ArticlePloS one2020
Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Relational Well-Being in Non-WEIRD Societies: A Reformulation of Happiness From a Chinese Cultural Perspective.PsyCh journal · 2026Article
- Well-being andFrontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The relationship between green tea consumption and happiness.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Happiness Maximization Is a WEIRD Way of Living.Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science · 2025Review
- Kawaii-Ness Mediates Between Demographic Variables, Happiness, and Brain Conditions.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- The neural correlates of perceived social support and its relationship to psychological well-being.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2023Article
- Editorial: Exploring human subjectivity.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- A Call for Interdisciplinary Collaboration to Promote Musculoskeletal Health: The Creation of the International Musculoskeletal Mental and Social Health Consortium (I-MESH).Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings · 2022Article
- Harmony and Aversion in the Face of a Pandemic.The Japanese psychological research · 2022Article
- Psychometric Qualities Evaluation of the Interdependent Happiness Scale across Malaysia, Philippines, and India.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Relationships Between Achievement Goal Orientations, Learning Engagement, and Academic Adjustment in Freshmen: Variable-Centered and Person-Centered Approaches.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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Abstract
What does it mean to be happy? The vast majority of cross-cultural studies on happiness have employed a Western-origin, or "WEIRD" measure of happiness that conceptualizes it as a self-centered (or "independent"), high-arousal emotion. However, research from Eastern cultures, particularly Japan, conceptualizes happiness as including an interpersonal aspect emphasizing harmony and connectedness to others. Following a combined emic-etic approach (Cheung, van de Vijver & Leong, 2011), we assessed the cross-cultural applicability of a measure of independent happiness developed in the US (Subjective Happiness Scale; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) and a measure of interdependent happiness developed in Japan (Interdependent Happiness Scale; Hitokoto & Uchida, 2015), with data from 63 countries representing 7 sociocultural regions. Results indicate that the schema of independent happiness was more coherent in more WEIRD countries. In contrast, the coherence of interdependent happiness was unrelated to a country's "WEIRD-ness." Reliabilities of both happiness measures were lowest in African and Middle Eastern countries, suggesting these two conceptualizations of happiness may not be globally comprehensive. Overall, while the two measures had many similar correlates and properties, the self-focused concept of independent happiness is "WEIRD-er" than interdependent happiness, suggesting cross-cultural researchers should attend to both conceptualizations.
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