The Economic Well-Being of Nations is Associated with Positive Daily Situational Experiences

Gwendolyn GARDINER; Daniel I. LEE; Erica BARANSKI; David C. FUNDER; International Situation Project; Maite BERAMENDI; Brock BASTIAN; Aljoscha NEUBAUER; Diego CORTEZ; Eric ROTH; Ana TORRES; Daniela S. ZANINI; Kristina PETKOVA; Jessica TRACY; Catherine AMIOT; Mathieu PELLETIER-DUMAS; Roberto GONZÁLEZ; Ana ROSENBLUTH; Sergio SALGADO; Yanjun GUAN; Yu YANG; Diego FORERO; Andrés CAMARGO; Emmanouil PAPASTEFANAKIS; Georgios KRITSOTAKIS; Eirini SPYRIDAKI; Evangelia FRAGKIADAKI; Željko JERNEIĆ; Martina HŘEBÍČKOVÁ; Sylvie GRAF; Pernille STRØBÆK; Anu REALO; Maja BECKER; Christelle MAISONNEUVE; Sofian EL-ASTAL; Vladimer Lado GAMSAKHURDIA; John RAUTHMANN; Matthias ZIEGLER; Lars PENKE; Emma E. BUCHTEL; Victoria Wai-Lan YEUNG; Ágota KUN; Peter GADANECZ; Zoltán VASS; Máté SMOHAI; Anagha LAVALEKAR; Meta Zahro AURELIA; Dian KINAYUNG; Vanessa GAFFAR; Gavin SULLIVAN; Christopher DAY

doi:10.1016/j.cresp.2023.100088

The Economic Well-Being of Nations is Associated with Positive Daily Situational Experiences

Gwendolyn GARDINER^*, Daniel I. LEE, Erica BARANSKI, David C. FUNDER, International Situation Project, Maite BERAMENDI, Brock BASTIAN, Aljoscha NEUBAUER, Diego CORTEZ, Eric ROTH, Ana TORRES, Daniela S. ZANINI, Kristina PETKOVA, Jessica TRACY, Catherine AMIOT, Mathieu PELLETIER-DUMAS, Roberto GONZÁLEZ, Ana ROSENBLUTH, Sergio SALGADO, Yanjun GUANYu YANG, Diego FORERO, Andrés CAMARGO, Emmanouil PAPASTEFANAKIS, Georgios KRITSOTAKIS, Eirini SPYRIDAKI, Evangelia FRAGKIADAKI, Željko JERNEIĆ, Martina HŘEBÍČKOVÁ, Sylvie GRAF, Pernille STRØBÆK, Anu REALO, Maja BECKER, Christelle MAISONNEUVE, Sofian EL-ASTAL, Vladimer Lado GAMSAKHURDIA, John RAUTHMANN, Matthias ZIEGLER, Lars PENKE, Emma E. BUCHTEL, Victoria Wai-Lan YEUNG, Ágota KUN, Peter GADANECZ, Zoltán VASS, Máté SMOHAI, Anagha LAVALEKAR, Meta Zahro AURELIA, Dian KINAYUNG, Vanessa GAFFAR, Gavin SULLIVAN, Christopher DAY

^*Corresponding author for this work

Lingnan University

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

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

People in economically advantaged nations tend to evaluate their life as more positive overall and report greater well-being than people in less advantaged nations. But how does positivity manifest in the daily life experiences of individuals around the world? The present study asked 15,244 college students from 62 nations, in 42 languages, to describe a situation they experienced the previous day using the Riverside Situational Q-sort (RSQ). Using expert ratings, the overall positivity of each situation was calculated for both nations and individuals. The positivity of the average situation in each nation was strongly related to the economic development of the nation as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). For individuals’ daily experiences, the economic status of their nation also predicted the positivity of their experience, even more than their family socioeconomic status. Further analyses revealed the specific characteristics of the average situations for higher HDI nations that make their experiences more positive. Higher HDI was associated with situational experiences involving humor, socializing with others, and the potential to express emotions and fantasies. Lower HDI was associated with an increase in the presence of threats, blame, and hostility, as well as situational experiences consisting of family, religion, and money. Despite the increase in a few negative situational characteristics in lower HDI countries, the overall average experience still ranged from neutral to slightly positive, rather than negative, suggesting that greater HDI may not necessarily increase positive experiences but rather decrease negative experiences. The results illustrate how national economic status influences the lives of individuals even within a single instance of daily life, with large and powerful consequences when accumulated across individuals within each nation.

