What Does “Happiness” Prompt in Your Mind? Culture, Word Choice, and Experienced Happiness

Ji-eun Shin, Eunkook M. Suh (), Kimin Eom and Heejung S. Kim
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Ji-eun Shin: Singapore Management University
Eunkook M. Suh: Yonsei University
Kimin Eom: University of California at Santa Barbara
Heejung S. Kim: University of California at Santa Barbara

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2018, vol. 19, issue 3, No 2, 649-662

Abstract: Abstract What three words come to your mind in association with “happiness”? We analyzed the 1563 words reported by 521 Korean and American participants in this free association task. The most frequently endorsed word was “family” in Korea, whereas the most popular word among Americans was “smile.” The overall frequency of social words (e.g., relationships, social emotions) reported by Koreans was higher, and the most often mentioned relationship type differed between the two groups (family in Korea; friend in the US). Nonetheless, both in Korea and the US, individuals who mentioned more social words were significantly more satisfied with their lives. The amount of social support provision mediated the link between the number of reported social words and experienced happiness. Regardless of culture, a simple count of social words associated with happiness appears to offer a reasonably good clue for how happy the person actually is.

Keywords: Happiness; Word choice; Culture; Free association task (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-016-9836-8

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