Happiness across Cultures
"Being satisfied with yourself. People who are so fixated on sexuality or what they don’t believe and they want to tout that with other people, I don’t think they are happy people. I’m happy the most when I’m not with anyone that in that frame of mind. I just find it very difficult to be around people where I feel uncomfortable when the conversation is going to break out about politics or whatever. I don’t like waiting for the other shoe to drop and have debate exploded. Happy is being around people that you like or family, but even family can be a pain."
"Waking up to some bacon and eggs, eat some toast with the butter in the morning, and then getting out the house, and listening to music in my own little tape. That is my happiness.
Anybody that loud that draw attention or like to be the center of attention, I don’t want to be around that as it’s not my happiness. My strategy is to stay away from them to keep me happy."
"Happiness for me would be using all of my experiences to grow with my family. My father-in-law died a few years ago. At the funeral home, the line lied out the door, around the block, around the whole building for 6 straight hours, thousands of people came to pay respect to him. Quantified happiness. All the people that walked through that door were people that he impacted. And I would consider myself happy if that many people came to see me when I was done."
"Waking up everyday and enjoying my life and doing what I’m doing. I’m happy because I’m enjoying my job. I’m happy because my children are healthy. I’m happy because my husband is healthy. Our marriage isn’t perfect. It’s not. We come from two different cultures but we’ve tried our best to work out. He has expectation from his culture, how he grew up. I have expectation based on me as an American and based on me as an Italian."
"We traveled to some of the most impoverished areas of the world and sometimes the poorest people are the happiest because they have no ego. Doing what they need to do on the daily basics, being with their family and loved ones, and having simple things in life bring them happiness. As you age, you get to a point where having a dinner or conversation with good friends or good neighbors is enough to bring happiness."
What do you want for your birthday this year?
"A real unicorn year"
What makes you happy?
"The thing makes me happy…snuggling"
What do you want for your birthday this year?
"A fan"
What makes you happy?
"Mama and Daddy"
"Happiness is very simple. Accept what God gives you. Whatever it is you accept your life, you’re happy. I wish the whole world is happy and peaceful. When you’re happy, it reflects in your community, in your life, and in your family, and in your country. Unfortunately, life is hard. We can’t always be happy but we can have faith in our own way, and that what’s keep you going and make you happy."
"Being able to enjoy the same kind of activities, life experiences as the public and general, as people without disability, whether going to the restaurant, getting some to eat, relaxing, chilling, just having fun, where you don’t have to worry about accessibility or anything like that."
"It makes me happy that other peoplehappy. Smiling. Laughing. Enjoying life. I juggle. I try to juggle at least 30 minutes a day. That makes me happy. I don’t consider having money for happiness. I don’t make a lot with the circus, but it’s my passion, and I’m happy about it."
"My kids. If they are happy, I’m happy. If they can see them to be successful in their life, they are growing in a proper way, and they are learning in a proper way, I’m happy. If there is no money, I can’t say there is happiness. Happiness would be less because money means paying bills and rent, a house for your kids, a warm place for them. Money means getting whatever they want, food, and toys. Without money, how could you live? But it’s not everything. The first and most important thing for me is health. If they have good health, then it’s fine."
About the Project
Project owner: Kim Hang Nguyen
Date: Dec 2018 - April 2019
Intro
Happiness connects people and helps build their capacity to cope with challenges. Research shows a connection between happiness and social capital, which are shared values that individuals create through trust and cooperation to ensure society functions effectively (Guven, 2011). Happier people also contribute more to social capital by participating in community and cultural events, doing volunteer work, being more open to encountering strangers, and having a greater desire to vote (Guven, 2011). While there are various strategies for creating a better world, increasing people's happiness should be a top priority. However, before finding ways to help people attain happiness, it is important to first understand the basics of happiness.