Original language	English
Article number	100088
Pages (from-to)	100088
Journal	Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology
Volume	4
Early online date	10 Jan 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2023.100088
Publication status	Published - Jan 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023

Keywords

Culture
Ecological psychology
Economic development
Positive psychology
Situational assessment
Socioeconomic status
Subjective well-being

UN SDGs

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

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10.1016/j.cresp.2023.100088Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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GARDINER, G., LEE, D. I., BARANSKI, E., FUNDER, D. C., International Situation Project, BERAMENDI, M., BASTIAN, B., NEUBAUER, A., CORTEZ, D., ROTH, E., TORRES, A., ZANINI, D. S., PETKOVA, K., TRACY, J., AMIOT, C., PELLETIER-DUMAS, M., GONZÁLEZ, R., ROSENBLUTH, A., SALGADO, S., ... DAY, C. (2023). The Economic Well-Being of Nations is Associated with Positive Daily Situational Experiences. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 4, 100088. Article 100088. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2023.100088

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title = "The Economic Well-Being of Nations is Associated with Positive Daily Situational Experiences",

abstract = "People in economically advantaged nations tend to evaluate their life as more positive overall and report greater well-being than people in less advantaged nations. But how does positivity manifest in the daily life experiences of individuals around the world? The present study asked 15,244 college students from 62 nations, in 42 languages, to describe a situation they experienced the previous day using the Riverside Situational Q-sort (RSQ). Using expert ratings, the overall positivity of each situation was calculated for both nations and individuals. The positivity of the average situation in each nation was strongly related to the economic development of the nation as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). For individuals{\textquoteright} daily experiences, the economic status of their nation also predicted the positivity of their experience, even more than their family socioeconomic status. Further analyses revealed the specific characteristics of the average situations for higher HDI nations that make their experiences more positive. Higher HDI was associated with situational experiences involving humor, socializing with others, and the potential to express emotions and fantasies. Lower HDI was associated with an increase in the presence of threats, blame, and hostility, as well as situational experiences consisting of family, religion, and money. Despite the increase in a few negative situational characteristics in lower HDI countries, the overall average experience still ranged from neutral to slightly positive, rather than negative, suggesting that greater HDI may not necessarily increase positive experiences but rather decrease negative experiences. The results illustrate how national economic status influences the lives of individuals even within a single instance of daily life, with large and powerful consequences when accumulated across individuals within each nation.",

keywords = "Culture, Ecological psychology, Economic development, Positive psychology, Situational assessment, Socioeconomic status, Subjective well-being",

author = "Gwendolyn GARDINER and LEE, {Daniel I.} and Erica BARANSKI and FUNDER, {David C.} and {International Situation Project} and Maite BERAMENDI and Brock BASTIAN and Aljoscha NEUBAUER and Diego CORTEZ and Eric ROTH and Ana TORRES and ZANINI, {Daniela S.} and Kristina PETKOVA and Jessica TRACY and Catherine AMIOT and Mathieu PELLETIER-DUMAS and Roberto GONZ{\'A}LEZ and Ana ROSENBLUTH and Sergio SALGADO and Yanjun GUAN and Yu YANG and Diego FORERO and Andr{\'e}s CAMARGO and Emmanouil PAPASTEFANAKIS and Georgios KRITSOTAKIS and Eirini SPYRIDAKI and Evangelia FRAGKIADAKI and {\v Z}eljko JERNEI{\'C} and Martina H{\v R}EB{\'I}{\v C}KOV{\'A} and Sylvie GRAF and Pernille STR{\O}B{\AE}K and Anu REALO and Maja BECKER and Christelle MAISONNEUVE and Sofian EL-ASTAL and GAMSAKHURDIA, {Vladimer Lado} and John RAUTHMANN and Matthias ZIEGLER and Lars PENKE and BUCHTEL, {Emma E.} and YEUNG, {Victoria Wai-Lan} and {\'A}gota KUN and Peter GADANECZ and Zolt{\'a}n VASS and M{\'a}t{\'e} SMOHAI and Anagha LAVALEKAR and AURELIA, {Meta Zahro} and Dian KINAYUNG and Vanessa GAFFAR and Gavin SULLIVAN and Christopher DAY",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023",

year = "2023",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1016/j.cresp.2023.100088",

language = "English",

volume = "4",

pages = "100088",

journal = "Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology",

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GARDINER, G, LEE, DI, BARANSKI, E, FUNDER, DC, International Situation Project, BERAMENDI, M, BASTIAN, B, NEUBAUER, A, CORTEZ, D, ROTH, E, TORRES, A, ZANINI, DS, PETKOVA, K, TRACY, J, AMIOT, C, PELLETIER-DUMAS, M, GONZÁLEZ, R, ROSENBLUTH, A, SALGADO, S, GUAN, Y, YANG, Y, FORERO, D, CAMARGO, A, PAPASTEFANAKIS, E, KRITSOTAKIS, G, SPYRIDAKI, E, FRAGKIADAKI, E, JERNEIĆ, Ž, HŘEBÍČKOVÁ, M, GRAF, S, STRØBÆK, P, REALO, A, BECKER, M, MAISONNEUVE, C, EL-ASTAL, S, GAMSAKHURDIA, VL, RAUTHMANN, J, ZIEGLER, M, PENKE, L, BUCHTEL, EE, YEUNG, VW-L, KUN, Á, GADANECZ, P, VASS, Z, SMOHAI, M, LAVALEKAR, A, AURELIA, MZ, KINAYUNG, D, GAFFAR, V, SULLIVAN, G & DAY, C 2023, 'The Economic Well-Being of Nations is Associated with Positive Daily Situational Experiences', Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, vol. 4, 100088, pp. 100088. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2023.100088

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Economic Well-Being of Nations is Associated with Positive Daily Situational Experiences

AU - GARDINER, Gwendolyn

AU - LEE, Daniel I.

