Zhongyong thinking and subjective well-being among Chinese undergraduate students: Prosocial behavior as a mediator

• Published in: Social behavior and personality Vol. 53; no. 3; pp. 1 - 10
• Main Author: Zhou, Shisi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Palmerston North Scientific Journal Publishers 01.03.2025; Scientific Journal Publishers, Ltd; Scientific Journal Publishers Ltd
• Subjects: Behavior; Chinese culture; Chinese Undergraduate Students; Cognition; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive style; College students; Culture; Educational aspects; Helping behavior; Hypotheses; Influence; Measures; Mediation; Mental health; Moderation; Morality; Prosocial Behavior; Psychological aspects; Psychologists; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Researcher subject relations; Social aspects; Subjective Well-Being; Subjectivity; Thought and thinking; Undergraduate students; University students; Values; Well being; Zhongyong Thinking; China
• ISSN: 0301-2212; 1179-6391
• DOI: 10.2224/sbp.14136

Researchers have maintained that subjective well-being is not only a measure of quality of life but also has basic significance for mental health; however, a detailed investigation is needed of how culture influences subjective wellbeing. I investigated the prevalence of Zhongyong thinking, evaluated the relationship between Zhongyong thinking and subjective well-being among Chinese undergraduate students, and measured the mediating effect of prosocial behavior on this association. Data were collected from 657 Chinese undergraduate students aged 18-24 years, who anonymously completed the Zhongyong Thinking Style Scale, the Prosocial Behavior Scale, and the Subjective Well-Being Scale. The results showed that Zhongyong thinking was positively related to both prosocial behavior and subjective well-being, and that prosocial behavior partially mediated the relationship between Zhongyong thinking and subjective well-being. The findings offer meaningful implications for improving the subjective well-being of Chinese undergraduate students and give a more detailed way to describe subjective well-being.