About the project
This multinational study investigates human wellbeing (quality of life, happiness, quest for meaning) by using a variety of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Our basic assumption is that people across cultures have substantially different ideals for what constitutes a good life and how to achieve it. There has been too little bottom-up research devoted to the diverse ways in which people view well-being or imagine a rewarding, meaningful life. The aim of our project is to investigate processes and dynamics of societal development by examining the role of psychological and cultural determinants that shape the desired directions of development and diverse ideals of well-being.
Our research includes quantitative studies of over 50 countries from across the world. To better illuminate the cultural mechanisms of well-being, we also conduct an in-depth, qualitative study of Norway, a country which repeatedly has occupied top positions in various well-being rankings and is, according to the Human Development Index (HDI), one of the world’s best countries to live in.
Objectives
The economic paradigm that has dominated the modern era has helped satisfy people’s basic needs in a growing number of countries. Since the 2007–09 financial crisis, scientists and policy-makers have increasingly discussed the limitations of this growth-focused model. Innovative studies of social well-being call for new modes of measurement and new compasses to assess different styles of social self-realization. In this project we interrogate the idea that societal development should be conceptualized in a way that will let societies reflect their own culturally specific vision of what contributes to their wellbeing, informed by local conceptions of what a good life comprises.
Our project seeks to develop insights that can assist societies at all stages of prosperity in formulating - or improving - their own pathways to well-being.
Duration
Januar 2022 – May 2024
Financing
This GRIEG collaboration is funded by a European Economic Area grant.
Interdisciplinary synergy
Our project gathers experts in psychology, societal development, cultural change, evolutionary theory, economy, international affairs, geography, mathematics, and other fields.
Researchers are from the Polish Academy of Sciences, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Poland), and Centre for Development and the Environment at the University of Oslo (Norway). Affiliated scholars are from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo.
Norwegian participants:
Nina Witoszek, PI
Mads Larsen, postdoctoral fellow
Oda Ottesen, junior researcher
Publications
Larsen, M., Witoszek, N., & Yeung, J. C. (2023) A multilevel selection model for prosocial well-being. Front. Psychol. 14:1068119. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1068119.
Larsen, M., & Witoszek, N. (2023) Strategies of prosociality: Comparing Nordic and Slavonic altruism toward Ukrainian refugees. Front. Psychol. 14:1065889. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1065889.
Witoszek, N., Anker, P., & Larsen, M. (forthcoming) Scandinavian Tao: Steps to the Ecology of the Well-Being Society (Palgrave Macmillan).
Larsen, M., & Witoszek, N. (forthcoming) Evolutionary Perspectives on Enhancing Quality of Life (Cambridge University Press).
Witoszek, N., & Larsen, M. (forthcoming) Evolutionary Perspectives on Groups as Drivers of Social Innovation (Cambridge University Press).
Larsen, M., & Witoszek, N. (forthcoming) Norway as a well-being society: Why are the young miserable and the old happy?
Larsen, M., & Witoszek, N. (forthcoming) How changes in youth well-being can affect democracy.
International Conferences
The Generational Happiness Switch in Norway: Strategies of Comparison among the Young and Old. Presentation (forthcoming).
An Evolutionary Model for Prosocial Well-Being. ISA World Congress of Sociology. Presentation (2023).
Mechanisms of Prosociality: A Comparative Analysis of Nordic and Slavonic Altruism toward Ukrainian Refugees. ISA World Congress of Sociology. Presentation (2023).
A Qualitative Study of Happiness and Meaning as Evolved Signals. Human Behavior and Evolution Society Conference. Presentation (2023).
Bureaucratizing the Voluntarism of Slavonic Helpers of Ukrainian Refugees in Norway. ReNEW’s Nordic Challenges Conference. Presentation (2023).
Teaching
UiO SUM 4036: Master course in Environmental Humanities. The importance of well-being for forging a sustainable future.