Abstract Happiness is a widely used measure of subjective well-being, often assessed through a single survey item (e.g., “How happy are you these days?”) in global social surveys. However, variations in response scale design across surveys complicate comparisons of happiness both within and across countries. To examine the impact of response scale design on happiness ratings, we analyzed data from 34 interviewer-administered (mostly face-to-face) national probability-based surveys conducted in China, spanning six survey programs and comprising approximately half a million responses. We focused on three key scale design features that varied across surveys: scale direction, presence or absence of a midpoint, and scale length. To enable meaningful comparisons across surveys with different scale lengths, we standardized self-reported happiness scores using z-score transformations within each survey. This approach allowed us to evaluate how scale features are associated with respondents’ relative positions within each survey’s distribution, rather than comparing raw mean happiness scores across studies. Our analyses revealed no differences in standardized happiness ratings across scale lengths, but scales without a midpoint resulted in higher ratings. The relationship between scale direction and standardized happiness ratings differed markedly across education subgroups. Specifically, among respondents with lower levels of education, descending scales (e.g., from “a lot of happiness” to “a lot of unhappiness”) were associated with higher standardized happiness ratings compared to ascending scales. This pattern aligns with findings from Western research on scale direction effects. In contrast, among respondents with higher education—particularly those in the highest education category—descending scales were associated with lower standardized happiness ratings. These findings suggest that culturally specific mechanisms may interact with scale direction to influence how individuals report their happiness.
Cao et al. (Sat,) studied this question.