L11 Culture and SWB Flashcards
What is culture?
More than dress of food- deeper
Many define as basically everything about a group- norms, values, behaviors and practices, beliefs that a group shares
Fish don’t notice the water- you don’t notice your culture
America
Conformists?
Ads- being happy advice
- uniqueness vs. fitting in
Pen experiment
Kids choosing a pen from a collection
Asians vs. Californians
- Asians will chose the pens that are one of many
- Californians will chose the pen that is different
Imperialist approach to culture
Contrasting your culture with others’ culture
- your culture is always “better”
Complete relativism
Anthropology- until recently
Franz Boas & Margaret Mead
No such thing as good or bad culture- all can only be understood from own view
No universals- each is unique
No well-being- what it is will differ completely form culture to culture
Cultural relativism vs. “sick” cultures
Relativistic view
- all cultures are equal, can only judge from within, can’t compare them
- Boaz and Mead
Broad human needs view
- universal causes of SWB based on fulfilling universal needs
- some cultures are better than others for human flourishing
- Edgerton
Broad Human Needs View
Robert Edgerton
- universal causes of SWB based on fulfilling universal needs
- some cultures are better than others for human flourishing
Newer wave
There are many universals
- names, groups, rituals, etc
But there are also better and worse societies
- ex. Nazis
- Edgerton
Differences in mean levels of SWB between cultures
Income differences, r=0.80 Positive affect - lower in Africa and Asia Negative affect - higher in South America and Middle East Life satisfaction also differs by group - multimillionaires, amish (in diff locations), maasai, sex workers, homeless, mental patients, etc - neutral pt is 4
Cultural universals in the causes
Basic needs Social support Mastery and growth Autonomy ? (Self-determination theory) Purpose in life? - weaker in poor nations
Differences in causes of SWB between cultures
Individualistic
- Self-esteem
- Consistency across situations
- Own feelings
Collectivistic
- Judgments of friends
- Situational norms of how to be
Differences in the composition of SWB between cultures
What feelings are valued?
Extreme relativism – no cross-cultural comparisons are possible, as the concepts, labels and words, etc. are completely different. “Emotions” is only a social construction.
What is well-being – even the meaning of that varies
Measurement challenges
Literacy and survey literacy Word meaning, translation Response differences – humility, avoiding extremes, social desirability, etc. Different patterns or composition
Geography
Life satisfaction
- high in Europe
Positive affect
- high in Latin America, Laos, Iceland and Canada
Low negative affect
- Asia (and Austria)
Asia
low positive and low negative affect
