Olga Stavrova

Why are religious people happy? The effect of the social norm of religiosity across countries

Drawing on social norms theories, we suggest that religiosity substantially increases subjective well-being if it is considered normative in a certain national context. In Study 1, we test this hypothesis using an indicator of a countrys social norm of religiosity that includes both the national level of religiosity and the social desirability of religion. The results of a multilevel regression analysis suggest that religious individuals are on average happier and more satisfied with life than non-religious individuals. This effect is stronger in religious countries with dominant negative attitudes towards non-believers. In Study 2, we further examine whether the differences in social recognition of religious and non-religious individuals in countries where religiosity is normative account for this finding. The results of a moderated mediation analysis indicate that in religious countries, religious people report being treated with more respect, which partially explains their higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction.

Religious Prosociality and Morality Across Cultures: How Social Enforcement of Religion Shapes the Effects of Personal Religiosity on Prosocial and Moral Attitudes and Behaviors

The question of whether religiosity is linked to prosocial behavior is currently hotly debated in psychology. This research contributes to this debate by showing that the nature of individuals’ religious orientations and their relationships to prosociality depend on their country’s social enforcement of religiosity. Our analyses of data from more than 70 countries indicate that in countries with no social pressure to follow a religion, religious individuals are more likely to endorse an intrinsic religious orientation (Study 1), engage in charity work (Study 2), disapprove of lying in their own interests (Study 3), and are less likely to engage in fraudulent behaviors (Study 4) compared with non-religious individuals. Ironically, in secular contexts, religious individuals are also more likely to condemn certain moral choices than non-religious individuals (Study 2). These effects of religiosity substantially weaken (and ultimately disappear) with increasing national levels of social enforcement of religiosity.

Are Virtuous People Happy All Around the World? Civic Virtue, Antisocial Punishment, and Subjective Well-Being Across Cultures

Psychological research postulates a positive relationship between virtue and happiness. This article investigates whether this relationship holds in cultures where virtue is not socially appreciated. We specifically focus on civic virtue, which is conceptualized as citizens’ honesty in interactions with state institutions (e.g., tax compliance). Two indicators served as measures of the degree to which civic virtue is a part of a country’s normative climate: These were each country’s mean level of punishment directed at above-average cooperative players in public good experiments and the extent to which citizens justify fraud and free-riding. The results of two studies with data from 13 and 73 countries demonstrate that a positive relationship between civic virtue and happiness/life satisfaction is not universal: In countries where antisocial punishment is common and the level of justification of dishonest behaviors is high, virtuous individuals are no longer happier and more satisfied with life than selfish individuals.

Cohabitation, Gender, and Happiness A Cross-Cultural Study in Thirty Countries

Research commonly finds married people to be slightly happier than unmarried cohabitors—the phenomenon referred to as the cohabitation gap. In this article, we examine several relationships. First, we consider whether there are gender differences in the cohabitation gap; second, whether these gender differences are the same in different countries; and third, whether national differences in the gender role norms and gender equity in economic empowerment can explain these cross-national variations. Relying on the psychological theories of social norms, we differentiate between societal and personal gender role norms. We found that in societies with more liberal societal gender role norms, the cohabitation gap for women but not for men is substantially reduced. This effect was independent from women’s personal gender role norms as well as a country’s gender equity in economic empowerment. The findings are discussed in relation to the theories of social norms and gender conformity.

Social connectedness as a source and consequence of meaning in life

Multiple studies have shown that the sense of belonging and connectedness contribute to meaning in life, but does meaning also influence social connectedness? The present research examines the reciprocal relationships between meaning and different types of connectedness: intimate, relational, and collective. Analyzing data from a nationally representative longitudinal study (Study 1) with cross-lagged panel models, we found that only collective connectedness was prospectively associated with meaning, whereas meaning was prospectively associated with all three types of connectedness, controlling for life satisfaction. The beneficial effect of meaning extended to behavioral indicators of collective and intimate connectedness (Study 2). Higher levels of meaning in life were prospectively associated with an increased likelihood of joining voluntary associations and getting married, and, for people high in marital satisfaction, with a decreased likelihood of marital separation. Together, these findings suggest that the relationship between social connectedness and meaning in life is bidirectional.

