Well-being as a function of person-country fit in human values

Paul H P Hanel,Lukas J Wolf,Gabriel Lins De Holanda Coelho,Uwe Wolfradt,Gregory R Maio

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18831-9

Abstract

It is often assumed that incongruence between individuals’ values and those of their country is distressing, but the evidence has been mixed. Across 29 countries, the present research investigated whether well-being is higher if people’s values match with those of people living in the same country or region. Using representative samples, we find that person-country and person-region value congruence predict six well-being measures (e.g., emotional well-being, relationship support; N = 54,673). Crucially, however, value type moderates whether person-country fit is positively or negatively associated with well-being. People who value self-direction, stimulation, and hedonism more and live in countries and regions where people on average share these values report lower well-being. In contrast, people who value achievement, power, and security more and live in countries and regions where people on average share these values, report higher well-being. Additionally, we find that people who moderately value stimulation report the highest well-being.

Highlights

It is often assumed that incongruence between individuals’ values and those of their country is distressing, but the evidence has been mixed
Human values are usually defined as abstract ideals that guide actions and express needs[6,7,8]
001, whether the effects are consistent across well-being type (i.e.,significant for the same value type)

Summary

Introduction

It is often assumed that incongruence between individuals’ values and those of their country is distressing, but the evidence has been mixed. Schwartz’s model predicts a circumplex pattern of correlations between ratings of value importance (Fig. 1), based on their motivational conflicts and compatibilities, and this pattern has been confirmed in over 80 countries across three decades of research[9]. Some researchers used difference scores (e.g., between own and perceived values), while others used profile correlations as an estimate of congruency. The importance a person places on all value types (e.g., all ten value types of Schwartz’s model; cf Fig. 1) is correlated with the country average. This correlation coefficient that is obtained for each participant is used as an estimate of value congruence and correlated with their well-being score. These issues greatly limit the strength of conclusions from previous research of person–environment value congruence

Methods

Results

Conclusion