Poverty Does Not
Mean Unhappiness
Money boosts
life
satisfaction,
but not
necessarily
positive
feelings, study
finds. A list of
rankings of
selected nations
on types of
prosperity,
Costa Rica
placed 4th in
"positive
feelings" while
placing 41st in
GDP/Capita.
In contrast
countries like
the United
States, Italy
and Japan, who
ranked 1st, 18th
and 14th,
respectively in
GDP/Capita,
ranked 26th,
67th and 44th,
respectively, in
positive
feelings.
An analysis of
the findings
from a study of
136.000 people
in 132 countries
suggests there
is no single
prescription for
happiness, which
depends on many
factors,
including local
culture and
expectations.
The findings
from the data,
gathered in the
first Gallup
World Poll, are
published in the
July issue of
the Journal of
Personality and
Social
Psychology.
“The public
always wonders:
Does money make
you happy?” Ed
Diener, PhD,
professor
emeritus of
psychology at
the University
of Illinois and
a senior
scientist with
the Gallup
Organization,
says in a news
release. “This
study shows that
it all depends
on how you
define
happiness,
because if you
look at life
satisfaction,
how you evaluate
your life as a
whole, you see a
pretty strong
correlation
around the world
between income
and happiness.”
The pollsters
asked people
questions on a
wide range of
topics,
including
whether their
basic needs were
met, what kinds
of conveniences
they owned, and
whether their
psychological
needs were met.
Participants
were also asked
about positive
and negative
emotions
experienced the
previous day,
whether they
felt respected,
had family and
friends they
could count on
in an emergency,
and how free
they felt to
choose their
daily
activities.
Diener says
positive
feelings are
much more
associated with
factors such as
whether they
feel respected,
have autonomy,
and if their
jobs are
fulfilling.
“Everybody has
been looking at
just life
satisfaction and
income,” he
says. “And while
it is true that
getting richer
will make you
more satisfied
with your life,
it may not have
the big impact
we thought on
enjoying life.”
Among findings:
* The United
States had the
highest income
but ranked 16th
in life
satisfaction and
26th on positive
feelings.
* Some nations
such as Costa
Rica and New
Zealand are
happier than
their income
levels would
suggest. Costa
Rica ranks 41st
in income but
fourth in
positive
feelings, while
New Zealand
ranks 22nd in
incomes but
first in
positive
feelings.
* Some mid-level
countries such
as Costa Rica do
well and some
like South Korea
less well “in
part because of
the quality of
social
relationships,”
Diener says in
emailed
responses to
questions from
WebMD.
* Denmark ranks
high across
categories. The
country ranked
No. 1 on life
satisfaction,
seventh on
positive
feelings, and
fifth in income.
* Extremely
impoverished
countries in
Africa generally
scored low on
various
categories, but
no nation came
in lowest in all
types of
happiness.
* Self-esteem is
more important
to happiness in
the U.S. than in
“traditional”
cultures.
Also, factors
that influence
feelings of
well-being vary
from country to
country, Deiner
says, adding
that the study
“clearly shows”
that there is no
single
prescription for
happiness.
Money, he says,
no more
guarantees
happiness than
cigarette
smoking
guarantees
cancer, but they
increase the
chances.
In studies of
poor people,
researchers find
that some are
happy, in part
because their
needs are met.
“We have
interviewed
happy people in
the slums of
Calcutta and
they can be
relatively
happy, although
dissatisfied
with their
poverty, because
they are rich in
family and
friends,” he
says.
Money makes a
bigger
difference to
happiness among
poor people, but
it takes a lot
more additional
money to change
the happiness of
a person who is
well-off, Diener
says. |
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