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Culture and the Promotion of Well-being in East and West: Understanding Varieties of Attunement to the Surrounding Context

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Increasing Psychological Well-being in Clinical and Educational Settings

Part of the book series: Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology ((CAPP,volume 8))

Abstract

This chapter reviews conceptions of psychological well-being and how they vary across cultural contexts, using research primarily from Japan and the U.S. Similarly, cultural differences in the meaning of mental illness and prevalence of emotional disorders are also examined. Further work shows that cinical interventions and educational practices designed to promote well-being are infused with cultural norms and values. The take home message is that greater awareness is needed of how cultural contexts shape ideal formulations of human well-being as well as the strategies adopted to promote it.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute on Aging/Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Carol D. Ryff

  2. Institute on Aging, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Gayle D. Love & Yuri Miyamoto

  3. Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Hazel Rose Markus & Katherine B. Curhan

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Shinobu Kitayama & Jiyoung Park

  5. Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Norito Kawakami & Chiemi Kan

  6. Department of Communications, Tokyo Women’s Christian University, Zenpukuji, Suginami, Tokyo, Japan

    Mayumi Karasawa

Authors
  1. Carol D. Ryff
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  2. Gayle D. Love
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  3. Yuri Miyamoto
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  4. Hazel Rose Markus
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  5. Katherine B. Curhan
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  6. Shinobu Kitayama
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  7. Jiyoung Park
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  8. Norito Kawakami
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  9. Chiemi Kan
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  10. Mayumi Karasawa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carol D. Ryff .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Giovanni Andrea Fava

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Chiara Ruini

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Ryff, C.D. et al. (2014). Culture and the Promotion of Well-being in East and West: Understanding Varieties of Attunement to the Surrounding Context. In: Fava, G., Ruini, C. (eds) Increasing Psychological Well-being in Clinical and Educational Settings. Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8669-0_1

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