The Impact of the Perceived Physical and Social Environments on Personal Happiness of Residents in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand
Article Sidebar
Keywords:
Perceived Physical Environment Perceived Social Environment Happiness
Main Article Content
Abstract
Existing literature recognizes that physical and social environments are important determinant of happiness. Studies have shown that the perceived environment more influence on happiness than the observed environment. The relationship of perceived physical andsocial environments with personal happiness should be examined inThailand in communities in which there are current development projects. This study aims at examining levels of happiness and their relationshipwith perceived levels of pollution and perceptions about the socialenvironment in Kanchanaburi province, Thailand. The results of the study confirm the hypothesis that a lower perceived level of pollution and a higher perceived level of the social environment increase levels of happiness. The results highlight the need to pay attention to perceived levels of the environment among people in Kanchanaburi communities. Community policies and programs should take these perceptions into account.
Key Words: Perceived Physical Environment, Perceived Social Environment, Happiness
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Article Details
Section
Articles
All rights reserved. Apart from citations for the purposes of research, private study, or criticism and review,no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any other form without prior written permission by the publisher.
References
Baumeister, R.F. and Leary, M.R. (1995) The Need to Belong: Desire for Interpersonal Attachments as a Fundamental Human Motivation”. Psychological Bulletin, 117: 497-529.
Bellebaum, A.and Barheier, K. (eds) (1997) Views on Happiness in Early Sociology. Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen, Germany.
Bhikkhu, B. (1996) Handbook for Mankind. Translated from Thai by Ariyananda Bhikkhu (Roderick S. Bucknell).
Bjornskov, C. (2003) The Happy Few: Cross-country Evidence on Social Capital and Life. Satisfaction. Kyklos, 56: 3-16.
Brief, A.P., Butcher, A.H. George, J.M. and Link, K.E. (1993) Integrating Bottom-up and Top-down Theories of Subjective Well-being: the Case of Health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(4): 646-653.
Bruni, L., Stanca, L. (2008) Watching Alone: Relational Goods, Television and Happiness. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 65 (3-4): 506–528.
Burt, R.S. (1987) A Not on Strangers, Friends and Happiness. Social Network, 9: 311-331.California Energy Commission (2003) Windows and Offices: A Study of Office Worker Performance and the Indoor Environment. Technical Report P500-03-082-A-9.
Chattopadhyay, P.K., Som, B., Mukhopadhyay, P. (1995) Air Pollution and Health Hazards in Human Subjects: Physiological and Self-report Indices. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15: 327-331.
Clark, A.E. and Oswald, A.J. (1994) Unhappiness and Unemployment. Economic Journal, 104: 648-659.
Clark, A.E. and Oswald, A.J. (1996) Satisfaction and Comparison Income. Journal of Public Economics, 61: 359-381.
Deci E.L. and Ryan R.M. (1991) A Motivational Approach to Self: Integration in Personality”, in Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Perspectives on Motivation. ed. R Dienstbier, 38: 237-88. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Diamond, J. (2005) Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succedd. Viking Press, New York.
Diener, E., Suh, E. (1997) Measuring Quality of Life: Economic, Social, and Subjective Indicators. Social Indicators Research, 40(1-2), 189-216.
Evan, G.W., Colome, S.D., Shearer, D.F. (1988) Psychological Reaction to Air Pollution. Environmental Research, 45(1): 1-15.
Evans, G. W., Wells, N. M., Moch, A. (2003) Housing and Mental Health: A Review of the Evidence and a Methodological and Conceptual Critique. Journal of Social Issues, 59(3): 475–500.
Fiori, K. L., Antonucci, T. C., Cortina, K. S. (2006) Social NetworkTypologies and Mental Health among Older Adults: A Replication Journal of Gerontology. Psychological Sciences, 61B: 25-32.
Frey, B.S., Stutzer, A. (2002) Happiness and Economics: How the Economy and Institutions Affect Human Well-being. Princeton University Press.
Helliwell, J.F. (2001) Social Capital, the Economy and Well-Being. In K. Banting, A. Sharpe and F. St-Hilaire (eds.), The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress. The Longest Decade: Canada in the 1990s. Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy.
Helliwell, J.F., Putnam, R.D. (2004) The Social Context of Well-being. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 359: 1435-1446.
Israel, D., Levinson, A. (2003) Examining the Relationship between Household Satisfaction and Pollution. Indiana State University.
