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Climate, Cash, and Culturally Embedded Happiness

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Happiness Across Cultures

Part of the book series: Science Across Cultures: the History of Non-Western Science ((SACH,volume 6))

Abstract

Large surveys of wellbeing around the world—such as the World Values Surveys and European Values Studies—have consistently shown that happiness is an integral part of national cultures. Follow-up studies have recently demonstrated that unhappy survival cultures evolved in poor countries with demanding colder-than-temperate or hotter-than-temperate climates; moderately happy easygoing cultures evolved in countries with temperate climates irrespective of income per head; and happy self-expression cultures evolved in rich countries with demanding colder-than-temperate or hotter-than-temperate climates. As a by-product of this worldwide research into the climato-economic roots of culture, this chapter discusses baselines of culturally embedded happiness for 178 nations. In addition, climate protection and poverty reduction are used in combination to sketch four scenarios for shaping culturally embedded happiness around the globe in times to come.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands

    Evert Van de Vliert

  2. University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Evert Van de Vliert

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  1. Evert Van de Vliert
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Correspondence to Evert Van de Vliert .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hampshire College, West Street 893, Amherst, 01002, Massachusetts, USA

    Helaine Selin

  2. , Counselling and Psychology, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Wai Tsui Crescent 10, Hong Kong, 2570 7110, Hong Kong SAR

    Gareth Davey

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Van de Vliert, E. (2012). Climate, Cash, and Culturally Embedded Happiness. In: Selin, H., Davey, G. (eds) Happiness Across Cultures. Science Across Cultures: the History of Non-Western Science, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2700-7_27

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