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The subjective components of happiness and their attainment: a cross-cultural comparison between Italy and Cuba

Dario Galati

General Psychology, University of Turin, Italy, Laboratory of Psychology of Emotion, University of Turin, International Society of Research on Emotion, dario.galati{at}unito.it

Mayra Manzano

Cognitive Psychology, University of Havana, Cuba, mmanzano{at}psico.uh.cu

Igor Sotgiu

University of Turin, Italy, sotgiu{at}psych.unito.it

This study aims to identify the subjective components of happiness and to analyze their degree of attainment in two countries, Italy and Cuba, characterized by very different cultural and socio-economic structures. Two hundred and sixty-five subjects participated in a questionnaire study: 133 from Italy and 132 from Cuba. Respondents were asked to think of happiness and to write down at least 5 components that made them feel happy. A measure of overall happiness was also obtained by asking subjects to rate to what extent they had attained each component in their life. The analysis of responses provided by the two samples yielded the identification of 21 cross-culturally shared happiness components, which referred to individual interests, relational interests and values. The most relevant components in each group were health, family, love and money. Italian and Cuban subjects differed in the frequency of citation of some happiness components (e.g. money, work, partner) and in the degree of attainment of them. Overall, Cubans perceived themselves as happier than Italians. Findings are discussed in relation to the socio-economic and cultural characteristics of the Italian and Cuban contexts.

Key Words: Cross-cultural differences • Individualism/collectivism • Naïve concepts of happiness

Social Science Information, Vol. 45, No. 4, 601-630 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0539018406069594
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