Crosscultural comparability of HAPPINESS Ruut Veenhoven Erasmus University

Cross-cultural comparability of HAPPINESS Ruut Veenhoven Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus Happiness Economics Research Organization Presentation at conference on Cross Cultural Understanding of Well-being Faculty of Social Sciences, Yogyakarta State University May 11 -12 2016, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Cross-cultural comparability of happiness 1. Concept of ‘happiness’ 2. Measurement of happiness 3. Cross-national pattern of happiness • • • Level of happiness Trend of happiness Societal correlates 4. Cross-cultural comparability of happiness

Concept of ‘happiness’

Concept of happiness Four qualities of life (variants of well-being)

Concept of happiness Four kinds of satisfaction

Concept of happiness Variants Overall happiness Hedonic level Contentment Affective appraisal Cognitive appraisal

Measurement of happiness

Measurement of happiness Options and usefulness Observation of. . • Life situation • physiological functioning • non-verbal behavior – ? ± Questioning • Indirect • direct + ++

Measurement of happiness Best practice in direct questioning • global self estimate – single question – multiple questions • multi-moment average for large scale surveys for small scale follow-up

Concept of happiness Variants Overall happiness Hedonic level Contentment Affective appraisal Cognitive appraisal

Measurement of happiness Example of a single survey question Taking all together, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your life as a whole these days? 1 2 3 Dissatisfied 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Satisfied

Measurement of happiness Best practice in direct questioning • global self estimate – single question – multiple questions • multi-moment average for large scale surveys for small scale follow-up

Concept of happiness Variants Overall happiness Hedonic level Contentment Affective appraisal Cognitive appraisal

Measurement of hedonic level Multi-moment assessment • Experience sampling (ESM) • Day Recall Method (DRM) – Internet application Yesterday’s Diary

Measurement of hedonic level Multi-moment assessment • Experience sampling (ESM) • Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) – Internet application Yesterday’s Diary

Cross-national pattern of happiness

Cross-national pattern of happiness • Level in nations • Trend over time • Societal correlates

Measurement of happiness Example of a survey question Taking all together, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your life as a whole these days? 1 2 3 Dissatisfied 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Satisfied

Happiness in nations Switzerland 2007

Happiness in nations Zimbabwe 2008

Happiness in nations Indonesia 2006

Happiness in nations Average on scale 0 -10 around 2007 • Denmark 8, 4 • Switzerland 8, 1 • USA 7, 0 • France 6, 5 • Indonesia 6, 2 • Japan 6, 2 • Russia 4, 4 • Zimbabwe 2, 8

Happiness in nations Trends Denmark, Netherlands and Russia

Happiness in nations Trend Indonesia

Cross-national pattern of happiness Societal correlates

Affluence and happiness in nations

Freedom and happiness in nations

Government effectiveness and happiness

Societal correlates of happiness in 135 nations around 2010 • • Good governance Economic prosperity Rule of law Democracy Gender equality Mental health care Income inequality Explained variance +. 66 +. 63 +. 58 +. 60 +. 58 +. 51 +. 07 75% Source: World Database of Happiness: Data file States of Nations

Cross-cultural comparability of happiness

Cross-cultural comparability of happiness Theoretical doubts: • Cultural difference in evaluation of life Methodological doubts: • Cultural bias in measurement of reports

Cross-cultural comparability of reported happiness Theoretical doubts Cultural difference in evaluation of life • Happiness depends on comparison • Standard of comparison differ across cultures • Hence happiness incomparable

How do we assess how happy we are?

Cross-cultural comparability of reported happiness Methodological doubts Measurement bias due to differences in: • • meaning of words? response tendencies? desirability bias? familiarity with the concept?

Cross-cultural comparability of reported happiness Methodological doubts Measurement bias due to differences in: • • meaning of words? response tendencies? desirability bias? familiarity with the concept? hardly

Cross-cultural comparability of reported happiness Methodological doubts Measurement bias due to differences in: • • meaning of words? response tendencies? desirability bias? familiarity with the concept? hardly no

Societal correlates of happiness in 135 nations around 2010 • • Good governance Economic prosperity Rule of law Democracy Gender equality Mental health care Income inequality Explained variance +. 66 +. 63 +. 58 +. 60 +. 58 +. 51 +. 07 75% Source: World Database of Happiness: Data file States of Nations

Conclusion • Happiness comparable across nations • Nations differ in livability

World Database of Happiness http: //worlddatabaseofhappiness. eur. nl