Societal emotional environments and cross-cultural differences in life satisfaction: A forty-nine country study

Kuba KRYS; June Chun YEUNG; Colin A. CAPALDI; Vivian Miu-Chi LUN; Claudio TORRES; Wijnand A. P. VAN TILBURG; Michael Harris BOND; John M. ZELENSKI; Brian W. HAAS; Joonha PARK; Fridanna MARICCHIOLO; Christin-melanie VAUCLAIR; Aleksandra KOSIARCZYK; Agata KOCIMSKA-ZYCH; Anna KWIATKOWSKA; Mladen ADAMOVIC; Vassilis PAVLOPOULOS; Márta FÜLÖP; David SIRLOPU; Ayu OKVITAWANLI; Diana BOER; Julien TEYSSIER; Arina MALYONOVA; Alin GAVRELIUC; Yukiko UCHIDA; Ursula SERDAREVICH; Charity AKOTIA; Lily APPOH; Arévalo D. M  MIRA; Arno BALTIN; Patrick DENOUX; Alejandra DOMINGUEZ-ESPINOSA; Carla Sofia ESTEVES; Vladimer GAMSAKHURDIA; Ragna B. GARÐARSDÓTTIR; David O. IGBOKWE; Eric R. IGOU; İdil IŞIK; Natalia KASCAKOVA; Lucie KLŮZOVÁ KRAČMÁROVÁ; Nicole KRONBERGER; J. Hannah LEE; Xinhui LIU; Pablo Eduardo BARRIENTOS; Tamara MOHORIĆ; Nur Fariza MUSTAFFA; Oriana MOSCA; Martin NADER; Azar NADI; Yvette VAN OSCH; Zoran PAVLOVIĆ; Iva POLÁČKOVÁ ŠOLCOVÁ; Muhammad RIZWAN; Vladyslav ROMASHOV; Espen RØYSAMB; Ruta SARGAUTYTE; Beate SCHWARZ; Lenka SELECKÁ; Heyla A. SELIM; Maria STOGIANNI; Chien-Ru SUN; Cai XING; Vivian L. VIGNOLES

doi:10.1080/17439760.2020.1858332

Societal emotional environments and cross-cultural differences in life satisfaction: A forty-nine country study

Kuba KRYS, June Chun YEUNG, Colin A. CAPALDI, Vivian Miu-Chi LUN, Claudio TORRES, Wijnand A. P. VAN TILBURG, Michael Harris BOND, John M. ZELENSKI, Brian W. HAAS, Joonha PARK, Fridanna MARICCHIOLO, Christin-melanie VAUCLAIR, Aleksandra KOSIARCZYK, Agata KOCIMSKA-ZYCH, Anna KWIATKOWSKA, Mladen ADAMOVIC, Vassilis PAVLOPOULOS, Márta FÜLÖP, David SIRLOPU, Ayu OKVITAWANLIDiana BOER, Julien TEYSSIER, Arina MALYONOVA, Alin GAVRELIUC, Yukiko UCHIDA, Ursula SERDAREVICH, Charity AKOTIA, Lily APPOH, Arévalo D. M MIRA, Arno BALTIN, Patrick DENOUX, Alejandra DOMINGUEZ-ESPINOSA, Carla Sofia ESTEVES, Vladimer GAMSAKHURDIA, Ragna B. GARÐARSDÓTTIR, David O. IGBOKWE, Eric R. IGOU, İdil IŞIK, Natalia KASCAKOVA, Lucie KLŮZOVÁ KRAČMÁROVÁ, Nicole KRONBERGER, J. Hannah LEE, Xinhui LIU, Pablo Eduardo BARRIENTOS, Tamara MOHORIĆ, Nur Fariza MUSTAFFA, Oriana MOSCA, Martin NADER, Azar NADI, Yvette VAN OSCH, Zoran PAVLOVIĆ, Iva POLÁČKOVÁ ŠOLCOVÁ, Muhammad RIZWAN, Vladyslav ROMASHOV, Espen RØYSAMB, Ruta SARGAUTYTE, Beate SCHWARZ, Lenka SELECKÁ, Heyla A. SELIM, Maria STOGIANNI, Chien-Ru SUN, Cai XING, Vivian L. VIGNOLES

