Symposium Summary:
Background
Psychology is open to the charge of being Western-centric, with its understanding of topics such as wellbeing influenced by the mainly Western cultural contexts in which the field has developed. As such, efforts are underway to explore and incorporate ideas and perspectives from non-Western cultures.
Aims
One such effort has been a new Global Wellbeing Initiative (www.globalwellbeinginitiative.org/), a collaboration between Gallup and Wellbeing for Planet Earth (a Japanese foundation promoting cross-cultural research). This effort has focused on developing new items for inclusion in the Gallup World Poll that reflect expanded and primarily non-Western perspectives on wellbeing.
Methods
At a summit in Kyoto in August 2019, nine topics relating to Eastern perspectives on wellbeing were identified through discussion for potential inclusion in the 2020 Gallup World Poll. These include low arousal emotions, balance and harmony, and relationship to the group. Through subsequent dialogue and cognitive testing in the field, four in particular were selected, and the specific wording of items was agreed upon. The items were then included in the 2020 Poll, which by spring 2021 will have been administered in at least 118 countries.
Results
Data analysis of the 2020 World Poll will enable the researchers to explore the performance of the new wellbeing-related items across the globe. This includes using factor analysis to examine the relationships between existing wellbeing items in the World Poll (e.g., life satisfaction), and the newly-added items, thus providing an updated analysis of the main dimensions of wellbeing. It also includes using regression analyses to explore the key determinants of wellbeing from among the other items in the World Poll (e.g., demographic factors).
Conclusion
This analysis will facilitate a richer and more globally inclusive understanding of wellbeing, one that is less Western-centric and more accommodating of culturally-diverse perspectives. Moreover, it will indicate cross-cultural variation in these newly-identified dimensions, allowing us to build a more nuanced picture of the dynamics of wellbeing worldwide.
Symposium Presentation 1 Proposal:
Title: Creating the Global Wellbeing Initiative
Presenter: Dr Alden Lai, New York University
Abstract: In this first session, Dr Alden Lai introduces the Global Wellbeing Initiative (GWI), explaining its ethos and aims, and outlining how it came into being. He begins by describing the formation of the Wellbeing for Planet Earth foundation in Japan, which was created to promote a more global vision and understanding of wellbeing. He then outlines how the foundation entered into partnership with Gallup as a way of achieving these goals, and how the partnership was initiated and instantiated. He finishes by articulating the primary activities of the GWI, namely the creation of items relating to non-Western perspectives on wellbeing for inclusion in the Gallup World Poll.
Symposium Presentation 2 Proposal:
Title: Identification of Eastern Perspectives on Wellbeing
Presenter: Dr Tim Lomas, Harvard University (appointment pending)
Abstract: In this second session, Dr Tim Lomas focuses on the selection of topics and items for inclusion in the 2020 Gallup World Poll. The presentation centres on the inaugural GWI summit in Kyoto in August 2019, at which key personnel and stakeholders assembled for the first time for an intensive three-day series of presentations and discussions. These activities concentrated on identifying perspectives on wellbeing emphasised in Eastern cultures. Nine topics were eventually selected, including in relation to low arousal positive emotions (such as peace and calmness), balance and harmony, and relationship to the group. Provisional item formulations for each topic were also proposed, debated, and agreed upon through a democratic process.
Symposium Presentation 3 Proposal:
Title: Development of Items for Inclusion in the 2020 World Poll
Presenter: Dr Priscilla Standridge, Gallup
Abstract: In this third session, Dr Priscilla Standridge picks up the narrative from the conclusion of the Kyoto summit, and explains the process by which items were subsequently developed and selected for inclusion in the 2020 Gallup World Poll. Initially, post-summit discussions refined the item selection and phrasings. Items were then tested in the field through cognitive interviews, which is the standard practice in Gallup for examining how items are perceived and interpreted by participants across different cultural contexts, and checking the adequacy of translations. Following these interviews, the team settled on final item phrasings for inclusion in the poll. Dr Standridge also explains the process by which the 2020 World Poll was conducted, focusing on how Gallup adapted its methodology in light of the emergent Covid-19 pandemic, which necessitated switching from face-to-face interviews to primarily conducting the survey via telephone.
Symposium Presentation 4 Proposal:
Title: Analysis Items in the 2020 World Poll
Presenter: Dr Pablo Diego-Rosell, Gallup
Abstract: In this final session, Dr Diego-Rosell shares the team’s analysis and main findings from the 2020 World Poll. He will begin by outlining the analytic strategy. This includes using factor analysis to explore the relationships between existing wellbeing items in the World Poll (e.g., life satisfaction), and the newly-added items, thus providing an updated analysis of the main dimensions of wellbeing. It also includes using regression analyses to explore the key determinants of wellbeing from among the other items in the World Poll (e.g., demographic factors). The presentation will then share the main findings in relation to both analytic strategies. It will conclude by setting out the research pathway going forward, including in terms of how the items and analytic strategy will be iterated for the 2021 World Poll and beyond.