“Money can’t buy happiness” is often said—and partially believed—but now, due to a Pepperdine professor's global research initiative, there is comprehensive data that affirms the validity of this popular 华体会体育ment.

克里斯蒂娜•吉布森, University Professor and Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Management at Pepperdine 华体会体育, is a key scientist contributing to the $43M 全球繁荣研究, the largest international research effort ever conducted on human flourishing. This groundbreaking project seeks to holistically answer one of life’s most integral questions: what contributes to a life well-lived?

Transcending data shaped solely by Western populations and priorities, the Global Flourishing Study is tracking the well-being of 240,000 individuals across 22 countries, accruing data over a five-year period. A co-author of six publications for the project, Gibson serves as one of the study’s co-investigators, primarily engaged with the cultural and psychological drivers of financial well-being, perceived hope, relationship quality, and volunteering behavior, providing insights into how different societies define and pursue flourishing.

Gibson说：“能够参与这样一个项目是我的荣幸。 “What has been most fascinating to me is that what we consider to be 'flourishing' differs so much around the world. Simple economic indicators (e.g., GDP) do not reflect the totality of what it means to flourish. Countries that rank highest in some respects rank much lower in other aspects. 没有一个体验繁荣的“最佳地点”。 Such cultural differences need to be considered when developing policy or practices to increase flourishing in any region around the globe. This respect for differences is well aligned with our values at Pepperdine.”

In partnership with Harvard University and Baylor University and support from Gallup and the Center for Open Science, the 全球繁荣研究 approached data collection longitudinally. This involves asking the same questions to an unchanging panel of subjects to obtain a comprehensive understanding of their cognitive, somatic, and spiritual well-being in order to assess their degree of flourishing.

Flourishing is an emerging research area that integrates the 华体会体育 of an individual’s complete physical, social, cognitive, financial, emotional, volitional, and spiritual well-being within the broader context of their community and cultural identity. Among societies highly interested in material comfort, such as the United States, financial security is often considered a prerequisite to overall human flourishing. Yet among a wealth of supplementary findings, Gibson’s research ultimately challenged and disproved this long-held belief, concluding that, globally, higher levels of income failed to consistently predict greater perceived financial security and sense of hope.

“Pepperdine is proud to have faculty like 克里斯蒂娜•吉布森 who publish research of lasting global significance,” says Jay Brewster, provost of 佩珀代因大学. “Her work embodies the University’s mission to integrate academic excellence with purpose-driven impact.”

According to Gibson, childhood health and parental marital 华体会体育 are associated with adult financial well-being while negative experiences occurring in formative years later influence an individual’s perceptions of financial security. Additionally, some participants from lower-income countries scored higher on perceived financial security than those from higher-income countries.

Consequently, this data compels readers to reevaluate priorities and reflect on the tapestry of factors that genuinely foster happiness and overall flourishing. Regular engagement in group activities, whether religious or civic, was generally associated with greater flourishing. Participating in faith-based communities more than once a week exhibited elevated hope levels across multiple countries.

Overall the insights gained by Gibson and co-researchers can be utilized for improving life satisfaction, informing policymakers, practitioners, and community leaders alike. Gibson and her collaborators’ intention is to establish a robust, multidisciplinary field that will advance reforms and influence social and health policy worldwide.