When going to a foreign country you may notice very significant differences in the way other people live their lives. They may dress differently or eat unfamiliar foods. Their religion, government, and the values they find most important, and their idea of happiness might be different. This is because of their culture.
Every culture is diverse. Each culture eats different food, has different superstitions, religions, and even different ways of defining and expressing happiness. Realizing that nations and cultures have significant differences in their definitions, values, and ways of expressing happiness is important when considering a nations overall happiness. Factors such as democracy, genes, and even rates of hypertension can be used to …show more content…
This leaves no room for external control, unlike many other nations who believe, in part at least, that external factors can control one’s happiness. The way your culture defines happiness affects how you believe you can achieve happiness (Oishi et al. 2013).
The type of government a nation has is a major factor when looking at the overall happiness of a nation’s citizens. David Dorn and his colleagues conducted a study that analyzed the effect democracy has on the self-reported subjective well-being, or happiness, of twenty-eight different nations. The results showed that a nation with higher levels of democratization positively correlated with higher levels of self-reported happiness in these nations (Dorn et al. 2007).
When controlling for factors such as economy, income, religion, and language, democracy was shown to be a significant factor in predicting the happiness of a nation. Dorn et al. suggest a few reasons as to why this may happen, it could be that “…their participation is the political decision-making process and from the perceived extent of procedural fairness of this process.” (Dorn et al. 2007). It could also be that a democratic system is more likely to produce outcomes that most citizens prefer then other types of governments. Whatever the reason may be, the type of government a nation has is important when considering …show more content…
In addition, nations with the lowest presence of this allele are less likely to rate themselves as ‘very happy’, these nations include Iraq, Jordan, and more. However, the researchers also note that economic and political factors may affect the low happiness scores in some nations, despite high presence of the allele (“Happy Nations Can Thank Their Genes” 2016).
While the positive correlation between the presence of the allele and a nation’s happiness does not cause the nation to be happy, biology does seem to play a specific role in the likelihood of how happy cultures are and how happy they perceive themselves to be (“Happy Nations Can Thank Their Genes” 2016).
In addition to DNA, your blood pressure also affects your levels of happiness. In a study using individuals from sixteen countries, evidence was found that happier nations have less blood pressure problems than nations that are reported as being less happy. Ireland, Denmark, and Sweden were nations that reported less hypertension and more citizens reported being very satisfied with their lives, while Germany and Portugal had higher levels of hypertension and less satisfied citizens (Blanchflower & Oswald
Every culture is diverse. Each culture eats different food, has different superstitions, religions, and even different ways of defining and expressing happiness. Realizing that nations and cultures have significant differences in their definitions, values, and ways of expressing happiness is important when considering a nations overall happiness. Factors such as democracy, genes, and even rates of hypertension can be used to …show more content…
This leaves no room for external control, unlike many other nations who believe, in part at least, that external factors can control one’s happiness. The way your culture defines happiness affects how you believe you can achieve happiness (Oishi et al. 2013).
The type of government a nation has is a major factor when looking at the overall happiness of a nation’s citizens. David Dorn and his colleagues conducted a study that analyzed the effect democracy has on the self-reported subjective well-being, or happiness, of twenty-eight different nations. The results showed that a nation with higher levels of democratization positively correlated with higher levels of self-reported happiness in these nations (Dorn et al. 2007).
When controlling for factors such as economy, income, religion, and language, democracy was shown to be a significant factor in predicting the happiness of a nation. Dorn et al. suggest a few reasons as to why this may happen, it could be that “…their participation is the political decision-making process and from the perceived extent of procedural fairness of this process.” (Dorn et al. 2007). It could also be that a democratic system is more likely to produce outcomes that most citizens prefer then other types of governments. Whatever the reason may be, the type of government a nation has is important when considering …show more content…
In addition, nations with the lowest presence of this allele are less likely to rate themselves as ‘very happy’, these nations include Iraq, Jordan, and more. However, the researchers also note that economic and political factors may affect the low happiness scores in some nations, despite high presence of the allele (“Happy Nations Can Thank Their Genes” 2016).
While the positive correlation between the presence of the allele and a nation’s happiness does not cause the nation to be happy, biology does seem to play a specific role in the likelihood of how happy cultures are and how happy they perceive themselves to be (“Happy Nations Can Thank Their Genes” 2016).
In addition to DNA, your blood pressure also affects your levels of happiness. In a study using individuals from sixteen countries, evidence was found that happier nations have less blood pressure problems than nations that are reported as being less happy. Ireland, Denmark, and Sweden were nations that reported less hypertension and more citizens reported being very satisfied with their lives, while Germany and Portugal had higher levels of hypertension and less satisfied citizens (Blanchflower & Oswald