Why Do Easterners Have Lower Well-Being Than Westerners? The Role of Others’ Approval Contingencies of Self-Worth in the Cross-Cultural Differences in Subjective Well-Being

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that Easterners generally perceive themselves as having lower subjective well-being compared with Westerners, and several mechanisms causing such differences have been identified. However, few studies have analyzed the causes of such differences from the perspective of the cross-cultural differences in the meanings of important life events such as whether people receive approval from others. Specifically, events regarding others’ approval might have different meanings to and influences on Easterners and Westerners. Thus, the degree of fluctuation of people’s views of self-worth in response to these events (i.e., others’ approval contingencies of self-worth [CSW]) probably differs between Easterners and Westerners. This may be a reason for cross-cultural differences in subjective well-being. We investigated two samples of undergraduate students from Taiwan and the United States to examine the mediating role of others’ approval CSW in forming cross-cultural differences in subjective well-being. The results revealed that Taiwanese participants exhibited lower subjective well-being and higher others’ approval CSW than American participants. In addition, others’ approval CSW partially mediated the cross-cultural differences in subjective well-being. Thus, one reason for lower subjective well-being among Easterners was likely that their self-esteem was more prone to larger fluctuations depending on whether they receive approval from others in everyday life.

Relationship between Social Support, Cultural Values, Family-Friendly Organizations and Psychological Well-Being among Turkish and the Dutch Nurses: The Role of Recovery

“…In line with our expectations, Turkish nurses report lower levels of recovery, and psychological well-being than the Dutch nurses. However, existing cultural differences between eastern and the western countries in well-being (Liu, Chiu & Chang, 2017) may also contribute to the cross-national differences found. Cross-cultural studies of well-being consistently find notable differences between collectivistic and individualistic cultures.…”

Cross-cultural differences in adult attachment and depression: A culturally congruent approach.

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The impact of teacher feedback on students’ decisions to stay on or change course after math failure in a Confucian cultural context

“…On top of this, duty-comforting feedback also conveyed a message that even though students are not good at math, they are still discouraged to change course. Under such circumstances, struggling students are under great pressure to stay on even when they face repeated math failures, which may be possible reasons to explain why students in CHCs suffered more mental health issues than their international counterparts ( Lee, 2009 ; Morony et al, 2013 ; Stankov, 2013 ; Liu et al, 2017 ).…”