VAC The Art of

Being Happy

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Unit 3 – Happiness: Cross-Cultural Contexts
◎ Culture and Happiness
◎ Interpersonal Relationships: Comparative Perspective
◎ Towards Self-Actualization

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Understanding Subjective Well-Being (SWB)
◎ A person’s cognitive and affective evaluations of his or
her life; these include emotional reactions to events as
well as cognitive judgments of satisfaction and
fulfillment.
◎ Broad concept that includes experiencing pleasant
emotions, low levels of negative moods, and high life
satisfaction.
◎ The positive experiences are a core concept of positive
psychology because they make life rewarding.

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Positive and Negative Affects

• Positive emotions and expressions

Positive Affects • Cheerfulness, pride, enthusiasm,
energy, joy

• Negative emotions and expressions

Negative Affects • Sadness, disgust, lethargy, fear,
distress

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Research on ‘Subjective Well-Being’
◎ Empirical studies of subjective well-being began to take
shape early in the 20th century.
◎ In 1925, Flugel studied moods by having people record
their emotional events and then aggregating their
emotional reactions across moments.
◎ After World War II, survey researchers such as George
Gallup, Gerald Gurin and Hadley Cantril, pioneered the
use of large-scale surveys as an assessment technique.

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Research on ‘Subjective Well-Being’
◎ A study conducted by Norman Bradburn in 1969
yielded the following discovery:
➢ Positive and negative affects should be studied
separately as they are not simply the opposites of
each other.
➢ Elimination of negative states may not necessarily
foster positive states. Similarly, elimination of pain
may not lead to an increase in pleasure, and ridding
the world of sadness and anxiety will not necessarily
make it a happy place.
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Growing Importance of Subjective Well-Being
◎ Having achieved a level of material abundance and health, people
in Western nations now seek the good life beyond mere survival.
◎ People across the globe presently see themselves in a ‘post
materialistic’ world; they are increasingly concerned with issues of
quality of life beyond economic prosperity.
◎ The concept is viewed to be democratic as it accords respect to
what people think and how they feel about themselves.
◎ Growing trend of individualism has increased concerns of
individuals about their own feelings and beliefs.
◎ The topic has evolved into a major scholarly and applied
discipline.
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Theoretical Approach to Subjective
Well-Being
Need and goal Process or activity Genetic and personality
satisfaction theories theories predisposition theories
• Centres around the idea • Engagement in an • Substantial genetic
of tension-reduction. interesting activity that component affects the
• Happiness occurs after matches skill level stability and consistency
needs are met and goals increases happiness. of subjective well-being.
are fulfilled. • Some researchers • To some degree, people
• Freud’s pleasure believe that combining are born or are prone to
principle and Maslow’s tension reduction be happy or unhappy.
hierarchical needs model approach with • Although life events can
represent this approach. pleasurable activities influence subjective well-
increases positive well- being, people eventually
being. return to biologically
determined adaptation
levels.

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Understanding Culture
◎ Characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of
people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social
habits, music and arts.
◎ The sum of attitudes, customs, arts, beliefs and
institutions that are passed down from generation to
generation and that distinguishes one group of people
from another.
◎ Refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic
structures that give such activities significance and
importance.
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Collectivist Cultures
◎ More emphasis on human relationships, including families, colleagues and
neighbors.
◎ Focus is on preserving harmony and respecting hierarchy within community.
◎ Selflessness and conformity are highly valued; personal achievements are likely
to be portrayed as a result of external factors rather than personal merit.
◎ Self-concept is based on social roles.
◎ Feelings of happiness are affected relatively more by evaluation of others,
therefore it is believed that collectivists have only limited control over their
happiness.
◎ Relationships between SWB and individual effort and achievement are not
clear.
◎ East-Asian cultures (Japan, Korea, China etc.)
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Individualistic Cultures
◎ Emphasis on individual freedom, individual achievement and the pursuit of
individual positive feelings.
◎ More critical to have a high sense of personal choice and freedom than to have
a reliable social safety net in times of difficulty.
◎ Self-concept is based on personal traits.
◎ Much personal freedom and opportunities are available, so each person is
highly accountable for his/her happiness.
◎ Relationships between SWB and individual effort and achievement are more
direct.
◎ European-American cultures (Western nations)

