Abstract
The authors tested for cross-cultural difference in predictors of life satisfaction. In Study 1 (39 nations, N = 54, 446), they found that financial satisfaction was more strongly associated with life satisfaction in poorer nations, whereas home life satisfaction was more strongly related to life satisfaction in wealthy nations. In Study 2 (39 nations, N = 6,782), the authors found that satisfaction with esteem needs (e.g., the self and freedom) predicted global life satisfaction more strongly among people in individualist nations than people in collectivist nations. The present investigation provides support for the needs and values-as-moderators model of subjective well-being at the cultural level. The need for theories that account for culture-specific as well as universal predictors of life satisfaction will be discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Balatsky, G., & Diener, E. (1993). Subjective well-being among Russian students. Social Indicators Research, 28, 225–243.
Brunstein, J. C. (1993). Personal goals and subjective well-being: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 1061–1070.
Brunstein, J. C., Schultheiss, O. C., & Grassmann, R. (1998). Personal goals and emotional well-being: The moderating role of motive dispositions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 494–508.
Bryk, A. S., & Raudenbush, S. W. (1992). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Bryk, A. S., Raudenbush, S. W., & Congdon, R. T., Jr. (1994). Hierarchical linear modeling with the HLM/2L and HLM/3L programs. Chicago: Scientific Software International.
Campbell, J. D., Trapness, P. D., Heine, S. J., Katz, I. M., Lavallee, L. F., & Lehman, D. R. (1996). Self-concept clarity: Measurement, personality correlates, and cultural boundaries. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 141–156.
Deci, E. J., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Diener, E. (1996). Traits are powerful, but are not enough: Lessons from subjective well-being. Journal of Research in Personality, 30, 389–399.
Diener, E., & Diener, M. (1995). Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 653–663.
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction With Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75.
Diener, E., & Fujita, F. (1995). Resources, personal strivings, and subjective well-being: A nomothetic and idiographic approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 926–935.
Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress: 1967 to 1997. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276–302.
Heine, S. J., & Lehman, D. R. (1995). Cultural variation in unrealistic optimism: Does the West feel more invulnerable than the East? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 595–607.
Heine, S. J., & Lehman, D. R. (1997). The cultural construction of self-enhancement: An examination of group-serving biases. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 1268–1283.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Kitayama, S., Markus, H. R., Matsumoto, H., & Norasakkunkit, V. (1997). Individual and collective processes in the construction of the self: Self-enhancement in the United States and self-criticism in Japan. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 1245–1267.
Kwan, V. S. Y., Bond, M. H., & Singelis, T. M. (1997). Pancultural explanations for life satisfaction: Adding relationship harmony to self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1038–1051.
Lucas, R. E., Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1996). Discriminant validity of well–being measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 616–628.
Markus, H., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.
Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper & Row.
Myers, D. G., & Diener, E. (1995). Who is happy? Psychological Sciences, 6, 10–19.
Oishi, S., Diener, E., Suh, E., & Lucas, R. E. (1999). Value as a moderator in subjective well-being. Journal of Personality, 24, 1319–1331.
Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Psychological Assessment, 5, 164–172.
Radhakrishnan, P., & Chan, D. K. -S. (1997). Cultural differences in the relation between self-discrepancy and life satisfaction. International Journal of Psychology, 32, 387–398.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Ryan, R. M., Sheldon, K. M., Kasser, T., & Deci, E. (1996). All goals were not created equal: An organismic perspective on the nature of goals and their regulation. In P. M. Gollwitzer, & J. A. Bargh (Eds.), The psychology of action: Linking motivation and cognition to behavior. New York: Guilford.
Schwartz, S. H. (1994). Beyond individualism and collectivism: New cultural dimensions of values. In U. Kim, H. C. Triandis, C. Kagitcibasi, S.-C. Choi, & G. Yoon (Eds.), Individualism–collectivism: Theory, method, and applications (pp. 88–122). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Shao, L. (1993). Multilanguage comparability of life satisfaction and happiness measures in mainland Chinese and American students. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Shao, L. (1997). Extraversion and positive affect. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Sheldon, K. M., & Kasser, T. (1998). Pursuing personal goals: Skills enable progress, but not all progress is beneficial. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 1319–1331.
Sheldon, K. M., Ryan, R. M., & Reis, H. (1996). What makes for a good day? Competence and autonomy in the day, and in the person. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 1270–1279.
Suh, E. (1994). Emotion norms, values, familiarity, andsubjective well-being: A cross-cultural examination. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Suh, E., Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Triandis, H. C. (1998). The shifting basis of life satisfaction judgments across cultures: Emotions versus norms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 482–493.
Triandis, H. C. (1989). The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts. Psychological Review, 96, 506–520.
Triandis, H. C. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview.
Triandis, H. C. (1996). The psychological measurement of cultural syndromes. American Psychologist, 51, 407–415.
Veenhoven, R. (1991). Is happiness relative? Social Indicators Research, 24, 1–34.
Veenhoven, R. (1992). Happiness in nations: Subjective appreciation of life in 56 nations, 1946–1991. Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Erasmus University Rotterdam.
World Bank. (1992). World atlas. Washington, DC: Author.
World Values Study Group. (1994). World values survey, 1981–1984 and 1990–1993 (computer file, ICPSR version). Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Oishi, S., Diener, E., Lucas, R.E., Suh, E.M. (2009). Cross-Cultural Variations in Predictors of Life Satisfaction: Perspectives from Needs and Values. In: Diener, E. (eds) Culture and Well-Being. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 38. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2352-0_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2352-0_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-2351-3
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-2352-0
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)