The ‘10-Excess' Phenomenon In Responses To Survey Questions On Happiness

Happiness in nations is typically measured in surveys using a single question. A common question is ‘All things considered, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your life as-a-whole these days?’ on a scale from 0 to 10. The distribution of responses typically follows a uni-modal distribution with highest frequencies typically between 5 and 8. Yet in some nations, and especially in Latin America, the percentage of 10 responses stands out and is higher than the percentage of 9 responses. This paper explores the prevalence of this ’10-excess’ pattern and checks some possible explanations.