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Happy Cultures? A Multilevel Model of Well-Being with Individual and Contextual Human Values

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  • Fernando Bruna

    (Research Group on Competition and Development (C&D) and ECOBAS, Department of Economics, School of Economics and Business)

Abstract

Despite the abundant literature in Happiness Science, no paper to date has studied the joint effects of human values on subjective well-being at individual and contextual level. Using European Social Survey data for life satisfaction and Salomon H. Schwartz’s scale for human values with four and ten dimensions, this paper presents novel evidence on the direct effects of individual, regional, and national human values, utilizing two different ways of building cultural indicators of human values. We show that regional factors explain approximately 2% of the dispersion of individual life satisfaction, whereas national factors explain around 12%. The results on the effects of individual human values support Sortheix and Schwartz’s hypothesis, with a significant difference: Individual Conformity has a positive impact on well-being, not the negative sign Sortheix and Schwartz predict for Conservation values. We also find positive direct cultural effects for Benevolence and Conformity and negative effects for Tradition. Additionally, we propose a research agenda for human values and contextual effects on well-being studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernando Bruna, 2022. "Happy Cultures? A Multilevel Model of Well-Being with Individual and Contextual Human Values," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 55-77, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:164:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-021-02858-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-021-02858-6
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    2. Fernando, Bruna, 2024. "Beyond selfishness: the interaction of income and human values in shaping Europeans’ ideology," MPRA Paper 120623, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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