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The Cantril’s Ladder Makes Individuals Focus on Wealth more than Well-Being

Nilsson, August LU (2022) PSYP01 20221
Department of Psychology
Abstract
The Cantril Ladder is one of the dominant cross-cultural well-being instruments, in which respondents evaluate their overall life by seeing a ladder that represents their worst (bottom) to best (top) possible life. Evidence suggests that the Cantril Ladder relates more to income than to (emotional) well-being, but its structure has rarely been validated. Over two studies, I tested the impact of Cantril’s ladder symbol and focus, by comparing the impact of including versus excluding the ladder symbol (Study 1, N = 692), and comparing the focus on “best/worst possible life” with the “happiest/unhappiest possible life” and “most/least harmonious life” (Study 2, N = 890). In both studies, adult participants from the UK described their views of... (More)
The Cantril Ladder is one of the dominant cross-cultural well-being instruments, in which respondents evaluate their overall life by seeing a ladder that represents their worst (bottom) to best (top) possible life. Evidence suggests that the Cantril Ladder relates more to income than to (emotional) well-being, but its structure has rarely been validated. Over two studies, I tested the impact of Cantril’s ladder symbol and focus, by comparing the impact of including versus excluding the ladder symbol (Study 1, N = 692), and comparing the focus on “best/worst possible life” with the “happiest/unhappiest possible life” and “most/least harmonious life” (Study 2, N = 890). In both studies, adult participants from the UK described their views of the scales and reported their preferred scale score. The preferred Cantril Ladder score was significantly lower than the preferred scores of the three versions without a ladder (Wilcoxon tests, all p < .001, r = .18 - .19). Data-driven word plots based on Natural Language Processing techniques suggest that individuals' descriptions of the top of the ladder relate more to wealth (including words like “owning” and “wealthy”) compared to when the ladder was excluded, or when the scale described harmony or happiness. Individuals' descriptions of the most harmonious life relate more to well-being and relationships than the other scales (including words like “contentment”, “happiness”, “community” and “relationships”). I conclude with suggesting caution when interpreting the Cantril Ladder as a well-being measure. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Nilsson, August LU
supervisor
organization
course
PSYP01 20221
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
cantril ladder, well-being, wealth, harmony, natural language processing
language
English
id
9091265
date added to LUP
2022-07-04 10:16:57
date last changed
2022-07-04 10:16:57
@misc{9091265,
  abstract     = {{The Cantril Ladder is one of the dominant cross-cultural well-being instruments, in which respondents evaluate their overall life by seeing a ladder that represents their worst (bottom) to best (top) possible life. Evidence suggests that the Cantril Ladder relates more to income than to (emotional) well-being, but its structure has rarely been validated. Over two studies, I tested the impact of Cantril’s ladder symbol and focus, by comparing the impact of including versus excluding the ladder symbol (Study 1, N = 692), and comparing the focus on “best/worst possible life” with the “happiest/unhappiest possible life” and “most/least harmonious life” (Study 2, N = 890). In both studies, adult participants from the UK described their views of the scales and reported their preferred scale score. The preferred Cantril Ladder score was significantly lower than the preferred scores of the three versions without a ladder (Wilcoxon tests, all p < .001, r = .18 - .19). Data-driven word plots based on Natural Language Processing techniques suggest that individuals' descriptions of the top of the ladder relate more to wealth (including words like “owning” and “wealthy”) compared to when the ladder was excluded, or when the scale described harmony or happiness. Individuals' descriptions of the most harmonious life relate more to well-being and relationships than the other scales (including words like “contentment”, “happiness”, “community” and “relationships”). I conclude with suggesting caution when interpreting the Cantril Ladder as a well-being measure.}},
  author       = {{Nilsson, August}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Cantril’s Ladder Makes Individuals Focus on Wealth more than Well-Being}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}