Kanchanapan, A. (2001) Village in Thai Society: Argument of Thinking. ed. Santisuk Sophonsiri. The Culture of Society and Community. Children Foundation Press, Bangkok. [in Thai]
Kannika, N. (2009) Investigating Gross Domestic Happiness in Thailand. Paper in The World Association for Public Opinion Research, The University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Kellert, S., E.O. Wilson. (1993) The Biophilia Hypothesis. Washington, DC, Island Press/Shearwater.
Koelega, H. S. (1987) Environmental Annoyance: Characterization Measurement and Control. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers.
Land, K.C., Lamb, V. L., Mustillo, S. K. (2001) Child and Youth Well-being in the United States, 1975–1998: Some Findings from a New Index. Social Indicators Research, 56: 241–320.
Mallard, A.G.C., Lancd, C.E., Michalos, A.C. (1997) Culture as a Moderator of Overall Life Satisfaction-Life Facet Satisfaction Relationships. Social Indicators Research, 40(3): 259-284.
MacKerron, G., Mourato, S. (2009) Life satisfaction and air quality in London. Ecological Economics, 68: 1441 – 1453.
Michalos, A.C., Anita, M.H., Bruno, D.Z., Dawn, H. (2001) Health and Other Aspects of the Quality of Life of Older People. Social Indicators Research, 54: 239–274.
National Statistical Office, (2010) Annual Statistical Data. [Online URL: https://service.nso.go.th/nso/nsopublish/servGis/Report_stat/1_5.htm] assessed on September 9, 2011.
Pholphirul, P. and Rakamnuaykit, P., (2007) Happiness from Social Capital: An Investigation from Kanchanaburi Data, Multidimensional Perspectives of Well-being among Thai Prople, Charansanitwong Publishing: Bangkok. [in Thai]
Putnam, R.D., (1995) Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital. Journal of Democracy, 6 (1): 65–78.
Putnam, R. (2000) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Rangel, A. (2003) Forward and Backward Generational Goods: Why is Social Security Good for the Environment? American Economics Review, 93(3): 813-824.
Rehdanz, K., Maddison, D. (2005) Climate and Happiness. Ecological Economics, 52 (1): 25–111.
Mahaarcha50Rehdanz, K., Maddison, D., (2008) Local Environmental Quality and Life-Satisfaction in Germany. Ecological Economics64, 787–797.
Ryff, C.D., Singer, B. (2000) Interpersonal Flourishing: A Positive Health Agenda for the New Millennium. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 4: 30-44.
Smyth, R., Mishra, V., Qian, X. (2008) The Environment and Well-Being in Urban China. Ecological Economics, 68(1-2): 547-555.
Stansfeld, S., Haines, M., Brown, B. (2000) Noise and Health in the Urban Environment. Reviews on Environmental Health, 15: 43-82.
Steptoe, A., Feldman, P. J. (2001) Neighborhood Problems as Sources of Chronic Stress: Development of a Measure of Neighborhood Problems, and Associations with Socio-economic Status and Health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 23: 177–185.
Stiffman, A. R., Hadley-Ives, E., Elze, D., Johnson, S., Dore, P. (1999) Impact of Environment on Adolescent Mental Health and Behavior: Structural Equation Modeling. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 69(1): 73–86.
Stokols, D., I. Altman. (1987) Handbook of Environmental Psychology.New York: Wiley.
Suh, E., Diener, E., Fujita, F. (1996) Events and Subjective Well-being: Only Recent Events Matter. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(5): 1091-1102.
Ulrich, R.S., (1984) View through a Window may Influence Recovery from Surgery. Science, 224 (4647): 420–421.
van Praag, B.M.S., Baarsma, B.E., (2005) Using Happiness Surveys to Value Intangibles: The Case of Airport Noise. The Economic Journal, 115 (500): 224–246.
Veenhoven, R. (1991) Is Happiness Relative? Social Indicators Research, 24: 1-34.
Veenhoven, R. (1997) Advances in Understanding Happiness. Revue Quebecoise de Psychologie, 18(1): 29-74.
Veenhoven, R. (2009) Greater Happiness for a Greater Number: Is that Possible and Desirable? Journal of Happiness Studies, 11(5): 605-629.
Welsch, H. (2002) Preferences over Prosperity and Pollution: Environmental Valuation based on Happiness Surveys. Kyklos, 55: 473-494.