Department of Applied Psychology

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce the concept of ‘societal emotional environment’: the emotional climate of a society (operationalized as the degree to which positive and negative emotions are expressed in a society). Using data collected from 12,888 participants across 49 countries, we show how societal emotional environments vary across countries and cultural clusters, and we consider the potential importance of these differences for well-being. Multilevel analyses supported a ‘double-edged sword’ model of negative emotion expression, where expression of negative emotions predicted higher life satisfaction for the expresser but lower life satisfaction for society. In contrast, partial support was found for higher societal life satisfaction in positive societal emotional environments. Our study highlights the potential utility and importance of distinguishing between positive and negative emotion expression, and adopting both individual and societal perspectives in well-being research. Individual pathways to happiness may not necessarily promote the happiness of others.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	117-130
Number of pages	14
Journal	The Journal of Positive Psychology
Volume	17
Issue number	1
Early online date	30 Jun 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1858332
Publication status	Published - 2 Jan 2022

Bibliographical note

This work was supported by the Polish National Science Centre under grant 2016/23/D/HS6/02946; the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science under grants P17806 and 17F17806; the Hungarian OTKA under grant K-111 789; the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – CNPq under grant 301298/2018-1; the Czech Science Foundation CSF under grant 20-08583S; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant 71873133; and the Department of Educational Studies, University of Roma Tre under biannual Grant DSF 2017-2018.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

Latin America
culture
life satisfaction
emotion expression
emotion regulation
societal well-being
Societal emotional environment

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1080/17439760.2020.1858332Licence: CC BY

Cite this

KRYS, K., YEUNG, J. C., CAPALDI, C. A., LUN, V. M.-C., TORRES, C., VAN TILBURG, W. A. P., BOND, M. H., ZELENSKI, J. M., HAAS, B. W., PARK, J., MARICCHIOLO, F., VAUCLAIR, C., KOSIARCZYK, A., KOCIMSKA-ZYCH, A., KWIATKOWSKA, A., ADAMOVIC, M., PAVLOPOULOS, V., FÜLÖP, M., SIRLOPU, D., ... VIGNOLES, V. L. (2022). Societal emotional environments and cross-cultural differences in life satisfaction: A forty-nine country study. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 17(1), 117-130. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1858332

@article{a9c455b05db142f0a6b002b29c07f2ec,

title = "Societal emotional environments and cross-cultural differences in life satisfaction: A forty-nine country study",

abstract = "In this paper, we introduce the concept of {\textquoteleft}societal emotional environment{\textquoteright}: the emotional climate of a society (operationalized as the degree to which positive and negative emotions are expressed in a society). Using data collected from 12,888 participants across 49 countries, we show how societal emotional environments vary across countries and cultural clusters, and we consider the potential importance of these differences for well-being. Multilevel analyses supported a {\textquoteleft}double-edged sword{\textquoteright} model of negative emotion expression, where expression of negative emotions predicted higher life satisfaction for the expresser but lower life satisfaction for society. In contrast, partial support was found for higher societal life satisfaction in positive societal emotional environments. Our study highlights the potential utility and importance of distinguishing between positive and negative emotion expression, and adopting both individual and societal perspectives in well-being research. Individual pathways to happiness may not necessarily promote the happiness of others.",

keywords = "Latin America, culture, life satisfaction, emotion expression, emotion regulation, societal well-being, Societal emotional environment",

author = "Kuba KRYS and YEUNG, {June Chun} and CAPALDI, {Colin A.} and LUN, {Vivian Miu-Chi} and Claudio TORRES and {VAN TILBURG}, {Wijnand A. P.} and BOND, {Michael Harris} and ZELENSKI, {John M.} and HAAS, {Brian W.} and Joonha PARK and Fridanna MARICCHIOLO and Christin-melanie VAUCLAIR and Aleksandra KOSIARCZYK and Agata KOCIMSKA-ZYCH and Anna KWIATKOWSKA and Mladen ADAMOVIC and Vassilis PAVLOPOULOS and M{\'a}rta F{\"U}L{\"O}P and David SIRLOPU and Ayu OKVITAWANLI and Diana BOER and Julien TEYSSIER and Arina MALYONOVA and Alin GAVRELIUC and Yukiko UCHIDA and Ursula SERDAREVICH and Charity AKOTIA and Lily APPOH and MIRA, {Ar{\'e}valo D. M} and Arno BALTIN and Patrick DENOUX and Alejandra DOMINGUEZ-ESPINOSA and ESTEVES, {Carla Sofia} and Vladimer GAMSAKHURDIA and GAR{\DH}ARSD{\'O}TTIR, {Ragna B.} and IGBOKWE, {David O.} and IGOU, {Eric R.} and {\.I}dil I{\c S}IK and Natalia KASCAKOVA and {KLŮZOV{\'A} KRA{\v C}M{\'A}ROV{\'A}}, Lucie and Nicole KRONBERGER and LEE, {J. Hannah} and Xinhui LIU and BARRIENTOS, {Pablo Eduardo} and Tamara MOHORI{\'C} and MUSTAFFA, {Nur Fariza} and Oriana MOSCA and Martin NADER and Azar NADI and {VAN OSCH}, Yvette and Zoran PAVLOVI{\'C} and {POL{\'A}{\v C}KOV{\'A} {\v S}OLCOV{\'A}}, Iva and Muhammad RIZWAN and Vladyslav ROMASHOV and Espen R{\O}YSAMB and Ruta SARGAUTYTE and Beate SCHWARZ and Lenka SELECK{\'A} and SELIM, {Heyla A.} and Maria STOGIANNI and Chien-Ru SUN and Cai XING and VIGNOLES, {Vivian L.}",

