Pursuit of Happiness
PSY/224

Happiness can be defined in many ways. Everyone has their own perspective of what happiness is and how to achieve the emotion. Textbook definitions of happiness suggests that happiness is state of well-being and is an intense feeling. To some people happiness is found in material things while another will feel the emotion for simply having good health. Is it possible for an individual’s culture to influence what he or she believes to bring happiness? The answer to this question is what makes the world fascinating and thought-provoking. When one’s specific desire is fulfilled, feelings of happiness flourish. Therefore, happiness is the ultimate goal in life for many people in today’s society because their life revolves around desire. The paradox of affluence can be seen throughout America. People are in despair between the material well-being perception of happiness and the psychological perception of happiness (Baumgardner & Crothers, 2009).
That said, everyone’s interpretation of happiness varies. For example; the American culture is bombarded with technology that is continuously progressing and the emphasis on the way to achieve happiness in American culture is misguided. It is important to note that the way happiness is portrayed for example in the United States, the portrait of the perfect family, the perfect job, and no problems everybody looks happy; this would be a stereotype of what happiness looks like. From what I know, we’re happy when we have what we are looking for, according to that, happiness can be defined as a feeling of satisfaction that appears once we achieve a goal, and as humans are by definition eternally dissatisfied, they’ll always be running after happiness. This reminds me of the story of the jar full of gold, which is supposed to be at the feet of each rainbow; children have been running for years to reach the feet of the rainbow, and no one ever succeeded. Are the cultural influences on happiness the same from the perspective of an American or Asian? The American culture is considered to be individualistic while Asian culture is collectivist (Baumgardner & Crothers, 2009). In the American culture an individual places value on his or her independence, choice, and responsibilities. The Asian culture is a lot less independent. Within the Asian culture an individual places value on gaining their personal identity through the connections they develop and by his or her social role. There is emphasis on social harmony and not diversity. To elaborate on the differences: An American is likely to identify himself or herself as an individual by stating, “I am sexy”. An Asian would likely define himself or herself collectively by association, such as “I am a one of six siblings”.
In the Asian culture there is less emphasis on individual happiness. American culture encourages emotional expression and pride while Asian culture encourages less sense of emotion, and pride that results from a group success as opposed to an individual accomplishment. In contrast to Americans perspective of happiness, the Asian perspective does not focus so much on having a happy, satisfying life (Baumgardner & Crothers, 2009). According to subjective well-being criteria, Asian people are less likely to express emotion freely because of normative expectation. To an American the oppression of expressing emotion may seem like a form of control. However, the Asian culture views this as a means of encouraging sympathetic relationships toward others and the foundation for harmonious socialization.
When it comes to the feeling of happiness there are no borders. Regardless of Asian or American culture, happiness exists. Each culture clearly has a different perception of what happiness is and the means by which this elusive feeling can be achieved. From the contents of this report there is clarity as to which culture focuses on “me” and which one strives for “we”. After all, American culture is deemed individualistic and Asian culture is considered as collectiveness in the pursuit of happiness.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” wrote Thomas Jefferson when he was crafting the Declaration of Independence. Happiness is not a guarantee, regardless of where you live. We all live out an illusion of happiness until some catastrophic event bursts through, destroying that illusion and forcing us to face what truly defines happiness — what truly defines us. Each of us will suffer in countless ways through times of grief, tragedy, uncertainty and fear. The foundations of our core values, if we are fortunate, will be challenged deeply enough to compel us to examine who we are and what we believe.

References
Baumgardner, S. R., & Crothers, M. K. (2009). Positive Psychology. Retrieved from University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.