Findings on happiness in Cantril (1965): study XZ Germany West 1957

Publication
Author(s)Cantril, H.
TitleThe Pattern of Human Concern.
SourceRutgers University Press, 1965, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Investigation
PublicAdults, general public, West-Germany, 1957
Collect period9
Survey nameCantril World Survey
SampleProbability area sample
Respondents N =480
Non Response-
AssesmentInterview: face-to-face
 Structured interview
Happiness measure(s) used
Full textSelfreport on single question: Here is a picture of a ladder. Suppose we say that the top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom represents the worst possible life for you. Where on the ladder do you feel you personally stand at the present time? [ 10 ] best possible life [ 9 ] [ 8 ] [ 7 ] [ 6 ] [ 5 ] [ 4 ] [ 3 ] [ 2 ] [ 1 ] [ 0 ] worst possible life Preceded by 1) open questions about what the respondent imagines as the best possible life and the worst possible life. 2) ratings on the ladder of one's life five years ago and where on the ladder one expects to stand five years from now. Name: Cantril's self anchoring ladder rating of life (original)
ClassificationC-BW-c-sq-l-11-a
Author's labelHappiness
Page in publication50, 355
Remarks14% low, 59% medium, 24% high.
DKNA %3.0
Finding used in
nation ranks		Yes
 On original range 0 - 10On range 0 - 10
Mean5.305.30
Standard deviation1.961.96

Scores in012345678910
%2.31.73.17.614.127.618.010.88.72.32.3

Correlational findings

Author's label Our subject description
Ageshow  Current age (in years)
Catholic religionshow  Current religious denomination
Community sizeshow  Community size
Educational levelshow  Level of school-education
Male sexshow  Sex (male vs female)
Positive evaluation of present national situationshow  Evaluation of current situation of nation
Socio-economic levelshow  Current socio-economic status
Urban dwellingshow  Rural vs urban dwelling