note = "This work was supported by the Polish National Science Centre under grant 2016/23/D/HS6/02946; the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science under grants P17806 and 17F17806; the Hungarian OTKA under grant K-111 789; the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – CNPq under grant 301298/2018-1; the Czech Science Foundation CSF under grant 20-08583S; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant 71873133; and the Department of Educational Studies, University of Roma Tre under biannual Grant DSF 2017-2018. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.",

year = "2022",

month = jan,

day = "2",

doi = "10.1080/17439760.2020.1858332",

language = "English",

volume = "17",

pages = "117--130",

journal = "The Journal of Positive Psychology",

issn = "1743-9760",

publisher = "Routledge",

number = "1",

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KRYS, K, YEUNG, JC, CAPALDI, CA, LUN, VM-C, TORRES, C, VAN TILBURG, WAP, BOND, MH, ZELENSKI, JM, HAAS, BW, PARK, J, MARICCHIOLO, F, VAUCLAIR, C, KOSIARCZYK, A, KOCIMSKA-ZYCH, A, KWIATKOWSKA, A, ADAMOVIC, M, PAVLOPOULOS, V, FÜLÖP, M, SIRLOPU, D, OKVITAWANLI, A, BOER, D, TEYSSIER, J, MALYONOVA, A, GAVRELIUC, A, UCHIDA, Y, SERDAREVICH, U, AKOTIA, C, APPOH, L, MIRA, ADM, BALTIN, A, DENOUX, P, DOMINGUEZ-ESPINOSA, A, ESTEVES, CS, GAMSAKHURDIA, V, GARÐARSDÓTTIR, RB, IGBOKWE, DO, IGOU, ER, IŞIK, I, KASCAKOVA, N, KLŮZOVÁ KRAČMÁROVÁ, L, KRONBERGER, N, LEE, JH, LIU, X, BARRIENTOS, PE, MOHORIĆ, T, MUSTAFFA, NF, MOSCA, O, NADER, M, NADI, A, VAN OSCH, Y, PAVLOVIĆ, Z, POLÁČKOVÁ ŠOLCOVÁ, I, RIZWAN, M, ROMASHOV, V, RØYSAMB, E, SARGAUTYTE, R, SCHWARZ, B, SELECKÁ, L, SELIM, HA, STOGIANNI, M, SUN, C-R, XING, C & VIGNOLES, VL 2022, 'Societal emotional environments and cross-cultural differences in life satisfaction: A forty-nine country study', The Journal of Positive Psychology, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 117-130. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1858332

TY - JOUR

T1 - Societal emotional environments and cross-cultural differences in life satisfaction: A forty-nine country study

AU - KRYS, Kuba

AU - YEUNG, June Chun

AU - CAPALDI, Colin A.

AU - LUN, Vivian Miu-Chi

AU - TORRES, Claudio

AU - VAN TILBURG, Wijnand A. P.

AU - BOND, Michael Harris

AU - ZELENSKI, John M.

AU - HAAS, Brian W.

