The Psychology of Involution: Taxonomy, Sociocultural Predictors, and Psychological Outcomes

Wen Zhang, Yuwei Wang, Xiaotao Liu, Chen Guo, Zhicheng Lin, Mingjie Zhou and Yan Mu ()
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Wen Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yuwei Wang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xiaotao Liu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chen Guo: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhicheng Lin: Yonsei University
Mingjie Zhou: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yan Mu: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2025, vol. 26, issue 7, No 16, 28 pages

Abstract: Abstract It is a puzzle of modern life: people are dashing around to complete their daily tasks, like busy little ants, but they hardly make real progress or find the happiness they hope for. Involution (neijuan) is a recent, widespread phenomenon in China characterized by societal hyper-competition and individual experiences of burnout, anxiety, and disillusionment with success. However, the psychology of involution remains poorly understood. We probe its taxonomy, sociocultural predictors, and psychological outcomes by examining individual variations in involution perception using latent profile analysis (LPA). We identified four profiles among Chinese (n = 389 for pilot; n = 1,456 for formal, from 31 provinces) and Western (n = 1,200, from the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom) individuals: Racing Rat, Placid Dove, Ambitious Bee, Couch Potato. Individuals of the Bee and Dove profiles displayed better psychological well-being than those of the Potato and Rat profiles. Higher socioeconomic status and more perceived tightness were associated with adaptive profiles like the Bee, and lower status and more perceived looseness were linked to maladjusted profiles like the Rat. Our findings provide a person-centered framework for understanding involution, with cross-disciplinary implications for policy interventions targeting its detrimental effects and coping strategies.

Keywords: Involution (neijuan); Psychological well-being; Cultural tightness-looseness; Socioeconomic status; Latent profile analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-025-00954-9

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