Cultural differences can interact with positive psychology to create great variation, potentially impacting positive psychology interventions. Culture differences have an impact on the interventions of positive psychology. Culture influences how people seek psychological help, their definitions of social structure, and coping strategies. Cross cultural positive psychology is the application of the main themes of positive psychology from cross-cultural or multicultural perspectives.

Overview Research shows that cultural factors affect notions of perceived happiness. Cultural psychologist Richard Shweder argues that these factors help shape what people deem is good, moral, and virtuous. The current general literature discusses positive psychology in two categories: Western and Eastern. Westerners seek rewards on more of a physical plane, while Easterners seek to transcend the physical plane to a spiritual one.Shweder, R.A., Much, N.C., Mahapatra, M., & Park, L. (1997). The "Big Three" of Morality (Autonomy, Community, Divinity) and the "Big Three" Explanations of Suffering. In A. Brandt & P. Rozin (Eds.) Morality and Health. New York: Routledge Western literature generally stresses autonomy, individuality, and personal satisfaction, while Eastern work generally focuses on harmony, collective cooperation, and group satisfaction.

Despite cultural differences in many concepts of interest to positive psychology, the overwhelming majority of intervention studies are conducted using samples drawn from Western cultures.

Recent studies show that happiness is a relatively new concept of positive psychology and that the meaning behind positive psychology is more complex than once thought. For the purpose of study, happiness was broken down into two different factors: endogenic and exogenic. Despite the influence of exogenic factors on an individual's happiness, endogenic factors have been proven to form the foundations of happiness. With these new findings, researchers broke down the biological foundations into several categories in order to further understand how endogenic factors play a role in an individual's happiness. The categories researchers selected to examine were genetics, endocrine glands, hormones, physical health, brain and neurotransmitters, typology, and attractiveness. It is also important to note the studies that have been done on twins to help determine what might cause happiness. A study between two twins found that 35–50 percent of happiness can be related to genetic factors. Studying happiness can better help one understand the impact of positive psychology.

History In the late 1800s and early 1900s, anthropologists and psychologists used race and culture as factors that influence positive, negative behaviors, and attitudesSnyder, Lopez, Pedrotti (2011). Positive psychology was defined as the scientific and practical explorations of human strengths (2nd ed.) Although it originally included culture, over time there became a  perspective that neglected the way that the culture impacts behaviors and attitudes. This was used by some groups to assert dominance over others through eugenics. American psychologists, G. Stanley Hall and Henry H. Goddard, were among some of the notable figures to adopt this view. By the mid 20th century, the dominant view was that culture did not predetermine life outcomes; instead, differences were the consequence of environmental factors. The culturally different perspective holds that unique strengths can be highlighted within every culture.

David Satcher was among the first to emphasize the influences of culture on mental health. Cultural differences occur both between and within nations. Social psychologists have supported the notion that humans are "social animals".

Major theories Psychologists Charles R. Snyder, Shane J. Lopez, and Jennifer T. Pedrotti identify two major influential western traditions – Athenian and Judeo-Christian – and four major eastern traditions – Confucianism (China), Taoism (China), Buddhism (Japan), and Hinduism (Southeast Asia) – relevant to positive psychology.

Western philosophy The Athenian view (held by Aristotle and Plato) stems from discussion of virtue and human strength. It emphasizes the importance of a political community, or "polis", and states that people with good human virtue arrange themselves into a society and model good behavior. The Judeo-Christian approach discusses the importance of the virtues of faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, temperance, and wisdom. It states that laws and rituals serve to cultivate strengths within society.

Eastern philosophy Confucianism stresses that leadership and education are central to morality. Emphasis is placed on taking care of others within the group. Virtues are used to achieve enlightenment, or the good life. Taoism portrays the concept of "The Way," referring simultaneously to direction, movement, method, and thought. Tao is the energy surrounding and flowing through everyone, and The Way must be achieved through experience, rather than teaching alone. Buddhism refers to the teachings of the "Enlightened One," which state that life is full of suffering brought on by human desire and attachment. There is, however, a possible end to the suffering through transcendence and ultimate understanding. Virtues are of utmost importance, and include love, joy, compassion, and composure. Hinduism emphasizes the interconnectedness of all things. It advocates for the harmonious union among all individuals, who should strive for ultimate self-improvement and also encouraged to be good to others. Good deeds are motivated by the process of karma.