AU - PARK, Joonha

AU - MARICCHIOLO, Fridanna

AU - VAUCLAIR, Christin-melanie

AU - KOSIARCZYK, Aleksandra

AU - KOCIMSKA-ZYCH, Agata

AU - KWIATKOWSKA, Anna

AU - ADAMOVIC, Mladen

AU - PAVLOPOULOS, Vassilis

AU - FÜLÖP, Márta

AU - SIRLOPU, David

AU - OKVITAWANLI, Ayu

AU - BOER, Diana

AU - TEYSSIER, Julien

AU - MALYONOVA, Arina

AU - GAVRELIUC, Alin

AU - UCHIDA, Yukiko

AU - SERDAREVICH, Ursula

AU - AKOTIA, Charity

AU - APPOH, Lily

AU - MIRA, Arévalo D. M

AU - BALTIN, Arno

AU - DENOUX, Patrick

AU - DOMINGUEZ-ESPINOSA, Alejandra

AU - ESTEVES, Carla Sofia

AU - GAMSAKHURDIA, Vladimer

AU - GARÐARSDÓTTIR, Ragna B.

AU - IGBOKWE, David O.

AU - IGOU, Eric R.

AU - IŞIK, İdil

AU - KASCAKOVA, Natalia

AU - KLŮZOVÁ KRAČMÁROVÁ, Lucie

AU - KRONBERGER, Nicole

AU - LEE, J. Hannah

AU - LIU, Xinhui

AU - BARRIENTOS, Pablo Eduardo

AU - MOHORIĆ, Tamara

AU - MUSTAFFA, Nur Fariza

AU - MOSCA, Oriana

AU - NADER, Martin

AU - NADI, Azar

AU - VAN OSCH, Yvette

AU - PAVLOVIĆ, Zoran

AU - POLÁČKOVÁ ŠOLCOVÁ, Iva

AU - RIZWAN, Muhammad

AU - ROMASHOV, Vladyslav

AU - RØYSAMB, Espen

AU - SARGAUTYTE, Ruta

AU - SCHWARZ, Beate

AU - SELECKÁ, Lenka

AU - SELIM, Heyla A.

AU - STOGIANNI, Maria

AU - SUN, Chien-Ru

AU - XING, Cai

AU - VIGNOLES, Vivian L.

N1 - This work was supported by the Polish National Science Centre under grant 2016/23/D/HS6/02946; the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science under grants P17806 and 17F17806; the Hungarian OTKA under grant K-111 789; the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – CNPq under grant 301298/2018-1; the Czech Science Foundation CSF under grant 20-08583S; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant 71873133; and the Department of Educational Studies, University of Roma Tre under biannual Grant DSF 2017-2018. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2022/1/2

Y1 - 2022/1/2

N2 - In this paper, we introduce the concept of ‘societal emotional environment’: the emotional climate of a society (operationalized as the degree to which positive and negative emotions are expressed in a society). Using data collected from 12,888 participants across 49 countries, we show how societal emotional environments vary across countries and cultural clusters, and we consider the potential importance of these differences for well-being. Multilevel analyses supported a ‘double-edged sword’ model of negative emotion expression, where expression of negative emotions predicted higher life satisfaction for the expresser but lower life satisfaction for society. In contrast, partial support was found for higher societal life satisfaction in positive societal emotional environments. Our study highlights the potential utility and importance of distinguishing between positive and negative emotion expression, and adopting both individual and societal perspectives in well-being research. Individual pathways to happiness may not necessarily promote the happiness of others.

AB - In this paper, we introduce the concept of ‘societal emotional environment’: the emotional climate of a society (operationalized as the degree to which positive and negative emotions are expressed in a society). Using data collected from 12,888 participants across 49 countries, we show how societal emotional environments vary across countries and cultural clusters, and we consider the potential importance of these differences for well-being. Multilevel analyses supported a ‘double-edged sword’ model of negative emotion expression, where expression of negative emotions predicted higher life satisfaction for the expresser but lower life satisfaction for society. In contrast, partial support was found for higher societal life satisfaction in positive societal emotional environments. Our study highlights the potential utility and importance of distinguishing between positive and negative emotion expression, and adopting both individual and societal perspectives in well-being research. Individual pathways to happiness may not necessarily promote the happiness of others.

KW - Latin America

KW - culture

KW - life satisfaction

KW - emotion expression

KW - emotion regulation

KW - societal well-being

KW - Societal emotional environment

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119536197&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/17439760.2020.1858332

DO - 10.1080/17439760.2020.1858332

M3 - Journal Article (refereed)

SN - 1743-9760

VL - 17

SP - 117

EP - 130

JO - The Journal of Positive Psychology

JF - The Journal of Positive Psychology

IS - 1

ER -

Societal emotional environments and cross-cultural differences in life satisfaction: A forty-nine country study

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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