Respond to at least two of your colleagues posts and explain why you might think otherwise about your colleagues explanation. please be kind in your response one paragraph per student/one reference per student
student 1- Elyssa Frank
Week 8: Discussion 2
Oishi (2018) described that Hindu Indians believe in striving to attain ananda and that ananda is a fragile concept based on the influence of past lives and forfeiting material possessions to satisfy others in their current lives. However, as I read Oishis description, I thought there must be some happiness in-between negative feelings and ananda, which sounded more like eternal bliss than simply a good overall feeling. I learned that Sat-Chit-Ananda is, in fact, an Indian concept that psychologists in India have recently created a scale (Sat-Chit-Ananda scale) to try and measure.
Diener et al. (2018) measured chit, an infinite awareness that illuminates all, by using a Likert scale to measure the degree that participants felt they had responsibility for their speech, feelings, actions, and thoughts (p. 1393). The factor of antahshakti was measured with questions regarding the motivation one has to work toward their goals (Diener et al., 2018). Questions used to measure sat, focused on ones positive outlook toward others (Diener et al., 2018). Ananda, or blissfulness, was measured with questions focused on how one perceives negative happenings in their life (Diener et al., 2018).
American culture also stresses the importance of achieving goals if you work hard for them. It is fundamental to the concept of working for the American dream. And overcoming negativity and focusing on positivity is part of morals expressed in most religious texts throughout the world. What makes Sat-Chit-Ananda in Indian culture different, from my understanding, is that all of these concepts are combined into one concept each individual strives for. It is not only an individual goal but also a social and cultural goal. Therefore, Indian people are not necessarily walking around in a constant state of bliss. Instead, it is a conscious moral guide in everyday life. It is something one strives for. This concept aligns with ideas of reincarnation, in which ananda is not necessarily achieved in ones present life, but it is something to strive for no matter ones physical state. Since reincarnation is not a cultural belief throughout the world, though the concepts of being a good hardworking person are, Sat-Chit-Ananda does not appear in every culture.
References
Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D., Oishi, S., Biswas-Diener, R., Singh, K., Khanna, P., Khosla, M., Rapelly, M., & Soni, A. (2018). Scale of Positive and Negative Experience. Journal of Religion and Health, 57, 13921401.
Oishi, S. (2018). Culture and subjective well-being: Conceptual and measurement issues. In E. Diener, S. Oishi, & L. Tay (Eds.), Handbook of Well-Being. Salt Lake City, UT: DEF Publishers. DOI:nobascholar.com
student 2- RE: Discussion 2 – Week 8
COLLAPSE
In some cultures, a term and measure of happiness is spirituality and spiritual intelligence. This can be related to religion or operate on its own in terms of a system of beliefs that guides an individual. In Eastern cultures, such as Chinese cultures, individuals place an emphasis on spirituality and spiritual manifestation as an influence on happiness (Suh & Koo, 2009). According to Suh and Koo (2009), another aspect that impacts happiness in Chinese culture is the ability to look past and transcend the present time. This allows individuals to form significant connections with both themselves, through looking into themselves, and with others. Further, happiness can encourage and lead to social engagement (Veenhoven, 2010). If spirituality helps an individual to attain this, they may experience the happiness associated with it.
Happiness through spirituality also allows individuals to become in tough with their emotions and have more emotional experiences of significance connected to an individuals self-identity (Suh & Koo, 2009). The difference between this particular influence on happiness between cultures and why it may not appear in every culture is because certain cultures place a greater emphasis on different beliefs and views, and cultures different from Eastern cultures may not value spirituality as highly. This can be due to the fact that some cultures and communities are more individualistic versus those that are collectivist, such as the Chinese culture. Suh and Koo (2009) note that individualism-collectivism are both predictors and have a strong influence on both what individuals belonging to a certain culture consider a part of happiness and well-being. Collectivist cultures, such as Eastern cultures, do tend to also value spirituality. These factors together may account for why spirituality is only seen as an influence of happiness in some cultures. Spirituality and spiritual intelligence can also influence a better quality of life and physical well-being, some cultures believe (Amirian & Fazilat-Pour, 2016). Amirian and Fazilat-Pour (2016) also explain that happiness can refer to how and the extent to which individuals and communities value quality of life. Spirituality and quality of life can be related, and perhaps some cultures believe that having something to believe in spiritually will aid them in a better quality of life, leading to happiness.
References
Amirian, M.-E., & Fazilat-Pour, M. (2016). Simple and multivariate relationships between spiritual intelligence with general health and happiness. Journal of Religion and Health, 55(4), 12751288. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1007/s10943-015-0004-y
Suh, E.M., & Koo, J. (2009). Comparing subjective well-being across cultures and nations: The what and why questions. In M. Eid & R.J. Larsen (Eds.), The science of subjective well-being (414-427). Guilford Press.
Veenhoven, R. (2010). How universal is happiness? In E. Diener, J.F. Helliwell, & D. Kahneman (Eds.), International differences in well-being (328-350). Oxford University Press
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