GEHP111 – Happiness and

Wellbeing
CLASS 6 & 7 – CULTURAL UNDERSTANDINGS OF HAPPINESS (2)
From the UN World Happiness Report
Is Finland Really the Happiest Country in the World?

Watch the following video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FPU4F-Ajh8&t=214s

What does it suggest about how Finnish people understand happiness?

Is there a difference between happiness and life satisfaction? If so, what is the
difference?

Does it make sense to try to measure ‘happiness’ as one single thing across
different cultures?
Finland and Mexico compared…

Finland Mexico
 GDP per capita (2020): 49,041 USD  GDP per capita (2020): 8,346 USD
 Human Development index (2019):  Human Development index (2019):
0.938 (11/189) 0.779 (74/189)
 Murder rate: (2019) 1.64 per 100,000  Murder rate (2020): 29 per 100,000
Why is Mexico a Happy Country?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoyJoeuwVes

What are the main reasons suggested for Mexico’s high ranking in happiness
surveys?

How do these compare to the factors accounting for happiness/life satisfaction in

Finland?

What do these differences say about the nature of happiness in the two countries?
Are we talking about the same thing in both cases?
Are People Getting Happier?

 Since 2005, the majority of countries studied in

the World Happiness Reports have become
more satisfied with life
 But according to the 2019 World Happiness
Report, negative feelings — worry, sadness,
and anger —have been rising around the world,
up by 27 percent from 2010 to 2018
 Are People Getting Happier?

 Some countries are performing worse than others.

 The General Social Survey, which has been measuring social trends among
Americans since 1972, shows a long-term, gradual decline in happiness —
and rise in unhappiness — from 1988 to the present
 The World Happiness Reports show American adults have been getting less
happy since 2000, while adolescents have been experiencing more
depression, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm since 2010
 Australia’s average happiness has been declining since 2009
 The reports also show a widening happiness gap, with some people
reporting much more well-being and others showing much less within each
country
 The gap between the unhappy and the happy is widening most in Latin
America, Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa
 Why might happiness be declining in some countries?

 Some researchers blame rising income inequality; others blame addiction to

technology
 One of the most well-known findings in the economic study of happiness is that, on
average, happiness increases with income, but at a certain point diminishing returns
set in
 Nobel prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman first described the change point
where extra income begins to matter less for happiness. He found this change point
in the United States was US $75,000 in 2008
 This was substantially more than the US median income of $52,000 in the same year
 The change point at which the happiness of most Australians no longer strongly
depends on income has almost doubled since 2009 from A$43,000 to A$74,000
 At the same time, the median income has lingered at less than A$50,000 per year
since 2009
Why might happiness be declining in some countries?

 Researcher Jean Twenge argues that screen time is displacing activities that

are key to our happiness, like in-person social contact
 Forty-five percent of adolescents in America are online ‘almost constantly’
and the average high school senior spends six hours a day texting, on social
media, or on the Internet
 Research suggests that the more time teenagers spend on smartphones and
other electronic screens, the more likely they are to feel depressed and think
about, or attempt, suicide.
 In the US, researchers discovered 48% of teenagers who spent five or more
hours per day on electronic devices reported a suicide-related behavior. That
compared to 28% of adolescents who spent less than an hour using electronic
devices.
 Teens who spent more time on the devices were more likely to be unhappy.
Those who focused more on non-screen activities like sports and exercise,
talking to friends face to face, doing homework, and going to religious
services were more likely to be happy.
 Read and discuss the following article…

‘Are We Trading Our Happiness for Modern Comforts?’

https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2020/10/why-life-has-gotten-more-comfortab
le-less-happy/616807/
What does the article suggest about the relationship between happiness and consumption?
Between happiness and technology?

What advice does it give about how to pursue happiness in modern societies?
 Happiness in the Arab World (1)

 Despite growing interest in the relationship between culture and happiness, researchers note a gap
in the literature with regards to Arab conceptions of happiness (Brannan et al., 2013; Pflug, 2009;
Suh and Oishi, 2004).
 The First World Happiness Report, which measures wealth, economic activity, social relations and
public welfare, placed the UAE as the 17th happiest country (Khawaja, 2012) and 24th place more
recently
 Another poll surveying 5000 Emiratis indicated that 91% of UAE nationals are ‘satisfied’ or ‘very
satisfied’ with their quality of life (Olson, 2012)
 A study done by the Community Development Authority and Dubai Statistics Center found that the
happiness score of Emiratis was 8.3 and 7.9 for other Arab expatriates (Libo, 2012)
 Happiness in the Arab World (2)

