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Well-Beingof
Planet EarthEd DienerSmiley Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of IllinoisSenior Scientist, Gallup
4th European Conference on Positive Psychology July 1- 4, 2008 Rijeka, Croatia
Gallup World PollFirst Survey of Planet Earth
• 130+ nations
• Representative samples
• 130,000+ respondents
• Rural areas sampled
– The best poll of world ever taken Represents 96% of globe’s population
Objective conditions?
Have gone hungry this year 24%Cannot afford housing 21%Smoked yesterday 21%Unemployed 13%Assaulted past year 8%Infant morality 4%Life expectancy 68 years
Modern conveniences:
Running water in home 72%
Electricity in home 83%
T.V. in home 74%
Computer in home 26%
Cannot Afford Housing
• Finland 3 %• Ireland 4 %• United Kingdom 6 %• Switzerland 8 %• Denmark 9 %• Germany 10 %• France 11 %• Spain 13 %• Belarus 40 %• Sierra Leone 62 %
Striking Disparities!• Longevity
Japan 82 years Botswana 36 years
• Smoking
Nigeria 5% Cuba 39%
• Assaulted Past Year
Japan .4% Burundi 33%
• Gone Hungry Past Year
Austria .4% Chad 78%
How are we doing on Subjective Well-being?
• Ladder of life
• Positive Emotions
• Negative Emotions
• Satisfaction with Important Domains
High on Ladder
Denmark 8.0
Switzerland 7.5
Netherlands 7.5
Canada 7.4
New Zealand 7.3
United States 7.2
Venezuela 7.2
More Europe
U.K. 7.0Italy 6.9Germany 6.6Czech. Rep. 6.4Greece 6.1Poland 5.6Croatia 5.4Portugal 5.4Serbia 4.6Albania 4.6
Affect Yesterday
• Unpleasant Emotions– Anger– Sad and depressed– Worried and
stressed
• Pleasant Emotions– Enjoyment– Smiling and laughing
Pleasant Emotions—Enjoyment etc.
High Low
New Zealand Armenia
Honduras Pakistan
Panama Bangladesh
Costa Rica Palestine
Puerto Rico Tajikistan
Unpleasant Emotions—Sad, Angry, Depressed, etc.
Highest Lowest
Armenia DenmarkPalestine SwedenBolivia AustriaSierra Leone Japan
Percent feelings lots yesterday ~ 40 % ~ 13 %
Satisfaction with domains(Health, standard of living, city, job)
High Low
Denmark Zimbabwe
Switzerland Haiti
Singapore Tanzania
Dissatisfied with Standard of Living
• Ukraine
• Georgia
• Romania
• Russia
• Zimbabwe
• Most satisfied: Ireland
Planetary SWB Scorecard
• Evaluating life• 40 percent dissatisfied • 40 percent doing fine • 20 percent doing very well
• Affect Balance (PA – NA)• 20 % negative• 30 % positive• 50 % very positive
Ladder of Life evaluation correlates with:
GDP per person (wealth) r = .83
Meeting basic needs (food etc.)r = .77
Low hunger, low corruption,
and longevity
Predicted Values R = .86
876543
Ladder
-- L
ife E
valu
ation
8
7
6
5
4
3
Beyond Money: Predicting National Levels of Ladder of Life
Regression Betas
GDP/Capita .43
Optimism .37
Can count on others .25
Beyond Money:Predicting National Positive
Emotions(Betas – all but GDP significant)
• GDP/capita -.03
• Count on someone for help .18
• Freedom to choose .26
• Learned something yesterday .68
Beyond Money: Nation-level Unpleasant Emotions
Betas
• Income .15
• Control of corruption -.36
• Assaulted .27
Happiness and Money?
• Is it basic needs like food and water?
• Or modern conveniences like electricity,
telephones, and the internet?
• Ladder of Life Beta• Basic needs (food and shelter) .27
• Modern conveniences (telly etc.) .58
• Positive Affect• Basic needs (food and shelter) .37
• Modern conveniences (telly etc.) -.19
Strongest Correlates:
• Ladder of life– Modern conveniences (electricity etc.)
• Pleasant Emotions– People I can count on
• Unpleasant Emotions– Assaulted past year
Cannot Afford Medical Care
• Japan 4 %
• Canada 8 %
• Jordan 15 %
• Iran 19 %
• USA 20 %
• Turkey 45 %
• Romania 50 %
Examples of Policies
• Economic– Satisfying work, unemployment
• Health– Mental health
• Social– School checkups, sex work, discrimination
• Environmental– Airport noise, air pollution, commuting
Existing Societal Measures of Well-Being
Organization of Econ. Cooperation & Development
Statistics CanadaGSOEP (Germany)BHPS (U.K.)Center for Disease Control (U.S.)United Nations?
94 % of Danes are Above
97 % of Togolese
Ladder of Life Scores
109876543210
Perc
ent of R
espondents
50
40
30
20
10
0
DENMARK
TOGO
Affect Adaptation?
Enjoyment, laughing, smiling
Pakistan 47% v. New Zealand 88%
Anger, sadness, worry, and depression
Denmark 12% v. Iran 43%
Conclusions
National accounts of well-being can help policy makers create better societies,
and
Help positive psychologists prove their value
Two Extremely Important Psychological Points
1. Circumstances and conditions matter a LOT; it is not just individual set-point. We need stronger positive societal science!
2. Life evaluation and affect have different predictors
-- Wanting versus liking
Take-Home for Positive Psychology
PP has placed an emphasis on internal determinants
But society, neighborhoods, organizations are also important. More development of organizational PP needed.
Social psychology emphasizes the “power of the situation”
Happiness is within people, but also in their circumstances too
More Take-Home Messages
1. Life evaluation seems like “Wanting,” whereas affect is “Liking”
2. Money should not be dismissed as unimportant. But it does not completely predict the Ladder, and certainly not PA and NA, where social factors are more important.
3. We need accounts of well-being!