American vs Asian Happiness
American /vs/ Asian View on Happiness Sandra Branco 9044618802 PSY/220 January 28, 2013 Jeana Esler
View on Happiness
View on Happiness
Americans associate feelings of happiness with personal achievement, the Asian associate those feelings with an entire society’s harmony. Asian people feel emotion less often than Americans. Asians tended to rate their emotional events as more neutral than Americans rated theirs. Overall, Americans were more likely to see their experiences as “somewhat pleasant.” Asians respondents more often have mixed emotions in “predominantly pleasant situations” than Americans do. One reason suggested in the paper is that Asians seem to define advancement of social harmony as more worthy than mere individual success. Positive emotions are less important to Asian-born Asians than to Americans.
The American dream is all about happiness, not careers or material goods, and it's within reach. That bright-eyed view comes from teenagers on the cusp of independence and their own pursuit of happiness as adults. growing numbers of Americans are unhappy, unhealthy, and increasingly pessimistic. At the same time, there are some distinct differences between them and between other Asian and American accounts. For example, the Asians seem more solemn and introspective, with more emphasis on spiritual cultivation and psychological transcendence. American’s seemed more uplifting, elated, exciting, and show more emphasis on enjoying life in the physical sense and present time. Asians appear to desire a more balanced life, with social expectations finely integrated into their sense of well-being. American’s appear to want personal happiness as the supreme value of life, and blatantly assert individual agency against social restrictions. Happiness is a dominant concern for most Americans indeed the American Declaration of Independence proclaims that the pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right of every individual.
View on Happiness
View on Happiness
Americans associate feelings of happiness with personal achievement, the Asian associate those feelings with an entire society’s harmony. Asian people feel emotion less often than Americans. Asians tended to rate their emotional events as more neutral than Americans rated theirs. Overall, Americans were more likely to see their experiences as “somewhat pleasant.” Asians respondents more often have mixed emotions in “predominantly pleasant situations” than Americans do. One reason suggested in the paper is that Asians seem to define advancement of social harmony as more worthy than mere individual success. Positive emotions are less important to Asian-born Asians than to Americans.
The American dream is all about happiness, not careers or material goods, and it's within reach. That bright-eyed view comes from teenagers on the cusp of independence and their own pursuit of happiness as adults. growing numbers of Americans are unhappy, unhealthy, and increasingly pessimistic. At the same time, there are some distinct differences between them and between other Asian and American accounts. For example, the Asians seem more solemn and introspective, with more emphasis on spiritual cultivation and psychological transcendence. American’s seemed more uplifting, elated, exciting, and show more emphasis on enjoying life in the physical sense and present time. Asians appear to desire a more balanced life, with social expectations finely integrated into their sense of well-being. American’s appear to want personal happiness as the supreme value of life, and blatantly assert individual agency against social restrictions. Happiness is a dominant concern for most Americans indeed the American Declaration of Independence proclaims that the pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right of every individual.
References: Positive Psychology, by Steve R. Baumgardner and Marie K. Crothers. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright c 2009 by Pearson Education, inc http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/america-and-the-pursuit-o_b_941870.html http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/The_Scientific_Pursuit_of_Happiness.html http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/04/why-happiness-isnt-always-good-asians-vs-americans/ http://jweinb2.wordpress.com/category/east-asian-cultures-share-similar-views-on-happiness/ http://www.adambohannon.org/crosscultural-differences-happiness-east-west/