 Further studies point to the importance of collectivism as a contributor to happiness in the Arab world. Family
is considered an important social institution and is recognised by respondents as such
 Members of families often forgo personal needs and desires for the benefit of the collective group (Hamdan,
2008).
 Individual happiness is thus tied to collective happiness making an individual’s social duties (i.e., taking care
of one’s parents, helping the less fortunate, etc.) central (Joshanloo, 2013; Smither and Khorsandi, 2009).
 The Arab world also ranks high in religiosity which contributes to social support and purpose in life, in turn
predicting social well-being (Diener et al., 2011).
 Religiosity fosters morality and provides codes of conduct, positive self-perceptions, positive emotions (i.e.,
hope, gratitude), and aids coping with adversity (Hamdan, 2008).
‘Happiness in the United Arab Emirates: conceptualisations of
happiness among Emirati and other Arab students’

Louise Lambert & Nausheen Pasha-Zaidi

Int. J. Happiness and Development, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2015

 Article overview

 Emirati and other Arab expatriate students were asked to define happiness and describe how
it is viewed by their cultures.
 Both groups defined happiness as a collective state generated through relationships with
family and social groups, rather than through the self.
 It was defined both as an emotion and approach to life and involved religion and goal setting.
 Emiratisnoted the presence of good governance as a contributor to happiness while other
Arabs noted its absence.
 Research Design (Methodology)

 The study used a qualitative design suited to understanding contextually-bound phenomena (Bernard and Ryan,
2010; Delle Fave et al., 2011; Mathews, 2012) and involved the use of written questionnaires.
 English and introductory psychology university students were asked to respond to the following:
 1 What does happiness mean to you?
 2 How do people in your culture think of happiness?
 Data were collected in the spring of 2013 and analysed by the authors and three student researchers.
 The study took place in two educational institutions in the UAE; one in Dubai, which composed the other Arab
sample (n = 55), and the second in Abu Dhabi which composed the Emirati sample (n = 54). T
 Results for Emirati Group (1)

The definition of happiness involved five themes. It was defined as an emotion, attitude, circumstance, and
relationships. Religion and the instrumental value of the state were also noted
1. Overwhelmingly, respondents defined happiness as a way of thinking and feeling
2. A second major theme in the definition of happiness involved relationships
3. Happiness is morality and religion: happiness involved living an honourable life and attaining the positive
regard of others in doing so
4. Circumstances were identified which established a foundation for happiness, e.g. health, finance, education,
safety
5. Happiness is an accomplishment, related to goals, acquiring knowledge, and becoming one’s self.
 Results for Emirati Group (2)

Themes found in the cultural understanding of happiness:

1. Emiratis reported that their culture’s understanding of happiness involved financial aspirations, material
objects, and prestige
2. Respondents considered their culture to encompass a view of happiness that included a network of family,
friends, and neighbours
3. The third theme involved ideas about what made life worthwhile and included feeling satisfied, healthy,
doing good work, and reaching goals:
4. Religion involved the relationship one had with God
5. Finally, cultural conceptions of happiness included the UAE’s national development: safety, prosperity,
national pride
 Discussion

 In line with the literature suggesting that collectivist countries sought happiness through one another
(Ahuvia, 2002; Lu and Shih, 1997; Pflug, 2009; Uchida and Ogihara, 2012), participants in both
groups understood happiness to emerge through relationships.
 The interconnectivity of happiness was frequently noted in that participants felt that their happiness
hinged upon that of others (Christakis and Fowler, 2009). When family members were happy and
healthy, participants were too.
 Both Emiratis and other Arabs also placed importance on fulfilling social obligations, such as helping
siblings, ensuring parents had material goods, and supporting family and friends, which emphasised
the notion of interdependence in social groups (Ahuvia, 2002; Joshanloo, 2013; Pflug, 2009; Smither
and Khordandi, 2009; Uchida and Ogihara, 2012).
 Discussion

 Further, the Emirati group also experienced positive emotions like pride and self-esteem when parents were
satisfied and happy with how respondents lived their lives (Diener, 2013).
 This recognition seemed to reinforce one’s identity in the collective group coinciding with the findings in
collectivist cultures (Ahuvia, 2002; Diener, 2013; Uchida et al., 2004).
 Religion plays a strong role in the cultural identity of the Emirates and is reflected in all aspects of life. For
Muslims, social well-being may be derived from the existential relationship that exists between human beings
and God.
 Happiness was also found within a set of circumstances that involved a state of good health, security, housing,
appropriate finances, education and employment opportunities (Diener and Biswas-Diener, 2002;
Lyubomirsky et al., 2005; Tay and Diener, 2011).
 Workbook: What does happiness mean in the UAE?

Based on the material we have covered on the differences in how people view happiness between
cultures, think about what happiness means to people in the UAE.
 What is happiness? What brings happiness? How important is the pursuit of happiness? How much is
happiness something which is in our own control?
 Are there differences between how happiness is understood in Islamic cultures and in the West?
 Are there differences between generations in UAE? If so, what are they? How and why are attitudes
changing?
“What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the
Longest Study on Happiness,”

 The Harvard Study of Adult Development is the world longest study on happiness and
well-being. You can read about some of the results below:

 https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-be
en-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/

 According to the study, what are the 3 most important things which contribute to happiness
and well-being?