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The aim of the proposed project is to investigate societal development processes by examining the role of psychological and cultural determinants shaping the desired directions of societal development and ideal well-being. In a large cross-cultural scheme (i.e., data collection will cover at least fifty countries), combined with experimental studies and advanced linguistic analyses of qualitative materials and artifacts, we will: (1) build models of folk theories of societal development, and ideal types of well-being, (2) investigate the consequences of fit between and individual and his or her cultural context in viewing these phenomena, (3) seek antecedents of the two main variables of our interest in macro-social and psychological variables - our particular interest will be directed towards regulatory focus (Higgins, 1997), psychological motives (Ryan & Deci, 2000), and cultural models of selfhoods (Vignoles et al., 2016). Crucially, (4) because we theorize that ideals about well-being and preferences towards societal development are interdependent, we will study how they interact with each other. Reaching the above aims will be especially relevant in international cooperation with Norway: this country repeatedly occupies top positions in various well-being rankings. We plan (5) to study the influence of historically anchored and cultural traditions on the ideas of good life in Nordic countries.