Culture and National well-being: should societies emphasize freedom or constraint?

PLoS ONE • Vol/Iss. 10(6) • Public Library of Science • • Published In • Pages: 1-14 •
By Harrington, Jesse R., Boski, Pawel, Gelfand, Michele K.

Hypothesis

The relationship between tightness/looseness and happiness will exhibit a curvilinear relationship, such that very tight and very loose nations have worse outcomes relative to nations intermediate on tightness-looseness

Note

Nations that are very tight and very loose were found to have low happiness. Additionally, compared to the linear model (F=1.25, p=.27, R-Squared=.04), the quadratic model was F= 3.91, a significant improvement (F-change=6.34, p=.02, R-squared change=.17).

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
Stepwise multiple regressionSupportedp=.03R-Squared=.21UNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
HappinessDependentHealth And Welfare, Leisure Time Activities, Recreation, Standard Of Living
Tightness/loosenessIndependentGovernment Regulation, Legal Norms, Norms, Social Control

Related Hypotheses

Main AuthorHypothesis
Harrington, Jesse R.The relationship between tightness/looseness and dysthymia depression will exhibit a curvilinear relationship, such that very tight and very loose nations have worse outcomes relative to nations intermediate on tightness-looseness
Harrington, Jesse R.The relationship between tightness/looseness and suicide rate will exhibit a curvilinear relationship, such that very tight and very loose nations have worse outcomes relative to nations intermediate on tightness-looseness
Harrington, Jesse R.The relationship between tightness/looseness and life expectancy will exhibit a curvilinear relationship, such that very tight and very loose nations have worse outcomes relative to nations intermediate on tightness-looseness
Harrington, Jesse R.The relationship between tightness/looseness and gross domestic product (GDP) will exhibit a curvilinear relationship, such that very tight and very loose nations have worse outcomes relative to nations intermediate on tightness-looseness
Harrington, Jesse R.The relationship between tightness/looseness and political instability will exhibit a curvilinear relationship, such that very tight and very loose nations have worse outcomes relative to nations intermediate on tightness-looseness