2013
DOI: 10.1177/0022022113487591
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Culture Matters When Designing a Successful Happiness-Increasing Activity

Abstract: Research shows that performing positive activities, such as expressing gratitude and doing acts of kindness, boosts happiness. But do specific positive activities work equally well across cultures? Our study examined the role of culture–activity fit by testing two positive activities across two cultures. Participants from the United States (n = 250) and South Korea (n = 270) were randomly assigned to express gratitude, perform kind acts, or engage in a neutral activity for the first half of a 6-week positive a… Show more

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Cited by 172 publications
(138 citation statements)
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References 27 publications
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“…In past experiments, performing kind acts has been shown to increase personal happiness (Dunn et al, 2008;Layous, Lee, Choi, & Lyubomirsky, 2013;Lyubomirsky et al, 2005;Nelson, Layous, Cole, & anagrams, persisted at the task longer, tried more combinations for all anagrams (including unsolvable ones) and reported more motivation toward the task (Erez & Isen, 2002; see also Kavanagh, 1987). Similarly, in a health context, individuals induced into a positive mood reported higher self-efficacy in managing a hypothetical illness, as well as greater intention to put effort into fighting the illness, than those induced into a negative mood (Schuettler & Kiviniemi, 2006).…”
Section: More Prosocial Effort Predicts Greater Happinessmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In past experiments, performing kind acts has been shown to increase personal happiness (Dunn et al, 2008;Layous, Lee, Choi, & Lyubomirsky, 2013;Lyubomirsky et al, 2005;Nelson, Layous, Cole, & anagrams, persisted at the task longer, tried more combinations for all anagrams (including unsolvable ones) and reported more motivation toward the task (Erez & Isen, 2002; see also Kavanagh, 1987). Similarly, in a health context, individuals induced into a positive mood reported higher self-efficacy in managing a hypothetical illness, as well as greater intention to put effort into fighting the illness, than those induced into a negative mood (Schuettler & Kiviniemi, 2006).…”
Section: More Prosocial Effort Predicts Greater Happinessmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…A full review of this burgeoning literature is beyond the scope of this paper, but research in this area has indicated the efficacy of various positive interventions in a range of countries, including India (Mehrotra, 2013), Japan (Otake et al, 2006), China (Chan, 2010) and Korea (Layous, Lee, Choi, & Lyubomirsky, 2013). It has also highlighted the importance of investigating the interactions between culture and intervention type, for example, Layous et al (2013) found that while Korean participants responded well to a kindness intervention the effect was less strong for a gratitude intervention. Both the growing evidence base, and the interest amongst researchers from a range of cultures in these interventions, supports their potential usefulness to therapists seeking to develop culture-appropriate interventions.…”
Section: Symptoms Of Psychological Disordermentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Finally, our third exploratory aim was to test the generalizability of our findings across two different cultures. Recent evidence indicates that helping others is associated with improvements in well-being across many cultures, suggesting that this effect may be a psychological universal (Aknin et al, 2013;Layous, Lee, Choi, & Lyubomirsky, 2013). Similarly, psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and connectedness are thought to be innate human needs that are cross-culturally relevant (Deci & Ryan, 2000).…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%