AU - BARANSKI, Erica

AU - FUNDER, David C.

AU - International Situation Project

AU - BERAMENDI, Maite

AU - BASTIAN, Brock

AU - NEUBAUER, Aljoscha

AU - CORTEZ, Diego

AU - ROTH, Eric

AU - TORRES, Ana

AU - ZANINI, Daniela S.

AU - PETKOVA, Kristina

AU - TRACY, Jessica

AU - AMIOT, Catherine

AU - PELLETIER-DUMAS, Mathieu

AU - GONZÁLEZ, Roberto

AU - ROSENBLUTH, Ana

AU - SALGADO, Sergio

AU - GUAN, Yanjun

AU - YANG, Yu

AU - FORERO, Diego

AU - CAMARGO, Andrés

AU - PAPASTEFANAKIS, Emmanouil

AU - KRITSOTAKIS, Georgios

AU - SPYRIDAKI, Eirini

AU - FRAGKIADAKI, Evangelia

AU - JERNEIĆ, Željko

AU - HŘEBÍČKOVÁ, Martina

AU - GRAF, Sylvie

AU - STRØBÆK, Pernille

AU - REALO, Anu

AU - BECKER, Maja

AU - MAISONNEUVE, Christelle

AU - EL-ASTAL, Sofian

AU - GAMSAKHURDIA, Vladimer Lado

AU - RAUTHMANN, John

AU - ZIEGLER, Matthias

AU - PENKE, Lars

AU - BUCHTEL, Emma E.

AU - YEUNG, Victoria Wai-Lan

AU - KUN, Ágota

AU - GADANECZ, Peter

AU - VASS, Zoltán

AU - SMOHAI, Máté

AU - LAVALEKAR, Anagha

AU - AURELIA, Meta Zahro

AU - KINAYUNG, Dian

AU - GAFFAR, Vanessa

AU - SULLIVAN, Gavin

AU - DAY, Christopher

PY - 2023/1

Y1 - 2023/1

N2 - People in economically advantaged nations tend to evaluate their life as more positive overall and report greater well-being than people in less advantaged nations. But how does positivity manifest in the daily life experiences of individuals around the world? The present study asked 15,244 college students from 62 nations, in 42 languages, to describe a situation they experienced the previous day using the Riverside Situational Q-sort (RSQ). Using expert ratings, the overall positivity of each situation was calculated for both nations and individuals. The positivity of the average situation in each nation was strongly related to the economic development of the nation as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). For individuals’ daily experiences, the economic status of their nation also predicted the positivity of their experience, even more than their family socioeconomic status. Further analyses revealed the specific characteristics of the average situations for higher HDI nations that make their experiences more positive. Higher HDI was associated with situational experiences involving humor, socializing with others, and the potential to express emotions and fantasies. Lower HDI was associated with an increase in the presence of threats, blame, and hostility, as well as situational experiences consisting of family, religion, and money. Despite the increase in a few negative situational characteristics in lower HDI countries, the overall average experience still ranged from neutral to slightly positive, rather than negative, suggesting that greater HDI may not necessarily increase positive experiences but rather decrease negative experiences. The results illustrate how national economic status influences the lives of individuals even within a single instance of daily life, with large and powerful consequences when accumulated across individuals within each nation.

AB - People in economically advantaged nations tend to evaluate their life as more positive overall and report greater well-being than people in less advantaged nations. But how does positivity manifest in the daily life experiences of individuals around the world? The present study asked 15,244 college students from 62 nations, in 42 languages, to describe a situation they experienced the previous day using the Riverside Situational Q-sort (RSQ). Using expert ratings, the overall positivity of each situation was calculated for both nations and individuals. The positivity of the average situation in each nation was strongly related to the economic development of the nation as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). For individuals’ daily experiences, the economic status of their nation also predicted the positivity of their experience, even more than their family socioeconomic status. Further analyses revealed the specific characteristics of the average situations for higher HDI nations that make their experiences more positive. Higher HDI was associated with situational experiences involving humor, socializing with others, and the potential to express emotions and fantasies. Lower HDI was associated with an increase in the presence of threats, blame, and hostility, as well as situational experiences consisting of family, religion, and money. Despite the increase in a few negative situational characteristics in lower HDI countries, the overall average experience still ranged from neutral to slightly positive, rather than negative, suggesting that greater HDI may not necessarily increase positive experiences but rather decrease negative experiences. The results illustrate how national economic status influences the lives of individuals even within a single instance of daily life, with large and powerful consequences when accumulated across individuals within each nation.

KW - Culture

KW - Ecological psychology

KW - Economic development

KW - Positive psychology

KW - Situational assessment

KW - Socioeconomic status

KW - Subjective well-being

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85148566599&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.cresp.2023.100088

DO - 10.1016/j.cresp.2023.100088

M3 - Journal Article (refereed)

SN - 2666-6227

VL - 4

SP - 100088

JO - Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology

JF - Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology

M1 - 100088

ER -

The Economic Well-Being of Nations is Associated with Positive Daily Situational Experiences

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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