Exploring the Happiness Curve in Diverse Societies: Are Rural Populations Exempt from Midlife Slumps?
Re-examining the Happiness Curve: Insights from Rural and Subsistence Societies
The "U-shaped" happiness curve, where happiness levels are high in youth, dip during middle age, and rise again in later years, has been a popular theory in psychology. The theory, derived largely from studies in Western, urbanized societies, suggests that people experience a midlife slump before experiencing a period of renewed contentment in later years. However, new research challenges this model by examining the happiness trajectories of rural, subsistence-oriented populations, revealing that happiness curves vary widely across different societies.
Rethinking the Universal "U-Shaped" Happiness Curve
In industrialized, wealthy societies, the happiness curve tends to follow a predictable path: happiness is high in youth, declines during the pressures of middle age, and increases in later life as people find greater contentment with their circumstances. This curve has been cited widely as evidence of a universal pattern in human well-being.
Yet according to UC Santa Barbara anthropologist Michael Gurven, this pattern may not be as universal as once believed. Gurven says,
"If you have a preconceived notion that happiness will follow a certain trajectory...and it turns out to be wrong or even opposite in many places, that has big implications for global health.”
The full study is available in Science Advances1, where Gurven and his team detail the methodology and implications of their research on well-being in non-industrialized societies.
This variability becomes particularly relevant as the world population ages and nations address issues of elder care and global health.
Challenging the Happiness Curve with Cross-Cultural Research
A Global Look at Well-Being
Gurven and his team analyzed well-being across non-industrialized societies using data from three sources. These sources included Indigenous groups like the Tsimane horticulturalists in the Bolivian Amazon and cross-sectional data from forest users in low-income countries, with a focus on rural subsistence communities.
Together, these studies revealed surprising patterns. Instead of a consistent U-shaped curve, the researchers often found flat or even inverted U-shapes, with well-being increasing into middle age and declining in older years. This trend was linked to factors like physical health and community engagement, which play a crucial role in subjective well-being in these societies.
Factors Influencing Happiness in Subsistence Societies
According to the study,
"only sporadic evidence for both a midlife slump and a U-shaped relationship between subjective well-being and age"
…was found. The researchers observed that happiness in rural subsistence societies often depends on one's ability to contribute to the community and support their family through physical labor, especially since these societies lack the safety nets present in industrialized countries. Gurven explains,
"They're using their bodies to generate income, and so a healthy body is needed to make a living.”
As physical ability declines with age, happiness also tends to decrease—a pattern differing from urban societies, where individuals can rely on social and financial support systems.
The WEIRD Bias in Psychological Research
The findings emphasize a broader issue in psychology, commonly known as the WEIRD problem. Much of psychological research has historically drawn on samples from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) populations, often leading to generalized theories that may not apply globally. The U-shaped happiness curve is an example of such an assumption that may not hold true universally. Gurven notes,
"The idea of U-shaped happiness came out of studies from urban nations of the Global North.”
Despite broader research in well-being across over a hundred countries, most participants in these studies are from urban, connected populations, not rural subsistence societies.
Implications for Global Health and Aging
As global populations age, understanding cultural differences in well-being trajectories is crucial for addressing health and happiness in diverse societies. In industrialized regions, access to healthcare and social security often allows older adults to maintain quality of life despite physical decline. In contrast, subsistence societies rely on physical ability for livelihood, making aging a more significant factor in reduced happiness. Gurven concludes,
"To help ensure equity in healthy aging, we really need to better understand and monitor the overall quality of life of older people everywhere.”
Studies like this one offer a more nuanced understanding of well-being across societies and point to the importance of addressing unique needs in global health policy.
Conclusion
This research sheds light on the cultural and ecological factors that shape happiness and calls into question the universality of the U-shaped happiness curve. For anthropologists, psychologists, and policymakers, these findings underscore the importance of diverse cultural contexts in understanding well-being, particularly as societies around the world grapple with the challenges of aging populations.
Gurven, M., Buoro, Y., Rodriguez, D. E., Sayre, K., Trumble, B., Pyhälä, A., Kaplan, H., Angelsen, A., Stieglitz, J., & Reyes-García, V. (2024). Subjective well-being across the life course among non-industrialized populations. Science Advances, 10(43). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ado0952