Beyond God and government: The role of personal control in supporting citizens’ well-being in the face of changing economy and rising inequality

Based on previous theoretical models, the present research investigated three different psychological constructs (religious belief, trust in government, and the experience of personal control) as moderators of the link between country’s economic growth (i.e., Gross Domestic Product) and income inequality (i.e., Gini) on health, happiness, and life satisfaction. Using a large cross-national data set (N = 490,579), we found that personal control predicted health, happiness, and life satisfaction above and beyond reliance on God and trust in government. Religious belief predicted greater health and buffered the negative effect of income inequality on health only in wealthy economies, but yielded negative correlations with health in poor economies. The associations between personal control and trust in government with well-being outcomes were consistently positive across different levels of countries’ GDP and Gini. Further, personal control also served a compensatory function by buffering the negative effect of income inequality in wealthy economies.

[1]  M. Zuckerman,et al.  Religion as an Exchange System: The Interchangeability of God and Government in a Provider Role , 2018, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[2]  Jolanda Jetten,et al.  Advancing the social identity approach to health and well‐being: Progressing the social cure research agenda , 2017 .

[3]  E. Deci,et al.  Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness , 2017 .

[4]  Selin Kesebir,et al.  Income Inequality Explains Why Economic Growth Does Not Always Translate to an Increase in Happiness , 2015, Psychological science.

[5]  Tegan Cruwys,et al.  From "we" to "me": Group identification enhances perceived personal control with consequences for health and well-being. , 2015, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[6]  Kennon M. Sheldon,et al.  Basic psychological need satisfaction, need frustration, and need strength across four cultures , 2015 .

[7]  Aaron C. Kay,et al.  A sense of powerlessness fosters system justification: Implications for the legitimation of authority, hierarchy, and government , 2015 .

[8]  M. Guha.  The Encyclopedia of Peace Psychology , 2012 .

[9]  J. Jost,et al.  System justification theory , 2011 .

[10]  D. Myers,et al.  The religion paradox: if religion makes people happy, why are so many dropping out? , 2011, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[11]  Aaron C. Kay,et al.  For God (or) country: the hydraulic relation between government instability and belief in religious sources of control. , 2010, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[12]  D. Wegner,et al.  Blaming God for Our Pain: Human Suffering and the Divine Mind , 2010, Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

[13]  Adam D. Galinsky,et al.  Compensatory Control , 2009 .

[14]  Richard G. Wilkinson,et al.  Income Inequality and Social Dysfunction , 2009 .

[15]  K. Shi,et al.  Transformational Leadership and Employee Well‐Being: The Mediating Role of Trust in the Leader and Self‐Efficacy , 2009 .

[16]  Liesbeth Snoep.  Religiousness and happiness in three nations: a research note , 2008 .

[17]  Axel Dreher,et al.  Does globalization affect growth? Evidence from a new index of globalization , 2006 .

[18]  E. Karademas.  Self-efficacy, social support and well-being The mediating role of optimism , 2006 .

[19]  Richard M. Ryan,et al.  Cultural Context and Psychological Needs in Canada and Brazil , 2005 .

[20]  Brian A. Nosek,et al.  A Decade of System Justification Theory: Accumulated Evidence of Conscious and Unconscious Bolstering of the Status Quo , 2004 .

[21]  D. O'Connor,et al.  Sense of personal control, stress and coping style: a cross‐cultural study , 2002 .

[22]  R. Ryan,et al.  Parent and Teacher Autonomy-Support in Russian and U.S. Adolescents , 2001 .

[23]  P. Magaletta,et al.  The hope construct, will, and ways: their relations with self-efficacy, optimism, and general well-being. , 1999, Journal of clinical psychology.

[24]  Suzanne L. Weaver,et al.  The sense of control as a moderator of social class differences in health and well-being. , 1998, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[25]  G. Sadri.  A study of agentic self‐efficacy and agentic competence across Britain and the USA , 1996 .

[26]  Paul E. Spector,et al.  The contribution of personality traits, negative affectivity, locus of control and Type A to the subsequent reports of job stressors and job strains , 1994 .

[27]  J. Rotter.  Internal versus external control of reinforcement: A case history of a variable. , 1990 .

[28]  Paul E. Spector.  Perceived Control by Employees: A Meta-Analysis of Studies Concerning Autonomy and Participation at Work , 1986 .

[29]  A. Bandura.  Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. , 1977, Psychological review.

[30]  E. Deci,et al.  Supplementary materials to: Beyond God and government: The role of personal control in supporting citizens’ well-being in the face of changing economy and rising inequality , 2020 .

[31]  P. Norris,et al.  Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide , 2004 .

[32]  Cary L. Cooper,et al.  A study of occupational stress, job satisfaction, and quitting intention in Hong Kong firms : the role of locus of control and organizational commitment , 1998 .

[33]  Marcelline R. Fusilier,et al.  Control in the workplace. , 1989 .

[34]  R. Easterlin.  Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot? Some Empirical Evidence , 1974 .

[35]  J. Averill.  Personal control over aversive stimuli and its relationship to stress. , 1973 .