Welsch, H. (2006) Environment and Happiness: Valuation of Air Pollution Using Life Satisfaction Data. Ecological Economics, 58 (2006): 801–813.
Wilson, E.O. (1993) Biophilia and the Conservation Ethic. In: Kellert, S.R. Wilson, E.O. (Eds). The Biophilia Hypothesis. Island Press, Washington, DC, 31-41.
Wimkel, G., Saegert, S., Evans, G.W. (2009) An Ecological Perspective on Theory, Methods, and Analysis in Environmental Psychology: Advances and Challenges. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29: 318-328.
Bellebaum, A.and Barheier, K. (eds) (1997) Views on Happiness in Early Sociology. Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen, Germany.
Bhikkhu, B. (1996) Handbook for Mankind. Translated from Thai by Ariyananda Bhikkhu (Roderick S. Bucknell).
Bjornskov, C. (2003) The Happy Few: Cross-country Evidence on Social Capital and Life. Satisfaction. Kyklos, 56: 3-16.
Brief, A.P., Butcher, A.H. George, J.M. and Link, K.E. (1993) Integrating Bottom-up and Top-down Theories of Subjective Well-being: the Case of Health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(4): 646-653.
Bruni, L., Stanca, L. (2008) Watching Alone: Relational Goods, Television and Happiness. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 65 (3-4): 506–528.
Burt, R.S. (1987) A Not on Strangers, Friends and Happiness. Social Network, 9: 311-331.California Energy Commission (2003) Windows and Offices: A Study of Office Worker Performance and the Indoor Environment. Technical Report P500-03-082-A-9.
Chattopadhyay, P.K., Som, B., Mukhopadhyay, P. (1995) Air Pollution and Health Hazards in Human Subjects: Physiological and Self-report Indices. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15: 327-331.
Clark, A.E. and Oswald, A.J. (1994) Unhappiness and Unemployment. Economic Journal, 104: 648-659.
Clark, A.E. and Oswald, A.J. (1996) Satisfaction and Comparison Income. Journal of Public Economics, 61: 359-381.
Deci E.L. and Ryan R.M. (1991) A Motivational Approach to Self: Integration in Personality”, in Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Perspectives on Motivation. ed. R Dienstbier, 38: 237-88. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Diamond, J. (2005) Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succedd. Viking Press, New York.
Diener, E., Suh, E. (1997) Measuring Quality of Life: Economic, Social, and Subjective Indicators. Social Indicators Research, 40(1-2), 189-216.
Evan, G.W., Colome, S.D., Shearer, D.F. (1988) Psychological Reaction to Air Pollution. Environmental Research, 45(1): 1-15.
Evans, G. W., Wells, N. M., Moch, A. (2003) Housing and Mental Health: A Review of the Evidence and a Methodological and Conceptual Critique. Journal of Social Issues, 59(3): 475–500.
Fiori, K. L., Antonucci, T. C., Cortina, K. S. (2006) Social NetworkTypologies and Mental Health among Older Adults: A Replication Journal of Gerontology. Psychological Sciences, 61B: 25-32.
Frey, B.S., Stutzer, A. (2002) Happiness and Economics: How the Economy and Institutions Affect Human Well-being. Princeton University Press.
Helliwell, J.F. (2001) Social Capital, the Economy and Well-Being. In K. Banting, A. Sharpe and F. St-Hilaire (eds.), The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress. The Longest Decade: Canada in the 1990s. Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy.
Helliwell, J.F., Putnam, R.D. (2004) The Social Context of Well-being. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 359: 1435-1446.
Israel, D., Levinson, A. (2003) Examining the Relationship between Household Satisfaction and Pollution. Indiana State University.
Kanchanapan, A. (2001) Village in Thai Society: Argument of Thinking. ed. Santisuk Sophonsiri. The Culture of Society and Community. Children Foundation Press, Bangkok. [in Thai]
Kannika, N. (2009) Investigating Gross Domestic Happiness in Thailand. Paper in The World Association for Public Opinion Research, The University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Kellert, S., E.O. Wilson. (1993) The Biophilia Hypothesis. Washington, DC, Island Press/Shearwater.
Koelega, H. S. (1987) Environmental Annoyance: Characterization Measurement and Control. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers.
