Inglehart's Measurement of Happiness

In a recently concluded analysis, Ronald Inglehart has led an investigation that has had the goal to measure global happiness. He found that Denmark, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada and Sweden were the 10 happiest countries in the world. What is only briefly reported in the media is the method used. Inglehart has constructed an index based on two questions, that should reflect happiness and life satisfaction:

1) "Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, rather happy, not very happy, not at all happy?"
2) "All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?"

This is not the first time Inglehart has attempted to answer big questions by asking few questions. He is both well known and much criticized for this, but as the research is time consuming and expensive, it would be hard to ask more questions than what was done in this study. Still, it should be more widely discussed what this study actually says, and whether you should visit Denmark thinking they must be more happy than you. The study clearly depends strongly on personal interpretation, but cultural differences and social expectations may also play a role.

The interpretation of the questions may vary from person to person, both within countries and across borders. What does "very happy" mean, and how can I decide whether I am very happy or rather happy? I have probably been unhappy too, but was I not very happy or not at all happy? And how can I take all things together, especially with someone on the phone asking me to do that - and quick. I get confused when trying to make sense out of it now, but in a brief moment, Inglehart expects me to sum up everything in my life and check if everything is great, and then I need to decide which of these I really am.
But if he called me and asked me, I would answer, and I would answer quick. And so would everyone else - without thinking all that much about it.

But while this question is a question it is easy to give an answer to, it is not obvious that the answer given is the right one. And it is even harder when cultural differences is taken into the count. How does someone in Zimbabwe interpret "very happy", and is that the same interpretation as someone in Denmark would give? And are people in Zimbabwe used to being asked whether they are very happy or rather happy? Does that make sense to people who might not be as used to polls and those in the western part of the world?

Even among countries considered to be similar, there might be differences. I believe that people in Denmark, Ireland and Northern Ireland are somewhat similar. They are all warm and they might be more inclined to say they are very happy, than people in other countries. Finland, on the other hand, is very different. People there are honest, but they might also be more moderate. And moderation might also be higher in Sweden and Norway, which are traditional social democratic countries where moderation is seen as a virtue. Could the people in these countries be more inclined to answer that they are rather happy?

Social expectations might also make the answers more positive than what they are. Of course, the researcher can stress that answers are anonymous and there are also other things that can be done to make the study more reliable, but a researcher can never remove all doubt. It could be that the reason democratic countries top the list is not because people are happy, but rather that people claim they are happy to the researcher because they feel they should be happy. If you have a good job, enough money, friends, what reasons do you have to not be happy?

It should also be noted that Inglehart might have expected this, since he claims there is a close connection between democracy and happiness. That conclusion is obviously drawn based on the study, but could it be that the study is designed so that democratic countries will end up on top? I don't know, but what I do know is that I will visit Denmark shortly. Maybe I should ask them if they are very happy or rather happy?