Pro-sociality and happiness across national cultures: A hierarchical linear model

Abstract

Research from both Empirical studies and Positive Psychology has indicated that pro-sociality has a universal effect on happiness; however, this does not take into account the national or cultural differences of a given country. The hierarchical linear model (HLM) is employed in this study to investigate the link between pro-sociality and happiness at the individual level, as well as the effect of four national cultures (i.e., power distance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, and uncertainty avoidance) at the country/territory level on this relationship. This study utilizes the public World Value Survey dataset, which adopts random probability representative adult samples from 32 countries or territories (N = 53,618; M age = 44.10, SD = 16.51). Results suggest that pro-sociality is associated with happiness, even when accounting for demographics and the country/territory code. Additionally, the country/territory level displays variations in happiness, which can be partially explained by masculinity versus femininity (positively) and uncertainty avoidance (negatively). Moreover, the connection between pro-sociality and happiness is not influenced by national cultures. This research provides evidence for the universal happiness reward of pro-sociality. Implications, restrictions, and potential future research directions are discussed.

The different effects of income and educational level on prosocial behaviour and related ideological variables ( Los diversos efectos del nivel de ingresos y nivel educativo en la conducta prosocial y otras variables ideológicas relacionadas )

“…The Cronbach alpha of the scale was .85. This measure has been used before in the same way to measure volunteering, a commonly used indicator of prosocial behaviour (e.g., Chen, 2023).…”

“…El alfa de Cronbach de esta escala fue de .85. Esta medida ha sido utilizada previamente de la misma forma para medir la participación en actividades de voluntariado, un indicador de la conducta prosocial utilizado habitualmente (e.g., Chen, 2023).…”