Friday 24 July 11:25
- 12:55
Hall: 28 - Room 6 SPT
Chair:
Suzuki Hanako
Discussant:
Zhou Yiheng
Division: Division 16: Counseling Psychology
The purpose of this symposium is to bring in the perspectives that affect the conceptualization of well-being among individuals, groups, and communities in Africa and Asia, to examine different variables that may relate to the definitions and constructs of well-being, and to propose culturally attuned and ethically sound use of psychological theory, research, and/or practice.
Well-being has been defined as "a positive state experienced by individuals and societies... a resource for daily life and is determined by social, economic and environmental conditions" (WHO, 2021). Attempts to define constructs of well-being has been made in Western countries and those constructs have been widely used in psychological research in non-Western countries; however, whether the Western constructs fully apply and are appropriate to non-Western contexts are not yet clear. The constructs of well-being in Western societies includes individualistically focused self and achievement, such as autonomy, environmental mastery, achievement, and positive emotion (e.g. Ryff, 1989; Seligman, 2011), whereas research in non-Western countries shows that factors related to interpersonal relationships and environments are integral part of individual and community well-being, such as connections to nature and ancestors as well as traditional rituals (e.g. Asatsa et al., 2025; McLachlan et al., 2021).
In this symposium, the presenters will talk about various social, cultural, economic, historical factors to be considered when talking about well-being in Kenya, Malaysia, South Africa, and South Korea. The discussant will tie the presentations with the framework on 'ethical practice in the majority world (Zhou, 2025)' to provide critical lens on examining the use of Western-constructed psychological concepts in non-Western parts of the world.
