Evidently, different cultures find happiness from different sources. Contentment and emotional health are among the two factors that influence happiness. The cultural setup of different societies, their ways of life and how they perceive their achievements dictate how emotionally they react ( Fobelová , 2017). It is for such reasons that the perception of one culture towards their happiness and well-being differs from how a different culture will perceive the same.
From a universalist point of view, happiness and well-being are human expressions of their feelings that can only be comparable to pain. However, there is a cognitive component of happiness that offers a contrast between various cultures and societies. Happiness and well-being have much to do with contentment according to majority cultures in the modern-day world. Contentment comes in different forms and levels in different people depending on their cultures. Different people define themselves and what they want in their lives differently and end up putting up comparisons with the realities of their lives. In the Islamic culture, for instance, happiness is an anti-hedonic feeling which is in direct contradiction to what happiness means in American society ( Suh & Koo, 2008).
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The source of happiness for some cultures depend on their emotional health. Social relationships dictate the emotional well-being of people and subsequently decide the level of happiness differently from one culture to another. For instance, East Asian cultures regard the social components of their lives as aspects that offer them pleasant emotional experiences ( Oishi, 2018). On the other hand, European Americans derive happiness when their achievements are recognized and approved by important people in their lives who elevate their emotional statuses. For Africans, social relationships arising from a strong family, being close to family members and being with intimate partners raise their emotional well-being that translates to their happiness ( Oishi, 2018).
References
Fobelová, D. (2017). Ancient desire for fragile happiness. Zeszyty Naukowe. Organizacja i Zarządzanie/Politechnika Śląska .
Suh, E. M., & Koo, J. (2008). Comparing subjective well-being across cultures and nations. The science of subjective well-being , 414-427.
Oishi, S. (2018). Culture and subjective well-being: Conceptual and measurement issues. In E. Diener, S. Oishi, & L. Tay (Eds.), Handbook of well-being. Salt Lake City, UT: DEF Publishers. DOI: nobascholar.com