Cultural differences in the concept of well-being

Joshanloo (2014) identifies and discusses six broad differences between Western and non-Western conceptions of well-being. His analysis is based on his survey of the accounts of happiness and optimal functioning provided in Western as well as non-Western traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Sufism. These six major domains of difference are as follows:

Self-Transcendence versus self-enhancement. The way cultures define the self is essential in conceptualizing happiness. Whereas the Western concept of the self is primarily based on the ideals of individualism, eastern traditions tend to regard the self as a small part of the collective and the cosmos. Consistent with the Western understanding of the self, enhancing autonomy, independence, self-esteem, and a strong ego is considered to be a vital ingredient of a good life in these cultures. In contrast, in Asian traditions, the individual self is de-emphasized in one way or another. For example, in Buddhism, the existence of an individual self is considered an illusion. Eudaimonism versus hedonism. In contemporary Western psychology, scientific analysis of individuals' mental well-being and quality of life is mainly undertaken in the field of subjective well-being, which has been formulated based on a hedonic understanding of well-being. A hedonistic conceptualization of happiness is in accord with the core values and ethos of modern Western culture, namely liberal modernity, hedonism, and romantic individualism. However, hedonism as a way of pursuing happiness is not equally favored in eastern traditions. In these traditions, positive emotions and pleasures are considered too temporary and marginal to be the criterion against which happiness is measured. Non-Western conceptualizations of happiness are thus more consistent with eudaimonism, which emphasizes virtues in defining happiness. Harmony versus mastery. Consistent with the Western dominant way of thinking about humankind and its relationship with the environment, qualities such as environmental mastery and control are highly valued in Western cultures. In contrast, in eastern cultures where interpersonal harmony and adjustment are emphasized, people reach a sense of well-being through promoting mutual sympathy and harmony with others and the whole cosmos. These perspectives value self-transcendence, interdependence, softness, flexibility, and adjustment to the environment rather than autonomy and independence. Contentment versus satisfaction. Life satisfaction has been stressed over the past four decades in Western psychological literature on mental health. Life satisfaction is believed in the Western thought to result from need or desire satisfaction. However, contentment, in non-Western cultures, involves satisfaction as well as many other qualities and experiences. It is understood as a delicate balance between joy and sorrow that should be preserved in both happy and sad times. It involves accepting any failure or misery one faces with composure, dignity, and gracefulness. This sense of contentment is believed to result from the realization of the transcendent self. Whereas the contentment is spiritually loaded, life satisfaction is not associated with morality and spirituality. Valuing versus avoiding suffering. A potential consequence of a hedonistic conceptualization of happiness that stresses the maximization of subjective well-being (consisting in part of the absence of negative emotions) is that such a conceptualization, which seems to be dominant in the West, makes it difficult to accept hardship, negative affect, and unhappiness as possible integral parts of a good life. Having this in mind, eastern eudaemonistic theories of well-being accept the existence of negative feelings and anhedonia in a truly happy life. From an eastern point of view, one should be able to embrace both positive and negative sides of life. Relevance versus relative irrelevance of spirituality and religion. In dominant Western lines of research where materialistic values and moral pluralism are valued, religion and spirituality are studied mainly as predictors of mental well-being, and they are not involved in formulating it. In contrast, in non-Western cultures, spirituality and religion are interwoven in individuals' understanding and experiencing of life in general and happiness in particular. Happiness for many non-Westerners is formulated based on religious and metaphysical worldviews. Transcendence, spirituality, mystical experience, following religious duties, and practicing religious rituals are essential for these people's sense of happiness.

Viewpoints within positive psychology There are different approaches within the field of positive psychology. With the support of numerous sources, Bacon presents the idea that there are two "cultures" in positive psychology, or two different ways to view the positive psychology construct of personal strengths: focus culture and balance culture. In focus culture, individuals are focused on developing and expressing their personal strengths. Balance culture is instead oriented towards balancing and bringing harmony within oneself and among others. Bacon argues that individuals ascribing to the focus culture will differ in their life experience and life path than those who believe in the balance culture. Bacon believes that the strengths can be categorized into these two cultures and goes into depth, explaining why creativity is the prototypical strength in the focus culture and why wisdom represents an ideal strength in the balance culture. Rather than tying culture to a certain ethnic or cultural group, Bacon and others argue that there are two different cultures, or schools of thought, within positive psychology. These two cultures reflect a new way to categorize strengths (Bacon, 2005).

Approaches