Happiness is a universal emotion that exists across cultures, as noted by Ekman & Cordaro (2011). People from all cultures may exhibit similar expressions of happiness such as smiling, laughing, and being approachable. However, cultural differences play a role in how happiness is conceptualized, experienced, and reflected upon. For example, in individualistic cultures like those in North America and Western Europe, happiness is linked to personal achievements, while in collectivistic cultures like those in East Asia and South America, it is more about social harmony. In diverse cities, where people of different cultures and backgrounds live together, happiness is defined by a mixture of one's own culture and the culture they have adopted. These similarities and differences in cultural perspectives on happiness create interesting dynamics worth exploring.
The combination of photography and psychology can be an effective tool to study happiness across cultures. By combining structured interviews with visual arts (photography), the lived experiences of happiness can be captured and highlighted in a unique way that supports, elevates, and informs the other medium.
Methods
Location. With 75% of the population being White (Data USA, 2016), Scranton is hardly known for its racial and ethnic diversity. However, diversity is not about the number of people, but about how their cultures are recognized and embraced. Cultural diversity does exist in Scranton, in latent yet profound ways, with various ethnic restaurants, celebrations, food festivals, and even everyday experiences.
The interviews and photo shoots were conducted in many places in Scranton, PA such as the Scranton Jewish Community Center, MYCIL Center for Independent Living, Savory Maza (Lebanese restaurant), Mi Ranchito (Columbia restaurant), Mohegan Sun Pocono, Prudential, and Lackawanna Coal Miners’ Soccer League.
Participants. Participants in the project were people from various cultures and heritages, including Columbian, Lebanese, Puerto Rican, Vietnamese, Caribbean, UK, Norwegian, Taiwanese, Jordanian, Middle Eastern, Irish, and Italian. They were from all walks of life and had different occupations, such as author, forklift driver, restaurant owner, teacher, and juggler.
Material. The questions about happiness in the interview were adapted from the Psychological Well-Being Interview Guide, which consisted questions focusing on conceptions of happiness, life satisfaction, psychological well-being, and strategies to improve well-being (Hernandez, Carnethon, Penedo, Martinez, Boehm, & Schueller, 2016). Examples of interview questions include: “When someone says that they are feeling happy, what does this mean? How would you define happiness?” and “What are the ingredients for achieving happiness at home and at work?”
Procedure. Participants were contacted and informed about the project through various methods, such as emails, phone calls, and text messages. On the day of the interview, the interviewer arrived at the agreed-upon location with the interviewee. The interview consisted of two parts. The first served as priming and focused on the subjects' background and cultural identity. The second part consisted of questions about happiness. The photographs were taken either before, during, or after the interview, depending on the setting. The interviews were audio recorded with the subjects' permission.
Art Exhibition and Interactive Activity
An exhibition featuring 10 photographs of the subjects was displayed at the Undergraduate Research Fair and Creative Exhibition at Penn State Scranton. The display included an interactive activity where viewers matched interview transcript excerpts on cards with the photographs on the wall. The purpose of this activity was to encourage an active engagement with the art and challenge viewers' assumptions and stereotypes about people from different cultures. The matching game may help viewers understand that while they may have preconceived ideas about others' thoughts and values, these ideas may not always be accurate. Seeing real people in photos and reading their perspectives on happiness can increase understanding, empathy, and appreciation among viewers.
Funding: The “Happiness across Cultures” project was funded by the Student Engagement Network, Pennsylvania State University.
Featured: The project was featured on Penn State's Student Engagement Network
Award: Outstanding Creative Accomplishment Student Scholar of the Year
Acknowledgment
Mentor: P. Douglas Sellers, Ph.D
Mentor: Corianne Thompson, M.A.T
References
-
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (Fourth ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
-
Data USA (2016). Scranton, PA. Retrieved from https://datausa.io/profile/geo/scranton-pa/
-
Ekman, P., & Cordaro, D. (2011). What is meant by calling emotions basic. Emotion Review, 3(4), 364-370.
-
Hernandez, R., Carnethon, M., Penedo, F. J., Martinez, L., Boehm, J., & Schueller, S. M. (2016). Psychological well-being interview guide
-
Guven, C. (2011). Are happier people better citizens? Kyklos, 64(2), 178-192
More photos of Behind-the-scenes
