Krys, Kuba, Yeung, June Chun, Capaldi, Colin A, Lun, Vivian Miu-Chi, Torres, Claudio, Tilburg, Wijnand A P van, Bond, Michael Harris, Zelenski, John M, Haas, Brian W, Park, Joonha, Maricchiolo, Fridanna, Vauclair, Christin-Melanie, Kosiarczyk, Aleksandra, Kocimska-Zych, Agata, Vignoles, Vivian L and others, (2021) Societal emotional environments and cross-cultural differences in life satisfaction: a forty-nine country study. Journal of Positive Psychology. pp. 1-14. ISSN 1743-9760

	PDF - Accepted Version Download (897kB)
	PDF - Supplemental Material Download (1MB)
	PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB)

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.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Psychology > Psychology
SWORD Depositor:	Mx Elements Account
Depositing User:	Mx Elements Account
Date Deposited:	13 Jan 2021 08:43
Last Modified:	15 Jul 2021 15:30
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/96463

View download statistics for this item

📧 Request an update