The wonderful Irish boxer Kellie Harrington, who won her second gold medal in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, repeatedly stated in post-bout interviews that her primary goal in life is happiness.
Indeed it seems almost self-evident to most people that happiness should be a primary goal in life. But in fact, happiness is not considered to be an important goal in some non-WEIRD (western, educated, industrialised, rich, democratic) cultures, for instance in Japan. This doesn’t mean that non-WEIRD people have poor psychological wellbeing.
Psychology treats subjective wellbeing and happiness pretty much as one and the same thing, so it seems to be important to better understand the factors that underpin feelings of wellbeing. Research in this area is summarised by Emma Young in a recent issue of The Psychologist – Why there’s more to life than happiness.
The world Happiness Report ranks happiness on a scale of 1 (“worst possible life”) to 10 (“best possible life”) and finds that six variables, including GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy and high levels of social support, correlate well with happiness rankings across countries. The report equates being happy with “feeling that you have a good life”. The stronger the WEIRD characteristics of a country the more the inhabitants value high levels of happiness.
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So should we all strive to be happy? Surprisingly, there is some evidence, cited by Young, that we should not. Some researchers have found striving to achieve happiness leads to thinking that time is scarce, which produces unhappiness – the active pursuit of happiness can frustrate achievement of wellbeing.
And what is the best way to achieve happiness? Some people think buying things will make them happy, others that having and savouring interesting experiences will induce happiness. Research shows that more happiness is derived from experiences them from possessions.
What about religion and happiness? In WEIRD countries practising Christians generally report higher levels of happiness than irreligious people. This is commonly explained by assuming that religion gives people a stronger sense of meaning in their lives.
On the other hand in Buddhist countries are cautious about the pursuit of happiness. They worry that pursuing personal happiness leads to neglecting other people thereby harming them. Japan is heavily influenced by Buddhism and the Japanese are considerably less interested in happiness than western people. In some non – western countries there can also be a degree of fear of happiness – a feeling that “joy is usually followed by sadness”. And Islam is suspicious of happiness, counselling caution in pursuing this goal.
Other studies that asked participants to describe their ideal life are cited by Young. Family, work and money are commonly valued across cultures. Freedom, love and friends are cited as important by Americans but not by Japanese people. People from India stress the importance of a peaceful life while Japanese focus on the self, hobbies and retirement.
WEIRD people particularly focus on happiness. This may be related to the fact that WEIRD cultures mostly exist in comfortable environmental habitats, relatively unaffected by diseases or extreme weather, and so inhabitants can afford to allocate their resources not only to ensure everyday survival but also to pursue happiness.
The fact that happiness is not especially prized in certain countries doesn’t mean happiness has no beneficial effects in cultures that value happiness. In WEIRD cultures there is evidence that happiness is associated with better physical health and psychological wellbeing. This doesn’t seem to apply in other cultures – happiness is not associated with health for Japanese people. But for Americans greater levels of positive emotions are associated with healthier cholesterol profiles. This association is not seen among Japanese people.
Clearly then culture affects what matters most for our individual psychological wellbeing/happiness – different historical, environmental, political and religious influences, at least to some extent, influence and mould different ideas about what happiness means. When it comes to the drivers of happiness. therefore, one size does not fit all.
I personally find that a good sense of humour is an indispensable aid to happiness. So here is a little joke. Question: What do you get if you cross the Godfather with a Lawyer? Answer: An offer you can’t understand.
William Reville is an emeritus professor of biochemistry at UCC