4 ms·

As someone living in Norway who has been quite interested in the subject and read a lot about it. My understanding is that nordic countries tend to come at the

As someone living in Norway who has been quite interested in the subject and read a lot about it. My understanding is that nordic countries tend to come at the top, not because people are jumping around with joy in the streets. More likely to find that in South America or Africa. Nordic happiness is a mild happiness. It is really about having few people very dissatisfied with life rather than having super happy people. There is little of the social conflict, poverty, health problems etc which plague many other countries. That is what these things measure. Latin American countries would typically get pulled down because there is a signifiant portion of people who don't have very nice lives. This is what I've heard from foreigners living in northern Europe. They notice that there are very few people you observe who look genuinely dissatisfied with their life.

aedron 10y ago
Very true. I bet Scandinavia ranks highest in 'average happiness', but much lower in 'peak happiness', if that makes sense. There is a kind of oppressive atmosphere here where you are expected to subdue yourself, like it is a sin to stick out in a positive way (how dare you make the rest of us feel worse off with your success).
- jamesblonde 10y ago
  That oppresive cultural phenomenom you refer to is called 'modesty' (Jantelag in Sweden - Jante's law). I also experience it in rural ireland - 'dont get too big for your boots', 'dont let it go to his/her head' (although rank selfishness is still socially acceptable in catholic rural ireland as long as you make up for it with by being a 'character'). Selfishness doesn't fly in Sweden. Modesty plays an important role in social cohesion, as studies show that relative wealth, not absolute wealth is important in how people feel about themselves.
  - digi_owl 10y ago
    > (Jantelag in Sweden - Jante's law) Please don't. That was the creation of one author that was a bit of a grump to put it mildly. Also, he formulated that in the 1930s.
- dguaraglia 10y ago
  I concur with jamesblonde. American culture is very particular in that it encourages bragging and self-aggrandizing as a good character trait. It takes a while to get used to that when moving to the US. As a simple example a very good friend of mine had issues with interviewing for jobs because she'd understate her achievements. She'd be asked "so what's your experience with Photoshop and Illustrator" and she'd say "well, I've used them a lot and I'm comfortable with them." An American with half her experience would confidently say "I'm an expert." It took a lot of cajoling to get her to be less modest - at least while interviewing.
  - ConceptJunkie 10y ago
    I've been told before that I understate my skills and capabilities in my resume, but I state things to a degree that I'm comfortable with. I think the problem arises from most resumes being BS, so if your resume doesn't claim you have 20 years experience in a 5-year-old technology, etc., recruiters probably think you're a complete loser. Well, that and the fact that most recruiters don't seem to have the reading comprehension of a dead badger...
JamilD 10y ago
That's in line with the question that was asked: "The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?" Which has an implicit assumption that happiness = living your "best possible life". There are definitely people in Africa, Latin America, etc, who recognize they may have better prospects elsewhere, but if they're content with where they are… isn't that happiness too?

aedron 10y ago

Very true. I bet Scandinavia ranks highest in 'average happiness', but much lower in 'peak happiness', if that makes sense. There is a kind of oppressive atmosphere here where you are expected to subdue yourself, like it is a sin to stick out in a positive way (how dare you make the rest of us feel worse off with your success).

jamesblonde 10y ago
That oppresive cultural phenomenom you refer to is called 'modesty' (Jantelag in Sweden - Jante's law). I also experience it in rural ireland - 'dont get too big for your boots', 'dont let it go to his/her head' (although rank selfishness is still socially acceptable in catholic rural ireland as long as you make up for it with by being a 'character'). Selfishness doesn't fly in Sweden. Modesty plays an important role in social cohesion, as studies show that relative wealth, not absolute wealth is important in how people feel about themselves.
- digi_owl 10y ago
  > (Jantelag in Sweden - Jante's law) Please don't. That was the creation of one author that was a bit of a grump to put it mildly. Also, he formulated that in the 1930s.
dguaraglia 10y ago
I concur with jamesblonde. American culture is very particular in that it encourages bragging and self-aggrandizing as a good character trait. It takes a while to get used to that when moving to the US. As a simple example a very good friend of mine had issues with interviewing for jobs because she'd understate her achievements. She'd be asked "so what's your experience with Photoshop and Illustrator" and she'd say "well, I've used them a lot and I'm comfortable with them." An American with half her experience would confidently say "I'm an expert." It took a lot of cajoling to get her to be less modest - at least while interviewing.
- ConceptJunkie 10y ago
  I've been told before that I understate my skills and capabilities in my resume, but I state things to a degree that I'm comfortable with. I think the problem arises from most resumes being BS, so if your resume doesn't claim you have 20 years experience in a 5-year-old technology, etc., recruiters probably think you're a complete loser. Well, that and the fact that most recruiters don't seem to have the reading comprehension of a dead badger...

JamilD 10y ago

That's in line with the question that was asked: "The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?" Which has an implicit assumption that happiness = living your "best possible life". There are definitely people in Africa, Latin America, etc, who recognize they may have better prospects elsewhere, but if they're content with where they are… isn't that happiness too?