National Differences in Well Being:
Beyond Individualism and Wealth
Ulrich Schimmack
University of Toronto
Background
Over the past 50 years, happiness in various
nations has been measured in national
representative surveys.
Happiness has been assessed by single-item
indicators of general happiness or satisfaction.
For example:
All things considered, how satisfied would you
say you are with your life these days?
(Average on a scale of one to 10)
Source. R. Veenhoven, States of Nations, World Database of Happiness,
Internetsite: www2.eur.nl/fsw/research/ happiness (2005)
Ruut Veenhooven compiled data from various
surveys.
The database includes over 1000 data points
and has been used by many other researchers
to examine determinants of national
differences in happiness.
Source. R. Veenhoven, States of Nations, World Database of Happiness,
Internetsite: www2.eur.nl/fsw/research/ happiness (2005)
Reliability
• Surveys from different years show high
reliability across nations.
1970s – 1980s
1980s – 1990s
1970s – 1990s
r = .81
r = .91
r = .71
•Diener and colleagues also obtained an
average correlation of r = .71 across three
different surveys.
•Diener, E., Diener, M. & Diener, C. (1995). Factors predicting the subjective wellbeing of nations. Journal of Personality and Social psychology, 69, 851-864.
Comparison of Subgroups within Nations
- Similar national differences are obtained for
subgroups of populations.
- The correlation between men and women
from different nations is r = .97.
- The mean correlation for different age groups
is r = .93.
Source. Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1999). National differences in subjective well being.
In D. Kahneman, E. Diener, & N. Schwarz, Well-Being: The foundations of hedonic
psychology.
Nations’ happiness
blue = happy; red = unhappy
Predictors
- One salient difference between happy and
unhappy nations is wealth.
- National differences in wealth are highly
correlated with other indicators of objective well
being (longevity, low corruption, human rights,
freedom, etc.).
- All of these indicators of objective well-being
predict national differences in happiness
moderately well.
Source. Diener, E., Diener, M. & Diener, C. (1995). Factors predicting the subjective
well-being of nations. Journal of Personality and Social psychology, 69, 851-864.
Relationship of Wealth and Related Indicators
with Happiness
Study
Cantril (1965)
Veenhoven (1991)
Diener et al. (1995)
Schimmack (2005)
Correlation
.67
.84
.61
.60
Happiness Residuals controlling for Wealth
Psychological Variables
- In a very influential book, Hofstede (1980)
demonstrated cultural differences in
individualism.
- Individualistic nations emphasis on the
rights of individuals, freedom of choice, and
independence, whereas collectivistic nations
emphasis the importance of groups and
conforming to social norms.
- The Individualism-collectivism dimension has
become the main explanatory construct in
cross-cultural psychology.
- Individualism is also a predictor of happiness.
- However, individualism does not predict
unique variance in happiness beyond wealth
because Individualism is highly correlated with
wealth and related indicators (r > .80).
Source. Schimmack, U., Oishi, S., & Diener, E. (2004).
Self-Esteem
- Self-esteem is a global positive evaluation of
oneself.
- Studies of individuals show a high correlation
between happiness and self-esteem, especially in
Western nations.
- This finding raises three questions:
- 1. Do nations differ in self-esteem?
- 2. Do national differences in self-esteem
predict happiness?
- 3. Does self-esteem make a unique
contribution beyond wealth?
Data
- Michalos’s (1991) international student survey
(M-ISS, N = 37 nations)
- Diener’s (1996) international student survey
(D1-ISS, N = 40 nations)
- Diener’s (2002) 2nd international student
survey (D2-ISS, N = 48 nations)
Self-esteem measure:
“I am satisfied with my self.”
1. Are there national differences in self-esteem?
M-ISS
M-ISS
D1-ISS
D1-ISS
D2-ISS
D2-ISS
Reliability: alpha(17) = .86
Correlation
r(23) = .63
r(26) = .66
r(27) = .53
National Differences in Self-Esteem
2. National differences in Self Esteem and
Happiness
East Asia
East Asia
Esteem
Esteem
Happiness
Happiness
Correlation
r(68) = -.55
r(68) = -.25
r(68) = .34
- National differences in esteem predict
happiness.
- National differences in esteem account for the
lower SWB in East Asian samples.
3. Does Esteem make a unique contribution?
Hierarchical regression analyses:
1. Step
Wealth
.60
2. Step
Wealth
Esteem
.67
.42
1. Step
Wealth
.60
2. Step
Wealth
East Asia
.63
-.28
R2
.36
.51(.17)
R2
.36
.43(.07)
Conclusion
- National differences in self-reported selfesteem are reliable.
- National differences in self-esteem predict
national differences in happiness beyond the
effect of wealth or individualism.
- The contribution of self-esteem to SWB
accounts for the low SWB in East Asia (China,
HK, Taiwan, South Korea, & Japan).
Theoretical Explanations
1. Genetic differences between ethnic groups.
2. Cultural differences in self-enhancement.
3. Cultural differences in criticism.
4. Cultural differences in dialectic thinking.
5. Cultural differences in ideals.
6. Modesty effects on self-report data (artifact)
Genetic Hypothesis
“It is possible that genetic differences between
ethnic groups might explain differences in SWB
[subjective well being ~ happiness]” (Diener &
Suh, 1999, p. 448)
The genetic hypothesis can be tested relatively
easily by examining acculturation effects of
immigrants that move from East Asia to North
America.
Acculturation Effects
- Heine et al. (1999) observed higher self-esteem
for Asian Canadians compared to a Japanese
sample in Japan.
- Chan, Yiu Man (2000) observed higher selfesteem in Chinese immigrant children in the UK
than in Chinese children in HK.
- These findings suggest that low self-esteem in
Asia is not due to genetic differences between
ethnic groups.
Self-Enhancement
- Self-enhancement is defined as overly positive
views of the self. One form of self-enhancement
is a self-serving bias in attributions of successes
and failures.
- A meta-analysis revealed a lack of self-serving
attributions in Japan, but equally strong selfserving biases in South Korea and China as in
North America (Mezulis, Abramson, Hyde, &
Hankin, 2004).
- Lack of self-enhancement does not seem to
account for low self-esteem in East Asia.
Criticism
- Kitayama, Karasawa, et al. (1999) found that
Japanese received more criticisms than North
Americans.
- Solid evidence regarding cultural differences
in criticism (or praise) are lacking.
- Future research may show that East Asian
cultures are more criticism.
Cultural Differences in Standards
- Heine et al. (1999) discuss the role of
perfectionism and constant self-improvement
in Japanese culture.
- The economic success of East Asian nations
compared to Latin American and African
cultures also suggests high achievement goals.
- However, North America seems to be able to
combine high achievement motivation with
high self-esteem.
Modesty Bias in Self-Report Data
- Kurman (2003) found correlations between a
modesty scale (I am embarrassed to talk about
my positive qualities) and reports of selfesteem and happiness.
- Non self-report measures (preference for
initials, IAT) do not show lower self-esteem in
East Asian samples (Kitayama & Greenwald,
2003).
- Modestly is a viable explanation for the
findings.
General Conclusion
- National differences in self-esteem are
reliable and predict happiness beyond wealth
or individualism.
- The low self-esteem in East Asia explains
why East Asian nations are less happy than
predicted by wealth.
- Future research needs to uncover the
cultural factors that produce national
differences in self-esteem.