The Happiness of Individuals and the Collective

Abstract

Happiness and well-being are often defined as internal feelings or states of satisfaction. As such, research on well-being has focused on the long-term happiness and life satisfaction of individuals. But recently, psychological researchers have also begun to examine the effects that group-level functions (e.g., nation-level economic status) have on happiness. The present article: (a) overviews measures of individual and collective happiness and the validity of these measurements; (b) explicates the role of culture in understanding the long-term happiness and life satisfaction of individuals; and (c) explores the possibility and importance of studying the happiness of collectives (e.g., work groups, organizations, cities, nations). We then discuss future directions for happiness research, proposing several methodological and theoretical areas for progress in: (a) cross-temporal analyses to examine historical changes; and (b) multilevel analyses to identify the units of culture that affect happiness. Additionally, this paper argues that policy-making and interdisciplinary approaches can make important contributions to happiness studies.

The interaction between individualism and wellbeing in predicting mortality: Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe

“…By contrast, people in more collectivistic cultures acknowledge the importance of experiencing both positive and negative emotions, and value emotional stability rather than positive affect (Lu, 2001; Ng et al, 2003). Comparisons between more individualistic and more collectivistic cultures has also revealed that, in more individualistic cultures, the wellbeing of individuals is most strongly related to their self-esteem and sense of personal achievement, and that, in more collectivistic cultures, wellbeing is most strongly related to interpersonal goals and being able avoid social conflict (Uchida & Oishi, 2016). The relationship between positive and negative affect is also culturally dependent.…”

Forgiveness and Happiness Through Resilience

“…These factors are characteristics of resilient individuals who execute positive adaptation in the face of difficulties and establish strong social connections (Wang, Xu, & Luo, 2016). Other factors that influence happiness include self-control, optimism, and spirituality (Matz, Matz, & Stillwell, 2016;Campos, et al, 2016;Mogilner & Norton, 2016;Fave, et al, 2016;Uchida & Oishi, 2016). These factors can be observed in resilient people as well, who generally maintain faith and hopeful outlook during hardship and possess the capacity to manage their emotions, behavior, and impulses (Fujita, 2017;Gao, Barzel, & Barabási, 2016).…”

Family well-being is valued more than personal well-being: A four-country study

“…Such positive evaluations of life satisfaction are common among individuals shaped by Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic societies (WEIRD; Henrich et al 2010), and are implicitly assumed to apply to the whole human race. In contrast, some psychological research hints that well-being may be defined, experienced, and valued differently across individuals and cultures (Delle Fave et al 2016;Hornsey et al 2018;Lu and Gilmour 2004;Uchida and Oishi 2016). For example, in contrast to researchers' typical focus on life satisfaction, a more open-ended approach by Delle Fave and collaborators (2016) revealed that harmony and balance were mentioned more often than satisfaction among lay definitions of happiness.…”