Happiness, Meaning, and Psychological Richness

Shigehiro Oishi; Hyewon Choi; Minkyung Koo; Iolanda Galinha; Keiko Ishii; Asuka Komiya; Maike Luhmann; Christie Scollon; Ji eun Shin; Hwaryung Lee; Eunkook M. Suh; Joar Vittersø; Samantha J. Heintzelman; Kostadin Kushlev; Erin C. Westgate; Nicholas Buttrick; Jane Tucker; Charles R. Ebersole; Jordan Axt; Elizabeth Gilbert; Brandon W. Ng; Jaime Kurtz; Lorraine L. Besser

doi:10.1007/s42761-020-00011-z

Happiness, Meaning, and Psychological Richness

Shigehiro Oishi, Hyewon Choi, Minkyung Koo, Iolanda Galinha, Keiko Ishii, Asuka Komiya, Maike Luhmann, Christie Scollon, Ji eun Shin, Hwaryung Lee, Eunkook M. Suh, Joar Vittersø, Samantha J. Heintzelman, Kostadin Kushlev, Erin C. Westgate, Nicholas Buttrick, Jane Tucker, Charles R. Ebersole, Jordan Axt, Elizabeth GilbertBrandon W. Ng, Jaime Kurtz, Lorraine L. Besser

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Abstract

What kind of life do people want? In psychology, a good life has typically been conceptualized in terms of either hedonic or eudaimonic well-being. We propose that psychological richness is another neglected aspect of what people consider a good life. In study 1 (9-nation cross-cultural study), we asked participants whether they ideally wanted a happy, a meaningful, or a psychologically rich life. Roughly 7 to 17% of participants chose the psychologically rich life. In study 2, we asked 1611 Americans and 680 Koreans what they regret most in their lives; then, if they could undo or reverse the regretful event, whether their lives would have been happier, more meaningful, or psychologically richer as a result. Roughly 28% of Americans and 35% of Koreans reported their lives would have been psychologically richer. Together, this work provides a foundation for the study of psychological richness as another dimension of a good life.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	107-115
Number of pages	9
Journal	Affective Science
Volume	1
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-020-00011-z
State	Published - Jun 2020

Keywords

Happiness
Meaning in life
Psychological richness

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Social Psychology
Behavioral Neuroscience

Online availability

10.1007/s42761-020-00011-z

Library availability

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Oishi, S., Choi, H., Koo, M., Galinha, I., Ishii, K., Komiya, A., Luhmann, M., Scollon, C., Shin, J. E., Lee, H., Suh, E. M., Vittersø, J., Heintzelman, S. J., Kushlev, K., Westgate, E. C., Buttrick, N., Tucker, J., Ebersole, C. R., Axt, J., ... Besser, L. L. (2020). Happiness, Meaning, and Psychological Richness. Affective Science, 1(2), 107-115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-020-00011-z

Oishi, S, Choi, H, Koo, M, Galinha, I, Ishii, K, Komiya, A, Luhmann, M, Scollon, C, Shin, JE, Lee, H, Suh, EM, Vittersø, J, Heintzelman, SJ, Kushlev, K, Westgate, EC, Buttrick, N, Tucker, J, Ebersole, CR, Axt, J, Gilbert, E, Ng, BW, Kurtz, J & Besser, LL 2020, 'Happiness, Meaning, and Psychological Richness', Affective Science, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 107-115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-020-00011-z

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abstract = "What kind of life do people want? In psychology, a good life has typically been conceptualized in terms of either hedonic or eudaimonic well-being. We propose that psychological richness is another neglected aspect of what people consider a good life. In study 1 (9-nation cross-cultural study), we asked participants whether they ideally wanted a happy, a meaningful, or a psychologically rich life. Roughly 7 to 17% of participants chose the psychologically rich life. In study 2, we asked 1611 Americans and 680 Koreans what they regret most in their lives; then, if they could undo or reverse the regretful event, whether their lives would have been happier, more meaningful, or psychologically richer as a result. Roughly 28% of Americans and 35% of Koreans reported their lives would have been psychologically richer. Together, this work provides a foundation for the study of psychological richness as another dimension of a good life.",

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author = "Shigehiro Oishi and Hyewon Choi and Minkyung Koo and Iolanda Galinha and Keiko Ishii and Asuka Komiya and Maike Luhmann and Christie Scollon and Shin, {Ji eun} and Hwaryung Lee and Suh, {Eunkook M.} and Joar Vitters{\o} and Heintzelman, {Samantha J.} and Kostadin Kushlev and Westgate, {Erin C.} and Nicholas Buttrick and Jane Tucker and Ebersole, {Charles R.} and Jordan Axt and Elizabeth Gilbert and Ng, {Brandon W.} and Jaime Kurtz and Besser, {Lorraine L.}",

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doi = "10.1007/s42761-020-00011-z",

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AU - Oishi, Shigehiro

AU - Choi, Hyewon

AU - Koo, Minkyung

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AU - Komiya, Asuka

AU - Luhmann, Maike

AU - Scollon, Christie

AU - Shin, Ji eun

AU - Lee, Hwaryung

AU - Suh, Eunkook M.

AU - Vittersø, Joar

AU - Heintzelman, Samantha J.

AU - Kushlev, Kostadin

AU - Westgate, Erin C.

AU - Buttrick, Nicholas

AU - Tucker, Jane

AU - Ebersole, Charles R.

AU - Axt, Jordan

AU - Gilbert, Elizabeth

AU - Ng, Brandon W.

AU - Kurtz, Jaime

AU - Besser, Lorraine L.

PY - 2020/6

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AB - What kind of life do people want? In psychology, a good life has typically been conceptualized in terms of either hedonic or eudaimonic well-being. We propose that psychological richness is another neglected aspect of what people consider a good life. In study 1 (9-nation cross-cultural study), we asked participants whether they ideally wanted a happy, a meaningful, or a psychologically rich life. Roughly 7 to 17% of participants chose the psychologically rich life. In study 2, we asked 1611 Americans and 680 Koreans what they regret most in their lives; then, if they could undo or reverse the regretful event, whether their lives would have been happier, more meaningful, or psychologically richer as a result. Roughly 28% of Americans and 35% of Koreans reported their lives would have been psychologically richer. Together, this work provides a foundation for the study of psychological richness as another dimension of a good life.

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Happiness, Meaning, and Psychological Richness

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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