According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT), satisfaction of needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness is a universal requirement for psychological well-being. We tested this hypothesis with college students in the United States, Australia, Mexico, Venezuela, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, and Japan. Participants rated the extent to which these needs, plus needs for self-actualization and pleasure-stimulation, were satisfied in various roles and reported their general hedonic (i.e., positive and negative affect) and eudaimonic (e.g., meaning in life, personal growth) well-being. Asian participants averaged lower than non-Asian participants in perceived satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and self-actualization needs and in most aspects of eudaimonic well-being and these differences were partially accounted for by differences in dialecticism and independent self-construals. Nonetheless, perceived need satisfaction predicted overall well-being to a similar degree in all cultures and in most cultures provided incremental prediction beyond the Big Five traits. Perceived imbalance in the satisfaction of different needs also modestly predicted well-being, particularly negative affect. The study extended support for the universal importance of SDT need satisfaction to several new cultures.NEED SATISFACTION AND WELL-BEING 5 Self-Determination Theory (SDT) proposes that certain evolved psychological needs must be satisfied if individuals are to develop to their fullest potential, in the same way that plants require key nutrients to thrive (Deci & Ryan, 1985Ryan, 1995;. SDT posits three universal needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Autonomy involves the need to experience one's behavior as freely chosen and volitional, rather than imposed by external forces. Competence involves the need to feel capable and effective in one's actions. Relatedness involves the need for belonging, intimacy, and connectedness to others.SDT theorists view these needs as broad motivational tendencies that operate across life domains and contend that satisfaction of all three needs, not just one or two, is essential for well-being.Although the expression or means of satisfying these needs may vary across cultures, their satisfaction is viewed as essential for well-being in all cultures.In contrast, some critics of SDT have questioned whether these needs are cultural universals. In particular, several scholars have argued that autonomy is more valued or normative in individualistic or Western cultures (Cross & Markus, 1999;Iyengar & Lepper, 1999;Miller, 1997). However, as noted by Chirkov and Ryan (2001), the existence of cultural differences in the strength of autonomy values does not preclude similarities in the functional impact of autonomy-supportive versus controlling environments. Furthermore, SDT theorists counter that critics tend to confuse autonomy as defined by SDT with independence or individualism (Chirkov, Ryan, Kim, & Kaplan, 2003). For example, behaving in accordance with group norms might be internal...

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According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT), satisfaction of needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness is a universal requirement for psychological well-being. We tested this hypothesis with college students in the United States, Australia, Mexico, Venezuela, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, and Japan. Participants rated the extent to which these needs, plus needs for self-actualization and pleasure-stimulation, were satisfied in various roles and reported their general hedonic (i.e., positive and negative affect) and eudaimonic (e.g., meaning in life, personal growth) well-being. Asian participants averaged lower than non-Asian participants in perceived satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and self-actualization needs and in most aspects of eudaimonic well-being, and these differences were partially accounted for by differences in dialecticism and independent self-construals. Nonetheless, perceived need satisfaction predicted overall well-being to a similar degree in all cultures and in most cultures provided incremental prediction beyond the Big Five traits. Perceived imbalance in the satisfaction of different needs also modestly predicted well-being, particularly negative affect. The study extended support for the universal importance of SDT need satisfaction to several new cultures.

Western theories suggest that self-concept consistency is important for well-being, but cultural psychologists have proposed that this relationship may be weaker in collectivistic or dialectical cultures. Hypotheses regarding the ability of self-concept (cross-role) consistency and short-term stability to predict hedonic and eudaimonic well-being across cultures were tested. College students in the United States, Australia, Mexico, Venezuela, Philippines, Malaysia, China, and Japan rated their traits in various roles at test and retest and completed measures of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. In all cultures, cross-role consistency and short-term stability were inversely associated with negative affect, an aspect of hedonic well-being, and positively associated with Big Five Emotional Stability. In contrast, cross-role consistency and short-term stability were related to eudaimonic well-being more reliably in individualistic cultures than in collectivistic cultures, although the results in China only partially conformed to this pattern. We concluded that cross-role variability and short-term instability of self-concepts have a significant temperamental or affective basis and this temperamental basis is a cultural universal. In addition, cultural psychology predictions of a weaker relationship between self-concept consistency and well-being in collectivistic cultures, as compared to individualistic cultures, was largely supported for eudaimonic well-being.Keywords: culture, cross-role consistency, short-term stability, hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing, individualism-collectivism, dialecticism SELF-CONCEPT CONSISTENCY AND WELL-BEING 3 Self-concept consistency has been defined in a variety of ways and different consistency constructs may relate differently to well-being (Campbell, Assanand, & Di Paula, 2003). In the present study, we define self-concept consistency as the consistency of individuals' trait ratings across different roles, and refer to this construct as cross-role consistency (see also Boucher, 2011;Church, Anderson-Harumi et al., 2008) According to theory (e.g., Jahoda, 1958;Jourard, 1965) and empirical findings (Campbell et al., 2003;Church, Anderson-Harumi et al., 2008;Donahue, Robins, Roberts, & John, 1993; Sheldon et al., 1997), a consistent and stable self-concept is important for adjustment or wellbeing, at least in Western or individualistic cultures. However, cultural psychologists have hypothesized that the relationship between consistency and well-being may be weaker or nonexistent in collectivistic cultures, where self-concept flexibility and adaptability to situational contexts are valued (Markus & Kitayama, 1998;Suh, 2002). Indeed, Suh (2002), in a comparison of cross-role consistency in Americans and Koreans, found support for this hypothesis, and attributed the cultural differences to differences in self-construals.Alternatively, English and Chen (2007) and Boucher (2011) attributed the hypothesized weaker relationship between cross-role consistency and well-being in East...

It is well established that there is an academic achievement gap between students from high and low socioeconomic family backgrounds. However, how being brought up and living in different socioeconomic backgrounds impacts adolescent development, particularly their creative capabilities and creativity-related personality traits, is not well understood. This study compared creative capabilities and traits of 8th grade students of 2 school districts: a suburban, upper-middle class community and an urban community with a large proportion of families under poverty, located in a northeastern state. The results provide compelling evidence for a creativity gap. The study also found a possible mediating role of academic achievement and intrinsic cognitive motivation, suggesting that the psychosocial processes and mechanisms leading to the creativity gap are tractable. Implications of the findings for optimal adolescent development and social interventions are discussed.