A joint study by Prof. Michael Harris Bond at PolyU’s Department of Management and Marketing and Prof. Michael Minkov at Varna University of Management in Bulgaria analysed the degrees of happiness self-evaluated by subjects from various countries/ regions. This was done according to their ratings (very happy, fairly happy, not quite happy and unhappy) by using data from World Values Survey (2000-2014) and comparing with their A allele genetic data.
The study showed that nations with the highest prevalence of the A allele are those who perceive themselves happiest. These included Ghana and Nigeria in West Africa, and northern Latin American nations such as Mexico and Columbia. Contrarily, Arab nations (Iraq and Jordan) and East Asian nations (Hong Kong, Chinese mainland, Thailand and Taiwan) with the lowest prevalence of this allele were also the least to rate themselves as “very happy”.
The results revealed a strong correlation between happiness of a nation’s citizens and the presence of A allele in the fatty acid amide hydrolase gene variant in the citizens’ genetic makeup. This allele can enhance sensory pleasure and alleviate pain. This correlation is even stronger than the influential factors of wealth, social stability and diseases. This explained why Nigerians feel happier than Germans and even people in countries with high incidence of homicide and robbery (such as northern Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa) reported high happiness ratings.
The findings have been published in the Journal of Happiness Studies.