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Culture and Subjective Well-Being
◎ There are profound differences in what makes people happy.
◎ In collectivist cultures, self-esteem is less strongly associated
with life satisfaction and extraversion is less strongly
associated with pleasant affect.
◎ Personality congruence reflects the extent to which a
person’s behaviours are consistent across situations and
with the person’s inner feelings.
◎ Collectivists, in comparison to individualists, are less
congruent; their personality congruence is less strongly
associated with subjective well-being.
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Culture and Subjective Well-Being
◎ Among collectivists, the extent to which one’s life accords
with the wishes of significant others is more important than
emotions that the person feels in predicting his/her life
satisfaction.
◎ When basic needs are in danger of not being met, then
wealth influences subjective well-being. Therefore, wealth
leads to higher subjective well-being in poor nations.
◎ In wealthy nations, people experience higher subjective well-
being not only because of material possessions, but due to
experience of higher levels of human rights, greater
longevity and more equality.
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Culture and Subjective Well-Being
◎ Demographic variables also have different consequences in
different cultures.
◎ In individualist cultures, companionship is more important
than social approval, and therefore, unmarried partners
living together were found to be happier than married or
single individuals.
◎ In collectivist cultures, social approval is deemed more
beneficial, and therefore, unmarried partners living together
were found to be less happy as compared to married or
single individuals.

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Interpersonal Relationships and SWB
◎ Social connection is a robust predictor of well-being.
◎ The degree to which one feels understood by their
interaction partner is an important factor in predicting
the affective outcomes of social interactions and in the
formation of close relationships.
◎ The sources of interpersonal understanding are different
for individuals with different cultural backgrounds.
◎ Accurate perception and recognition of a person’s
concept of self is the key to happiness in social
interactions.
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A happy person is more likely to be to be from a
wealthy nation and have enough resources to pursue his
or her particular goals, characteristics such as a
positive outlook, meaningful goals, close social
relationships, and a temperament characterized by low
worry are very important to high subjective well-being.

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Self-Actualization
◎ The realization of one’s full potential.
◎ Found at the peak of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
◎ Considered to be an exception rather than the rule since
most people work towards meeting their more pressing
needs.
◎ The concept does not emphasise perfection or
achievement of all of life’s goals. Rather, it is a state of
mind that allows people to approach problems,
relationships and needs with acceptance and
understanding.
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 Characteristics of
Self-Actualized People

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(1) Self-actualised people have peak experiences

◎ A peak experience involves feelings of intense ecstasy,

joy, and wonder.
◎ During such experiences, people often lose track of time
and acutely feel that what they are experiencing is
important, valuable, unique, and special.
◎ Peak experiences are moments of transcendence in
which a person emerges feeling changed and
transformed.

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(2) They have a continuous sense of appreciation

◎ Self-actualised people possess the ability to maintain a

fresh outlook on life.
◎ Instead of seeing everyday experiences as mundane or
stale, self-actualized people continue to feel a sense of
awe, wonder, and joy.
◎ They maintain a sense of gratitude for the good things
in life, no matter how often they experience those
things.

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(3) Self-Actualisation involves acceptance

◎ Self-actualised people possess the ability to accept

themselves and others as they are.
◎ They tend to lack inhibition and can enjoy themselves
and their lives free of guilt.
◎ Not only do self-actualized people fully accept
themselves, they also embrace others for who they are.
◎ Other individuals are treated equally regardless of
background, current status, or other socio-economic
and cultural factors.

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(4) Self-Actualised people are realistic

◎ Self-actualized people possess a sense of realism.

◎ Rather than being fearful of things that are different or
unknown, the self-actualized individual can view life as it
unfolds logically and rationally.

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(5) They are problem-solving/solution-centred

◎ They are often motivated by a strong sense of personal

ethics and responsibility.
◎ They enjoy applying their problem-solving skills to real-
world situations.
◎ They like helping other people improve their own lives.

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(6) They are independent

◎ Self-actualized people do not conform to other people's

ideas of happiness or contentment.
◎ This original perspective allows the individual to live in
the moment and appreciate the beauty of each
experience.

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(7) Self-Actualised people value privacy

◎ Self-actualized individuals value their privacy and enjoy

solitude.
◎ While they also love the company of others, taking time
to themselves is essential for their personal discovery
and cultivating their potential.

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(8) They have a philosophical sense of humour

◎ Self-actualized individuals generally have a thoughtful

sense of humor.
◎ They are able to enjoy the humor in situations and laugh
at themselves.
◎ They do not ridicule or joke at the expense of another
person's feelings.

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(9) They exhibit spontaneity

◎ Self-actualized people exhibit a tendency to be open,

unconventional, and spontaneous.
◎ While these people are able to follow generally accepted
social expectations, they do not feel confined by these
norms in their thoughts or behaviors.

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(10) They have a sense of purpose

◎ Self-actualized people often feel that they have a

specific mission, duty, or responsibility in life. This
purpose is often humanitarian in nature.
◎ They feel deeply connected to other people and
experience tremendous empathy for the plight of
others.
◎ This sense of empathy and purpose often drives them to
work toward making the world better.

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(11) They focus on the journey

◎ While self-actualized people have concrete goals, they

do not see things as simply a means to an end.
◎ The journey toward achieving a goal is just as important
and enjoyable as actually accomplishing the goal.

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 Thank You…

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