Cultural constructions of happiness: theory and emprical evidence

In a review of recent cross-cultural evidence on happiness and well-being, the authors identified substantial cultural variations in (1) cultural meanings of happiness, (2) motivations underlying happiness, and (3) predictors of happiness. Specifically, in North American cultural contexts, happiness tends to be defined in terms of personal achievement. Individuals engaging in these cultures are motivated to maximize the experience of positive affect. Moreover, happiness is best predicted by self-esteem. In contrast, in East Asian cultural contexts, happiness tends to be defined in terms of interpersonal connectedness. Individuals engaging in these cultures are motivated to maintain a balance between positive and negative affects. Moreover, happiness is best predicted by perceived embeddedness of the self in a social relationship. Directions for future research are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43061/1/10902_2004_Article_5278785.pd

A test of a triadic conceptualization of future self-identification

10.1371/journal.pone.0242504PLoS ONE1511-Nove024250

Understanding digital consumers' well-being in Asia: The moderating roles of digital natives and privacy concerns

As digital technologies permeate our lives, the effect of digital device use on well-being has become a hot-button issue. In this research, we focus on digital usage and digital shopping via online and mobile devices and investigate their relationships with well-being using a public data from South Korea. Overall, online usage and online shopping increase well-being, whereas mobile usage and mobile shopping decrease it. Interestingly, these relationships are complex and idiosyncratic as including digital natives and privacy concerns as moderators provides varied results. Among digital natives, the positive effect of online usage on well-being decreases whereas the negative effects of mobile usage and mobile shopping on well-being increase. Furthermore, privacy concerns weaken the effects of mobile usage and online shopping on well-being