TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2018//
TI  - How much is enough in a perfect world? Cultural variation in ideal levels of happiness, pleasure, freedom, health, self-esteem, longevity, and intelligence
JO  - Psychological science
A1  - Hornsey, Matthew J.
A1  - Bain, Paul G.
A1  - Harris, Emily A.
A1  - Lebedeva, Nadezhda
A1  - Kashima, Emiko S.
A1  - Guan, Yanjun
A1  - González, Roberto
A1  - Chen, Sylvia Xiaohua
A1  - Blumen, Sheyla
SP  - 1393
EP  - 1404
VL  - 29
IS  - 9
N2  - The maximization principle-that people aspire to the highest possible level of something good if all practical constraints are removed-is a common yet untested assumption about human nature. We predict that in holistic cultures-where contradiction, change, and context are emphasized-ideal states of being for the self will be more moderate than in other cultures. In two studies ( Ns = 2,392 and 6,239), we asked this question: If participants could choose their ideal level of happiness, pleasure, freedom, health, self-esteem, longevity, and intelligence, what level would they choose? Consistent with predictions, results showed that maximization was less pronounced in holistic cultures; members of holistic cultures aspired to less happiness, pleasure, freedom, health, self-esteem, longevity, and IQ than did members of other cultures. In contrast, no differences emerged on ideals for society. The studies show that the maximization principle is not a universal aspect of human nature and that there are predictable cultural differences in people's notions of perfection.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0956-7976
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797618768058
ID  - ref1
ER  -