biostudies-literatureKrys KHungarian Scientific Research FundConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnolÓgicoGrantová Agentura cˇeské RepublikyEuropean UnionUniversity of Roma Tre under biannualNarodowe Centrum NaukiData Center of Management Science, National Natural Science Foundation of China – Peking University874-902https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12408936biostudies-literatureUnknown20(5)Psychological science tends to treat subjective well-being and happiness synonymously. We start from the assumption that subjective well-being is more than being happy to ask the fundamental question: What is the <i>ideal</i> level of happiness? From a cross-cultural perspective, we propose that the idealization of attaining maximum levels of happiness may be especially characteristic of Western, educated, industrial, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies but less so for others. Searching for an explanation for why "happiness maximization" might have emerged in these societies, we turn to studies linking cultures to their eco-environmental habitat. We discuss the premise that WEIRD cultures emerged in an exceptionally benign ecological habitat (i.e., faced relatively light existential prePerspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological ScienceHappiness Maximization Is a WEIRD Way of Living.PMC12408936301298/2018-1K-111 789LX22NPO510171873133Grant DSF 2017-20182019/34/H/HS6/0059720-08583SLun VMGorski MBaltin ASirlopu DXing CKosiarczyk Avan Tilburg WAPIgbokwe DOAkotia CSIgou ERVauclair CMBoer DRizwan MDenoux PUchida YLee JHRoysamb EPark JKwiatkowska ANadi ASun CRBarrientos PEStogianni MTeyssier JMaricchiolo FAppoh LMira DMAKrys KMohoric TMurdock EIsık IOkvitawanli APavlopoulos VSchwarz BGarðarsdottir RBZelenski JMAdamovic MSerdarevich URoczniewska MVignoles VLMosca OKascakova NPolackova Solcova IYeung JCNader MKostoula OTorres CHaas BWMustaffa NFRomashov VHitokoto HLiew KMalyonova Avan Osch YKluzova Kracmarova LKocimska-Bortnowska APavlovic ZSargautyte RSelim HAKosakowska-Berezecka NFulop MGavreliuc AEsteves CSWitoszek NDominguez-Espinosa AGamsakhurdia VAlbert IKronberger NWojtczuk-Turek ABond MHSelecka LfalseHappiness Maximization Is a WEIRD Way of Living.Psychological science tends to treat subjective well-being and happiness synonymously. We start from the assumption that subjective well-being is more than being happy to ask the fundamental question: What is the <i>ideal</i> level of happiness? From a cross-cultural perspective, we propose that the idealization of attaining maximum levels of happiness may be especially characteristic of Western, educated, industrial, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies but less so for others. Searching for an explanation for why "happiness maximization" might have emerged in these societies, we turn to studies linking cultures to their eco-environmental habitat. We discuss the premise that WEIRD cultures emerged in an exceptionally benign ecological habitat (i.e., faced relatively light existential pre2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Sep2026-05-29T21:43:30.705Z2026-04-08T06:06:19.951ZS-EPMC124089363835009610.1177/17456916231208367