally prior to the dependent variable and the core independent variable of interest. Other individual-level variables cannot determine one’s age; they are not confounders and should not be controlled. This article applies these points to data from the World Values Survey. A key finding is that there is at best a negligible post-middle-age rise in life satisfaction – and the important implication is that there cannot then be a U-shaped relationship between age and life satisfaction.

Research on happiness casts doubt on the notion that increases in income generally bring greater happiness. This finding can be taken to imply that economic migration might fail to result in increased happiness for the migrants: migration as a means of increasing one's income might be no more effective in raising happiness than other means of increasing one's income. This implication is counterintuitive: it suggests that migrants are mistaken in believing that economic migration is a path to improving one's well-being, at least to the extent that well-being means (or includes) happiness. This paper considers a scenario in which it is less likely that migrants are simply mistaken in this regard. The finding that increased incomes do not lead to greater happiness is an average (non)effect -and migrants might be exceptional in this regard, gaining happiness from increased incomes to a greater extent than most people. The analysis here, using data from the World Values Survey, finds that the association between income and happiness is indeed stronger for immigrants in the USA than for nativesbut even for immigrants that association is still relatively weak. The discussion then considers this finding in light of the fact that immigrants also report lower levels of happiness than natives after controlling for other variables.

A significant body of social‐science research on happiness has accrued in recent decades, produced mainly by economists and psychologists. Sociologists, however, have made more limited contributions to “happiness studies”. This paper provides an overview of concepts, methods and findings and suggests some questions about happiness that ought to be of substantial interest to sociology. Many sociologists are clearly interested in the well‐being of the people they study (sometimes suggesting “policy implications” emerging from their empirical findings); happiness is a presumptively important form of well‐being, and an engagement with happiness studies might constitute a way to develop more systematic connections between well‐being and academic research. Building on existing findings, sociologists would be well‐placed to consider the social context of happiness (as against an individualist orientation more common in other disciplines) as well as the unintended consequences of policy initiatives and happiness discourses.

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