Land, K.C., Lamb, V. L., Mustillo, S. K. (2001) Child and Youth Well-being in the United States, 1975–1998: Some Findings from a New Index. Social Indicators Research, 56: 241–320.
Mallard, A.G.C., Lancd, C.E., Michalos, A.C. (1997) Culture as a Moderator of Overall Life Satisfaction-Life Facet Satisfaction Relationships. Social Indicators Research, 40(3): 259-284.
MacKerron, G., Mourato, S. (2009) Life satisfaction and air quality in London. Ecological Economics, 68: 1441 – 1453.
Michalos, A.C., Anita, M.H., Bruno, D.Z., Dawn, H. (2001) Health and Other Aspects of the Quality of Life of Older People. Social Indicators Research, 54: 239–274.
National Statistical Office, (2010) Annual Statistical Data. [Online URL: https://service.nso.go.th/nso/nsopublish/servGis/Report_stat/1_5.htm] assessed on September 9, 2011.
Pholphirul, P. and Rakamnuaykit, P., (2007) Happiness from Social Capital: An Investigation from Kanchanaburi Data, Multidimensional Perspectives of Well-being among Thai Prople, Charansanitwong Publishing: Bangkok. [in Thai]
Putnam, R.D., (1995) Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital. Journal of Democracy, 6 (1): 65–78.
Putnam, R. (2000) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Rangel, A. (2003) Forward and Backward Generational Goods: Why is Social Security Good for the Environment? American Economics Review, 93(3): 813-824.
Rehdanz, K., Maddison, D. (2005) Climate and Happiness. Ecological Economics, 52 (1): 25–111.
Mahaarcha50Rehdanz, K., Maddison, D., (2008) Local Environmental Quality and Life-Satisfaction in Germany. Ecological Economics64, 787–797.
Ryff, C.D., Singer, B. (2000) Interpersonal Flourishing: A Positive Health Agenda for the New Millennium. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 4: 30-44.
Smyth, R., Mishra, V., Qian, X. (2008) The Environment and Well-Being in Urban China. Ecological Economics, 68(1-2): 547-555.
Stansfeld, S., Haines, M., Brown, B. (2000) Noise and Health in the Urban Environment. Reviews on Environmental Health, 15: 43-82.
Steptoe, A., Feldman, P. J. (2001) Neighborhood Problems as Sources of Chronic Stress: Development of a Measure of Neighborhood Problems, and Associations with Socio-economic Status and Health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 23: 177–185.
Stiffman, A. R., Hadley-Ives, E., Elze, D., Johnson, S., Dore, P. (1999) Impact of Environment on Adolescent Mental Health and Behavior: Structural Equation Modeling. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 69(1): 73–86.
Stokols, D., I. Altman. (1987) Handbook of Environmental Psychology.New York: Wiley.
Suh, E., Diener, E., Fujita, F. (1996) Events and Subjective Well-being: Only Recent Events Matter. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(5): 1091-1102.
Ulrich, R.S., (1984) View through a Window may Influence Recovery from Surgery. Science, 224 (4647): 420–421.
van Praag, B.M.S., Baarsma, B.E., (2005) Using Happiness Surveys to Value Intangibles: The Case of Airport Noise. The Economic Journal, 115 (500): 224–246.
Veenhoven, R. (1991) Is Happiness Relative? Social Indicators Research, 24: 1-34.
Veenhoven, R. (1997) Advances in Understanding Happiness. Revue Quebecoise de Psychologie, 18(1): 29-74.
Veenhoven, R. (2009) Greater Happiness for a Greater Number: Is that Possible and Desirable? Journal of Happiness Studies, 11(5): 605-629.
Welsch, H. (2002) Preferences over Prosperity and Pollution: Environmental Valuation based on Happiness Surveys. Kyklos, 55: 473-494.
Welsch, H. (2006) Environment and Happiness: Valuation of Air Pollution Using Life Satisfaction Data. Ecological Economics, 58 (2006): 801–813.
Wilson, E.O. (1993) Biophilia and the Conservation Ethic. In: Kellert, S.R. Wilson, E.O. (Eds). The Biophilia Hypothesis. Island Press, Washington, DC, 31-41.
Wimkel, G., Saegert, S., Evans, G.W. (2009) An Ecological Perspective on Theory, Methods, and Analysis in Environmental Psychology: Advances and Challenges. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29: 318-328.