Rethinking the Route to Success and Well-being: Cross-Cultural Impact of Extrinsic-Intrinsic Success Beliefs and Identity on Subjective and Psychological Well-being between Korea and New Zealand

With the belief that extrinsic success is the key to happiness, Koreans persistently strive for extrinsically successful lives to the detriment of their well-being. Nevertheless, recent concerns as to the low level of well-being in Korea have led to questions about the pursuit of success. This doctoral dissertation examined (a) the levels of extrinsic-intrinsic success beliefs and subjective and psychological well-being and (b) how extrinsic-intrinsic success beliefs and Korean and/or New Zealand identity influence well-being in two different cultures (i.e., Korea and New Zealand). In Study One, interviews and Q-sort activities conducted with 20 Koreans and European New Zealanders (Pākehā) in Korea and New Zealand showed that the cultural and personal standards of success in Korea were more extrinsically focused and less diverse than those in New Zealand. In Study Two, a new success belief measure with 12 different success indicators was developed. In Study Three, a cross-sectional online survey was conducted with a total of 3,714 Korean and Pākehā from three groups (i.e., Koreans in Korea, Koreans in New Zealand, and Pākehā in New Zealand). This study confirmed the validity of the measurement models for success, identity, and well-being with confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modelling revealed the positive impact of intrinsic success beliefs and the negative or zero impact of extrinsic success on both types of well-being across the three comparison groups. Also identified were separate models for how Korean and/or New Zealand identity and success importance factors explained variance in their well-being. This thesis shows that differences in individuals’ success beliefs are associated with differences in cultural context and that success beliefs and identity influence subjective and psychological well-being.