Krys and colleagues report that that not all cultures prioritize happiness in the same ways; this may influence programming data collected, for example. The researchers found that “the idealization of attaining maximum levels of happiness may be especially characteristic of Western, educated, industrial, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies but less so for others. . . . we turn to studies linking cultures to their eco-environmental habitat. We discuss the premise that WEIRD cultures emerged in an exceptionally benign ecological habitat (i.e., faced relatively light existential pressures compared with other regions). We review the influence of the Gulf Stream on the Northwestern European climate as a source of these comparatively benign geographical conditions. We propose that the ecological conditions in which WEIRD societies emerged afforded them a basis to endorse happiness as a value and to idealize attaining its maximum level. . . . We conclude that societies whose members seek to maximize happiness tend to be characterized as WEIRD, and generalizing this across societies can prove problematic if adopted at the ideological and policy level.”
Kuba Krys, and 70 others. 2024. “Happiness Maximization Is a WEIRD Way of Living.” Perspectives on Psychological Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916231208367