Belief in a zero-sum game and subjective well-being across 35 countries

This article presents a short research report on the relationship between perceived antagonism in social relations measured using the Belief in a Zero-Sum Game (BZSG) scale, life satisfaction, and positive and negative affect. Given that individuals who believe that life is like a zero-sum game are...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) Vol. 40; no. 7; pp. 3575 - 3584
Main Authors:	Różycka-Tran, Joanna, Piotrowski, Jarosław P., Żemojtel-Piotrowska, Magdalena, Jurek, Paweł, Osin, Evgeny N., Adams, Byron G., Ardi, Rahkman, Bălțătescu, Sergiu, Bhomi, Arbinda Lal, Bogomaz, Sergey A., Cieciuch, Jan, Clinton, Amanda, de Clunie, Gisela T., Czarna, Anna Z., Esteves, Carla Sofia, Gouveia, Valdiney, Halik, Murnizam H. J., Kachatryan, Narine, Kamble, Shanmukh Vasant, Kawula, Anna, Klicperova-Baker, Martina, Kospakov, Aituar, Letovancova, Eva, Lun, Vivian Miu-Chi, Cerrato, Sara Malo, Muehlbacher, Stephan, Nikolic, Marija, Pankratova, Alina A., Park, Joonha, Paspalanova, Elena, Pék, Győző, de León, Pablo Pérez, Šolcová, Iva Poláčková, Shahbaz, Wahab, Ha, Truong Thi Khanh, Tiliouine, Habib, Van Hiel, Alain, Vauclair, Christin-Melanie, Wills-Herrera, Eduardo, Włodarczyk, Anna, Yahiiaiev, Illia I., Maltby, John
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	New York Springer US 01-07-2021 Springer Springer Nature B.V Springer Verlag
Subjects:	Behavioral Science and Psychology Culture Ethnopsychology Game theory Humanities and Social Sciences Hypotheses Interpersonal relations Psychological aspects Psychological research Psychology Quality of life Social Sciences Poland Subjective well-being Belief in a zero-sum game SWLS MML Belief in a zero-sum game Subjective well-being SWLS MML
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Summary:	This article presents a short research report on the relationship between perceived antagonism in social relations measured using the Belief in a Zero-Sum Game (BZSG) scale, life satisfaction, and positive and negative affect. Given that individuals who believe that life is like a zero-sum game are likely to perceive their daily interactions with others as unfair, we expected that individuals with high BZSG experience more negative affect and fewer positive one, resulting in a lower satisfaction with life. In addition, we examined whether country-level BZSG may play a moderating role in these associations. Data were collected from student samples ( N = 7146) in 35 countries. Multilevel modelling revealed that perceived social antagonism in social relations is negatively associated with satisfaction with life and that this relationship is mediated by both positive and negative affect at the individual level. The relation of individual BZSG and negative affect on satisfaction with life were weaker in societies with higher country-level BZSG, suggesting that the effects of BZSG may be less detrimental in these countries. These findings extend previous knowledge about predictors of life satisfaction and suggest that social beliefs might also be an important factor that influences subjective well-being. The contribution of the study is that the separate treatment of life satisfaction and positive and negative affect may be helpful in many research situations, particularly from a cross-cultural perspective.
ISSN:	1046-1310 1936-4733
DOI:	10.1007/s12144-019-00291-0