Lay Conceptions of Well-Being Among Undergraduate Students from the United States and South Korea: Culture-Level Differences and Correlates

The current research provides a descriptive and comparative assessment of lay conceptions of well-being in undergraduate student samples from South Korea and the United States. The objectives of the current research were (1) to examine potential cross-cultural variability in the degree to which the experience of pleasure, avoidance of negative experience, self-development, and contribution are emphasized in the lay conceptions of well-being espoused by undergraduate students in South Korea and the United States, and (2) to investigate potential cross-cultural variability in associations between each of the above dimensions and multiple indicators of experienced well-being. To address these objectives, samples were drawn from universities in the United States and South Korea, and self-report instruments measuring the constructs of interest were administered. Results indicated that the South Korean sample emphasized the experience of pleasure and avoidance of negative experience to a greater degree than the United States sample, whereas the United States sample emphasized contribution to others to a greater degree than the South Korean sample. Despite these differences, associations between lay conception of well-being dimensions and experienced well-being were largely similar across cultural groups. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014