Diener, Ed, and Eunkook M. Suh, eds. Culture and Subjective Well-being.

• Author: Gaia, A. Celeste
• Position: Book Review

Diener, Ed, and Eunkook M. Suh, eds. Culture and Subjective Well-being. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 2000 (paperback edition, 2003). viii + 355 pp. Cloth, $55.00; paper, $25.00.

Since antiquity, scholars and philosophers have pondered what it is that makes people happy. Likewise, the editors of this book seek to identify factors that contribute to happiness, with a specific focus on the role of culture. This area of research is relatively new and is considered an investigation of "positive psychology," or a focus on wellness in contrast to mental illness. Diener and Suh offer the most current empirical research in this area, most of which measures subjective well-being (SWB) as a way to assess cultural ideas of the "good life." Although often equated with happiness, SWB also involves how individuals view the meaning of their lives, their purpose, their potential for growth, and their experience of emotions. The editors assert that well-being can be studied empirically, and that reports of SWB reflect whether or not individuals within a society feel as if they are meeting cultural standards for success. They believe that cultural comparisons may offer insight into why some societies report greater happiness and life satisfaction than others. This volume includes work from some of the leading figures in cross-cultural psychology who explore SWB in relation to its definition, contributing cultural syndromes, the role of the self, individualismcollectivism, genetics, political systems, emotions, income, economics, age, and sex.

One of the most common variables studied in cross-cultural research is the distinction of individualism-collectivism, or opposing cultural orientations that generally value the needs of the individual over the group, or the needs of the group over the individual, respectively. The research included in this book in no exception. The corresponding personality traits of individualism and collectivism are indiocentrism and allocentrism, (1) used by Harry C. Triandis (pp. 13-36), Charlotte Ratzlaff, David Matsumoto, Natalia Kouznetsova, Jacques Roroque, and Rebecca Ray (pp. 37-59) to explain how such cultural orientations may affect behavior.

Whereas an idiocentric person may be motivated by self-imposed standards, an allocentric person may be more concerned about societal standards. The use of these attributes to measure individualism-collectivism has revealed the need to analyze cultural data on both individual and cultural...