Religion, Self-Rated Health, and Mortality: Whether Religiosity Delays Death Depends on the Cultural Context

Existing research, mostly based on the data from the United States, suggests that religiosity contributes to better health and longevity. This article explores the association between religiosity and self-rated health across 59 countries and shows that the positive association between religiosity and self-rated health is an exception found in a relatively small number of countries. Consistent with the person–culture fit literature, Study 1 shows that in countries in which religiosity represents a social norm (i.e., it is common and socially desirable), religious individuals report better subjective health than nonreligious individuals. Study 2 demonstrates that even within the United States, the association of religiosity with self-rated health as well as with reduced mortality largely depends on the regional level of religiosity, suggesting that the health and longevity benefits of religiosity are restricted to highly religious regions.

Single Parents, Unhappy Parents? Parenthood, Partnership, and the Cultural Normative Context

Although the question of whether parenthood is generally beneficial for well-being is currently being hotly debated in the social sciences, single parents are nearly unanimously assumed to be worse off than their partnered counterparts. The present research questions this finding by demonstrating that whether single parents are actually less happy than partnered parents depends on a country’s cultural norms regarding childbearing practices. Using two large-scale international data sets (the European Values Study [EVS] and the European Social Survey [ESS]) covering altogether 43 countries, we show that only in collectivist countries and countries with a strong two-parent family norm did parenthood negatively affect the life satisfaction and the emotional well-being of single but not partnered (married or cohabiting) individuals. Most notably, the detrimental effect of a country’s social norm of a two-parent family existed even among single parents who did not share this norm themselves.

Solidarity and Social Justice: Effect of Individual Differences in Justice Sensitivity on Solidarity Behaviour

We investigate the effect of individual differences in justice sensitivity (JS) on giving behaviour in a solidarity game, its potential moderators and the underlying psychological mechanisms. In a solidarity game, subjects are asked to make decisions about transferring money to other players in a case in which they win a random draw and the other players lose. The results of four studies showed the following: (1) JS explains a unique portion of variance in the solidarity behaviour, above and beyond other basic personality dimensions (e.g. HEXACO model); (2) its effect does not depend on contextual factors, such as the degree of moral entitlement not to share and the possibility to attribute the recipients’ disadvantage to their own responsibility; and (3) individual differences in the emotions anticipated in response to different outcomes of a random draw and the cognitive interpretation of the allocation situation partially mediate the effect of JS on solidarity behaviour. We also provided the first evidence that JS predicts individual differences in the propensity to take away others’ earnings (antisocial behaviour). The results are discussed with respect to the research on personality as a predictor of prosocial and antisocial behaviour. Copyright

A Longitudinal Analysis of Romantic Relationship Formation The Effect of Prosocial Behavior

In line with the sexual selection for altruism hypothesis, research has shown that men and women typically prefer hypothetical partners who are described as prosocial to otherwise similar individuals. In this study, we consider this hypothesis in the real world by examining whether prosocial behavior conveys actual benefits in terms of real-life mating success. Using a nationally representative annual panel data set, we examine the impact of single individuals’ prosocial behavior on their probabilities of finding a steady partner in the course of the following year. Our results show that single individuals who frequently engaged in prosocial behavior had substantially higher chances of being in a stable relationship the following year. The effect persisted even after accounting for individual differences in the Big Five personality traits and the degree of social involvement.

Married and cohabiting parents’ well-being The effects of a cultural normative context across countries

Research of personal relationships has typically linked childbearing in cohabiting (compared to married) couples to decreased well-being. Using data from 24 European countries, we show that this effect is not universal; rather, it is restricted to countries with a strong social norm that proscribes childbearing in cohabiting unions. We examine two potential mechanisms of this effect; the personal norm (cohabiting parents are worse off because their status deviates from their own expectations) and social norm (cohabiting parents are worse off because they experience external social sanctions, such as social disapproval) mechanisms. Our results provide support for the social norm mechanism. First, the detrimental effect related to a country’s social norm exists even for cohabiting parents who personally favor childbearing in cohabiting couples. Second, in countries with a strong norm against childbearing in cohabiting unions, cohabiting parents feel that they are less respected than married couples, which contributes to lower levels of life satisfaction.